The Urban Data Geeks Lab

The UDG Lab was established in 2017 in response to growing requests from students and professors to use our predictive analytics software for research and learning purposes. Additionally, we at State of Place understand that providing a powerful, ready-made tool for urbanists in academia would open the door for cutting-edge research related to the built environment and the discovery of applications for our software that we otherwise wouldn't have conceived!

Through the UDG Lab initiative, State of Place accepts participants to support our data collection and optimization efforts in return for access to our software for the length of their engagement as well as connections to a supportive community of like-minded researchers. To date, we have partnered with graduate students and professors from across the US and globally, to ramp up our software's adoption and implementation both as a research and teaching tool for the academic community. We especially welcome collaboration with university instructors seeking to leverage our software for service-learning or community-based projects in the classroom.

Former UDG Lab participants have come from:

• New York University

• Duke University

• Virginia Tech

• Penn State University

• George Washington University

• George Mason University

• University of Illinois at Chicago

• University of Michigan at Ann Arbor

• East China Normal University (Shanghai)

• London School of Economics

  
  

For Students:

Academic datageekers using State of Place as part of student research will receive access to our software at no cost for the length of their engagement as well as connections to a supportive community of like-minded researchers. 

Students will be asked to fulfill the following requirements during the length of their engagement:

1. Complete State of Place data collection online training requirements (about 6 hours in total)

2. Participate in biweekly progress updates and research meetings with UDG Lab leader

3. Author one blogpost highlighting research findings that leverage the State of Place platform

4. Support State of Place data collection and optimization efforts (specific details to be worked out with UDG Lab leader)

TO APPLY: Please send us a copy of your resume and a summary of your research question/focus to datageek@stateofplace.co.

FOR Researchers:

Those of you who want to use State of Place for sponsored or funded research, we will work with you in crafting your proposal and will work within your budget to accommodate the use of State of Place within your research plan! 

TO APPLY: Please send us a summary of your research question, tools you're currently using, what kind of funding you have in mind, your project's timeline, and how you'd like to incorporate the State of Place platform in your research to michelle@stateofplace.co.

FOR Educators:

Those of you who want to use State of Place in your classrooms as part of service-learning or community-based initiatives, we will work with you to craft a data collection plan and guide research designs that can feasibly be implemented within the scope of an academic quarter or semester. 

TO APPLY: Please send us a summary of how you plan to use the software in your classroom, the goals you are seeking to accomplish, and an approximate total number of students who will need access to the software to datageek@stateofplace.co

Interested in joining the UDG Lab Community? 

Please reach out to Kelliann Beavers at kelliann@stateofplace.co. We will be accepting applications on a rolling basis. We will be prioritizing those applicants who have demonstrated some experience with (or interest in developing) quantitative data analytics and collection.