Dr. Sylvester studies demographic and socioeconomic behavior in relation to environmental change. A historian by training, Sylvester uses census microdata, geo-spatial data, multivariate and simulation methods to study human-environment relationships, adaptive behavior, agrarian society and environmental impacts, mainly in western North America. Sylvester serves as PI and co-investigator on several awards (NIH, NSF, and SSHRC), including the recently funded “Sustaining Populations and Landscapes at Risk.” He also serves as incoming co-editor, with J. David Hacker, of the interdisciplinary journal Historical Methods.