Research Faculty¶Achievement Award,¶Robert Schoeni¶Robert Schoeni, research¶professor, Survey Research¶Center, Population Studies¶Center, ISR; professor of¶economics, Department of¶Economics, LSA; and professor¶of public policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public¶Policy, is a scientist whose vision¶has facilitated the collection¶and dissemination of the¶most influential data available¶in the social sciences.¶Not only have his individual¶scientific contributions been¶considerable; even more importantly,¶his leadership on¶the widely used Panel Survey¶of Income Dynamics has¶provided the tools and ideas¶necessary for an entire generation¶of scholars to move¶forward on economic and¶demographic research.¶An economist and demographer,¶Schoeni has become¶more interdisciplinary over¶time, bringing to bear the¶methods and knowledge¶of different disciplines to¶a variety of problems. His¶contributions to economics¶began with work on family¶transfers in which he demonstrated¶that whereas during¶their lifetimes parents tend¶to target transfers to their¶less well-off children, inheritances¶tend to be divided¶equally among children.¶Another major area of¶Schoeni’s research has¶concerned the question of¶whether disability among the¶aged has been declining over¶time.¶Perhaps Schoeni’s most¶important and lasting contribution¶is his leadership on¶the Panel Survey of Income¶Dynamics (PSID), which¶under his stewardship has¶moved into the 21st century.¶Under his guidance the PSID¶has improved in content,¶accessibility and usefulness,¶and now is the key instrument¶in a growing number¶of important projects. He has¶shaped the survey’s content¶and in doing so has shaped¶much future research in the¶social sciences.¶The PSID recently has¶expanded scientific inquiries¶into the strong connections¶between health and socioeconomic¶phenomena over¶the entire life course, from¶childhood to later life stages.¶Schoeni has worked with¶the PSID’s team to expand¶the data on consumer expenditures¶and also health¶status and behaviors, thus¶opening up new opportunities¶for advances in science.¶The PSID has been named as¶one of the National Science¶Foundation’s “Nifty Fifty,” the¶only social science project to¶receive this distinction.¶Schoeni serves on a National¶Academy of Sciences¶panel on the Census Bureau’s¶Dynamics of Economic¶Well-Being System, and he¶founded the NIA-supported¶TRENDS Research Network,¶whose mission is to foster¶collaborative research around¶the world by conducting research¶and evaluating trends¶in old-age disability.