Hi! I'm Ethan Sharygin and I am currently a demographer and director of the Population Research Center at Portland State University. More about my group here. My recent work concerns demographic consequences of wildfire, in particular on how first responders can more accurately estimate population in fire zones and how applied demographers can estimate migration in and around disaster areas using innovative small area estimates methods. I recently collaborated with researchers at the CA Energy Commission on projected population at heightened risk of wildfires due to climate change. I worked with RAND Corporation and the CA Census on a household survey to collect data on housing, population, and neighborhood quality for program evaluation and to facilitate the incorporation of remote sensing data into demographic estimates methodology after the 2020 census. I also contributed to the development of the Community Burden of Disease project, an initiative of the CA Department of Public Health.
PhD in Demography, 2013
University of Pennsylvania
MPP/MA in Public Policy and Asia Studies, 2006
University of California, Berkeley
My c.v. is available here
Demography and Climate Change: I consider demographic sequelae of disasters, and differential vulnerability to looming threats. I study the interaction of population growth with energy use and emissions. I study population change in response to natural disasters such as wildfire. Equity concerns are also important-- whereas wildfires used to affect a relatively small, affluent population, climate change is affecting the demographic profile of the populations at greatest risk from events like floods and fires because the geography of risk is expanding.
Health and geography: I study health and mortality disparities, including interactions between the physical environment, cultural-linguistic context, and biology. Example work in this area includes research on the fetal origins of disease hypothesis from famine survivors; comparative mortality in neighborhoods across California; and air quality measurement and impacts on birthweight. I also study variation in causes of death, methods of estimating small area life expectancy, and contributions of demographic and epidemiologic dynamics to changing trends in longevity.
Demographic Estimates and Dynamics I develop and implement methods to improve the accuracy and reliability of population estimates at various levels of geography, timeliness, and demographic specificity from administrative, remote sensing, and survey data. I use innovative methods such as microsimulation to analyze fertility, mortality, nuptiality, and migration patterns and produce modeled past and prospective rates. I collaborate with Census Bureau on housing and population estimates. I am interested in approaches for evaluating the coverage of the impending 2020 Census, and strategies for anticipating and adapting to a number of potential deficiencies.