UCO Professor Receives Grant to Study Link Between Air Pollution and Domestic Violence

Travis Roach, Ph.D., associate professor and chairperson of the Department of Economics at the University of Central Oklahoma, has received a research grant totaling more than $160,000 from Arnold Ventures. The grant will fund a study on the potential connection between air pollution—specifically, particulate matter—and incidents of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Roach, alongside Anne Burton, Ph.D., assistant professor of economics at the University of Texas at Dallas, will collect and analyze police data from jurisdictions across the United States, allowing them to examine whether and how exposure to particulate matter contributes to neuroinflammation and behavioral changes linked to increased aggression and domestic conflict.

“Evidence-based policy decision-making relies on rigorous research and data analysis to craft solutions that address real-world problems effectively rather than depending solely on ideology, tradition or intuition," Roach said.

“By systematically evaluating what works through empirical methods, our research can inform policymakers so that they can design interventions that have a higher probability of being effective while making efficient use of limited public resources.”

Roach and Burton's research will be supported by two undergraduate student research assistants, exemplifying UCO's commitment to fostering student engagement in undergraduate research.

For more information about Arnold Ventures, visit go.uco.edu/ArnoldVentures.

For more information about the College of Business, visit uco.edu/business.

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Nathan Aker

Communications and Public Relations Coordinator, UCO College of Business

• naker@uco.edu
• 405-974-5333

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• @UCOBusiness