Patrick Sharkey is a professor of sociology at Princeton University. He received his Ph.D. in Sociology and Social Policy from Harvard University in 2007. His research focuses on issues of urban poverty and inequality, racial stratification, and violence. As a journalist he has written extensively on inequity and the roots of racial disparities in the American city. He is the recipient of numerous academic awards, including the National Science Foundation's CAREER Award, the J.S. Guggenheim Fellowship, and the William Julius Wilson Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Urban and Inequality. His first book, Stuck in Place: Urban Neighborhoods and the End of Progress Toward Racial Equality, won the Robert E. Park Book Award for the best book in urban sociology. He has also served as an advisor to policymakers, foundation leaders, and community organizers across the United States.