Cook Center Postdoctorate Awarded Prestigious NSF Award


Omer Ali, postdoctoral associate at the Cook Center, has received an award from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (SPRF) program.

The program, designed to assist promising scientists in advancing their careers, awards two years of funded training under sponsored researchers–during which these early-career scientists can conduct independent research.

Ali, a postdoctoral associate at the Cook Center since 2019, received the award for his proposal entitled “The Impact of Federal Housing Policies on Racial Inequality.” Ali’s project will explore the connections between inequitable New Deal-era policies and the present-day racial disparities in wealth and homeownership in America. He will conduct this research under the sponsorship of Cook Center founding director William A. Darity Jr.

The full project abstract is available here. Please join us in congratulating Omer!