Name: Roland Gerhard Fryer Jr.

Age: 27

Employer: Harvard University

Location: Cambridge, Mass.

Tidbit:

Roland Fryer is assistant professor of economics at Harvard University, Faculty Research Fellow for the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Junior Fellow of Harvard’s Society of Fellows, one the most prestigious research societies in the country. If that’s not enough of a mind-boggle, he completed his undergraduate degree (with honors) in 21/2 years, his doctorate in three. He’s a prolific writer and tireless analyst who describes his work as “using the economic way of thinking to analyze racial issues.” His work has both been praised -- and created controversy -- a sign that he’s touched an academic nerve. When he’s not formulating new economic theory, Fryer’s on the basketball court shooting some hoops or sitting around his crib watching ‘American Idol.’

Why You Should Care:

“Anything that affects black people, I’m interested in,” Fryer offers. That explains why his research and writings unpack issues like affirmative action, health care, test score disparities and the influence of the crack epidemic on black America. In essence, Fryer is trying to understand what ails (portions of) black America and how these negative influences can be circumvented.

As an undergrad, Fryer studied economics because it provided a broad base that would allow him to follow his many varied interests. It also involved enough of his other loves -- math and formal analyses -- to keep him intrigued. His interest in race issues came later – specifically, while watching a debate on affirmative action on CNN. Observing how quickly the debate was swayed by personal stories, he knew then that race issues like affirmative action offered the perfect opportunity to use the statistical tool and methods abundant in economic analysis in creating a more scientific understanding of the issues.

As a result of his research, Fryer says, "I know definitely that similar home environments produce similar results, that the crack epidemic is responsible for 90 percent of the quadrupling of black youth homicide in the late '80s and early '90s, half of the increase in infant mortality, and one-quarter of the increase in fetal death. I know that salt sensitivity is a major factor in cardiovascular diseases and African Americans should get tested for salt sensitivity.” His current research includes ‘Experienced Based Discrimination’ -- a classroom experiment developed to show how statistical discrimination affects the labor market; ‘On the Measurement of Segregation’ -- measuring racial segregation; and ‘Getting Under the Hood of the Ku Klux Klan’ -- a study of the personal data of approximately 100,000 Klan members of the 1930s to determine motivation for Klan membership. “Facts are our friends,” he says. “What we need in our discussions of race and racial issues is more facts and less politics.”

About the Author
Ayeko Vinton is a Web developer, writer and teacher living in Boston.