Spotlights

Dr. Angela de Oliveira completd her Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Dallas in May 2009. She holds a M.S. degree from the University of Texas at Dallas in Applied Economics and a B.S. in Business Administration from Auburn University Montgomery. She is a John Kain Fellow, and her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation.

Dr. de Oliveira's dissertation focused on factors that influence an individual's willingness to sacrifice self-interest to make the group better off. In addition to these "public goods" situations, Dr. de Oliveira uses experiments to better understand various aspects of individual decision making, including: preferences of low-income individuals, risky environments, patience and savings, charitable giving, and sharing norms. Dr. de Oliveira is teaching Price Theory and Graduate Microeconomics II with the department.

NSF Project : Climate Change and Responses in a Coupled Marine System

The National Science Foundation awarded Sylvia Brandt and an interdisciplinary team of researchers $1.19 million to study the effects of climate change on Mid-Atlantic fisheries. Oceans cover over 72% of the world’s surface and are affected by and modify climate change. From the tiniest krill to the largest whales, a multitude of marine species are responding to ocean warming. >>More

AQMD Project: New approaches to estimating cost and burden of traffic-related air pollution

Sylvia Brandt and colleagues at University of Southern California were awarded $326,173 to study the societal costs of traffic-related pollution. Brandt is joining epidemiologists and physicians from the Children's Health Study, which began in 1992 in Southern California. The Children’s Health Study is one of the most extensive studies of the effects of air pollution on children’s respiratory health. >>More

Dr Brandt is also an advisee to two graduate students conducting field research with grants from the Latin American and Caribbean Environmental Economist Program (LACEEP) >>More

Laura Alayon. Laura grew up in Bogotá, Colombia, where she studied economics at the Universidad de Los Andes. She joined the M.S. program in 2007 with an interest in understanding the economics of resources management and in designing policies that improve decision-making in local contexts. Her MS thesis is on the economic and social factors associated with violation of fishing regulations in Columbia.

Michelle Woodford. Michelle joined the M.S. program in January 2008 following the completion of her undergraduate degree at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Michelle qualifies herself as a feminist and environmentalist. Michelle is committed to improving higher opportunities for all women especially those trying to climb out of poverty. In her field essay, she examines factors affecting decisions of low income single mothers’ to further their education, especially impacts that state policies can have on choices.

Making a contribution to the to the Carolyn Harper Memorial Fellowship

View slide show of The 2008 Carolyn Harper Memorial Fellowship

Juan-Camilo gave a seminar on  "Dynamics of Rules and Resources: Three New Field Experiments on Water, Forests and Fisheries" in the Resource Economics Department in October. He is currently Professor in the Department of Economics, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota, Colombia. He is pictured here between the awards plaques for the Carolyn Harper Fellow and Vijay Bhagavan Teaching Assistant of Distinction Awards--both of which Juan-Camilo received as a graduate student.

Making a contribution to the Vijay Bhagavan Memorial Award of Distinction Fund

View slide show of The 2008 Vijay Bhagavan Teaching Assistant of Distinction Award

View slide show

The Vijay Bhagavan Teaching Assistant of Distinction Award >>more

This award was made to mark the 100th Anniversary of the Graduate School. One Graduate Faculty Member was selected from each college and school for this special honor. Dr. Morzuch was chosen to represent the College of Natural Resources and the Environment as an exemplar of the faculty who provide guidance and mentorship to graduate students through chairs and membership on student thesis and dissertation committees. The Graduate School notes that his service "leads our students to achieve great scholarship and provides a backbone of the excellence that is the Graduate School at the University of Massachusetts Amherst."

Dr. Barry Field retired after 35 years of service to the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is a distinguished researcher in the fields of resource and environmental economics; the author of popular textbooks on environmental economics, natural resource economics, and environmental policy; and a teacher who challenges his students to think hard about environmental issues. Barry also served as Chair of the Department. He will continue to be a active author and to teach environmental policy.

Dr. P. Geoffrey Allen retired after 34 years of service to the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is a distinguished researcher who focuses on issues related to agricultural and resource production, economic feasibility, and forecasting. Geoff is a dedicated teacher who has played a key role in supporting the growth of the managerial economics undergraduate option in the Department of Resource Economics. He served as Department Chair from 2000-2006. He will continue to be active in the department through participating in research grants and leading the UMass Tax School.

John Stranlund, along with former ResEc faculty member Jim Murphy, led a team of UMass researchers in exploring the harvesting behavior of individuals in Colombian communities that depend heavily on local small-scale fishing. Maria Alejandra Velez (ResEc PhD, 2006) and Maria Claudia Lopez (ResEc PhD, 2007) conducted common pool experiments in five geographically distinct communities with subjects who are intimately connected to a local fishery. The goals of this research are to better understand the use of local natural resources in poor areas of the developing world, and to examine the potential for effective government interventions in these communities. The first results of this effort will be published this year in two journal articles:

Maria Alejandra Velez, John K. Stranlund and James J. Murphy. 2008. “What Motivates Common Pool Resource Users? Experimental Evidence from the Field.” Forthcoming in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization.

