# Sci-Tech Core-Maryland Population Research Center

> **NIH NIH P2C** · UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK · 2021 · $132,809

## Abstract

The Scientific and Technical Core (STC) aims to provide MPRC associates with the computational resources 
and technical support necessary to conduct cutting-edge population research. The STC is designed to deliver 
services to faculty that are not offered by their individual units on campus, including access to secure data 
enclaves for restricted and confidential datasets, hosting web sites for data dissemination and archiving, and 
offering training and consultation services in statistical programming and data management. Through its 
computer lab, the STC provides access to specialized software that may not be available to researchers in 
their academic departments. The core also offers a platform on which to run computationally-intensive jobs. 
The STC facilitates collaboration by allowing faculty associates and external affiliates to share large datasets 
through a secure storage area network. In the next grant cycle, the STC anticipates expanding its support for 
the use of restricted datasets for which it maintains two secure data enclaves and provides remote secure-data 
computing and secure data storage services. The STC will also play a critical role in promoting the use of the 
recently-established Federal Statistical Research Data Center (FSRDC) at the University of Maryland. The 
FSRDC is one of the most exciting university-wide initiatives that gives researchers access to highly-restricted 
social, demographic and health-related data sources, including datasets linking individuals to administrative 
records. The STC will play a key role in disseminating information about the data available at the FSRDC 
through three planned conferences over the next five years, and by assisting researchers in their application 
for access to the restricted data. MPRC staff will also provide formal and informal programming support to 
faculty associates interested in using the FSRDC. To evaluate its effectiveness in meeting faculty demands in 
the next grant cycle, the STC will collect detailed information on usage of its services, and conduct surveys of 
all associates every two years. The STC is directed by Andres Villarreal (Sociology), a social demographer 
with extensive knowledge of statistical and computational methods.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10261366
- **Project number:** 5P2CHD041041-20
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK
- **Principal Investigator:** MICHAEL S. RENDALL
- **Activity code:** P2C (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $132,809
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2001-07-05 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10261366

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10261366, Sci-Tech Core-Maryland Population Research Center (5P2CHD041041-20). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10261366. Licensed CC0.

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