Key Qualifications

David Rain is a professional geographer with extensive field experience in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and elsewhere in the developing world. Prior to coming to George Washington University, he was a statistician and technical advisor for the U.S. Census Bureau, consulting with statistical agencies of many countries on geospatial data and census issues and conducting fieldwork in many settings. Currently he teaches Geography of Africa and cities in the developing world at GW and is active in researching urban environmental issues in Africa and the Middle East. He is highly experienced (10+ years) in GIS, also census data collection, mobile computing, geodatabases, data input, and other issues related to GIS. Prior to working for the Census Bureau, he was in graduate school at the Pennsylvania State University, where he did doctoral fieldwork on the connection between land-use change and temporary urban migration in the West African Sahel. In 2007, Rain along with colleague Ryan Engstrom and Co-PIS at Harvard and San Diego State were recipients of a $3.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the neighborhood-level social and environmental determinants of health in Accra, Ghana. This project will use demographic surveys, remote sensing and ground surveys to reconstruct the context of health for over 3000 Accra women in 2003 and 2008.

Education

Dr. Rain received his MS in 1993 and his Ph.D. in 1997 from the Pennsylvania State University. He received his BA (High Honors) in Literature from the University of Michigan in 1984.

Relevant Experience in Africa

Dr. Rain served in the U.S. Peace Corps from 1985 to 1987, as an English teacher in Niger. He returned in 1994-96 to do fieldwork on land-use and migration change in Niger, working with the Centre AGRHYMET in Niamey. He has consulted with many African governments including Ghana, Uganda, Mozambique, Malawi on census mapping and GIS projects.

Languages

English (native), French (proficient speaking, reading and writing), Hausa (proficient speaking)

Professional Affiliations

Association of American Geographers, International Union for the Scientific Study of Population, African Studies Association

Citizenship

USA