Maria Alejandra Velez, James J. Murphy, and John K. Stranlund. 2008. “Centralized and Decentralized Management of Local Common Pool Resources in the Developing World: Experimental Evidence from Fishing Communities in Colombia.” Forthcoming in Economic Inquiry.

This research is one component of a long-standing relationship with the Pontifica Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia, and is part of ResEc’s research and teaching initiative in experimental economics. For more about ResEc’s partnership with Javeriana see Colombia Partnership. For more about the department’s experiment economics program see Experimental Economics.

The Resource Economics Department held an awards ceremony to honor David McEvoy and Bernardo Urdaneta as new Carolyn Harper Fellows on March 30, 2007. They were chosen for their scholarly achievement and concern for social and environmental issues, as well as for racial and gender justice.

David McEvoy grew up in Massachusetts, earned a M.S. from University College London, and is currently completing his Ph.D. degree in the Department of Resource Economics. His research focuses on a theoretical and experimental analysis of voluntary agreements for environmental protection.

Bernardo Urdaneta grew up in Venezuela and attended Lycoming College in the United States. He received an M.S. degree in Resource Economics in 2006, conducting research on evaluating alternative funding mechanisms for Acadia National Park. He is currently working in Boston with CERA (Cambridge Energy Research Associates).

The fellowship was established in memory of Dr. Carolyn Harper, as associate professor of Resource Economics, who died of cancer in 1993. Harper was an award winning scholar who published widely on the economics of pesticide regulation, groundwater protection, and worker safety.

We were joined at the awards ceremony by Carolyn’s husband, David Nussbaum; Dean Cleve Willis; former Harper Fellows Tammy Barlow Murphy and Corinna Noelke; and Bernardo’s father, Mr. German Urdaneta, who was visiting from Venezuela.

Dr. Christian Rojas joins the department as an Assistant Professor after completing his Ph.D. at Virginia Tech University in September 2005 and serving for a year as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Dallas. He holds a M.S. degree in economics from Virginia Tech and a B.A. in economics from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. Dr. Rojas’s dissertation focused on Demand Estimation with Differentiated Products: An Application to Price Competition in US Brewing. In addition, Dr. Rojas is conducting research using experimental economics to evaluate the role of information and monitoring in cartel stability. He was named the 2004 Graduate Student Teacher of the Year in the Department of Economics at Virginia Tech and is experienced with using interactive technology in classroom

John’s work uses economic theory to evaluate the incentives of companies to comply with environmental and resource management policies and, recently, uses experiments (in the laboratory and the field) to test the theory in simulated real world conditions. This body of work is important because the key factors that influence who complies and to what extent with policies, and ultimately the outcomes achieved (e.g., cleaner air), are difficult to evaluate in complex situations. John’s work focuses on evaluating the types of market mechanisms (e.g., emissions trading) that are increasingly being used both nationally and internationally to regulate pollution. He has also used these methodological approaches to analyze the governance of communal natural resources such as forests in developing countries. Thus his work provides important tests of the effectiveness of such policies exactly at the time they are increasingly popular and becoming more widely used by governments.

During her tenure as Undergraduate Program Director, Sheila was the first point of contact for any undergraduate interested in the major. She provided each candidate with individual attention to make sure that he or she was making the correct decision when choosing Resource Economics as a major field of study. Furthermore, once a candidate made a decision to enter the major, Sheila assisted that person with selecting an area of concentration. She was not satisfied simply with having potential entrants use her as the initial contact for our program. She went out and actively recruited students for the department. She realized the depth of undergraduate talent out there waiting to be tapped. She was unwilling to let it alone. She wanted to show these potential majors how rewarding the discipline of Resource Economics can be.

Sheila perennially focused on making things better for the student. As an example, she recognized the importance of providing students with applicability of their discipline while they were taking courses. As a result, she instituted enrollment in an internship as an avenue for application. In the Consumer Economics track to Resource Economics, students are required to do an internship. Lining up potential internships for students is no small feat. Sheila personally took on this task. Students rave about this aspect of the major. They cite Sheila’s care and tenacity as the reason for their success. Sheila is the ultimate advisor. She considers all angles pertaining to making a Resource Economics major’s experience the best possible.

Glenn was a driving force behind the Learning Commons opened on campus in fall 2005. He was early to recognize the power of the LC to transform undergraduate learning and on his own visited several around the country. He then made the rounds on campus as the Director of the IT Program to share this vision with key people. He wrote a document describing what the Learning Commons could be and was asked to introduce the Learning Commons to the campus with a kickoff event. He still had miles to go before a LC appeared on campus. He attended numerous meetings, and went on a cross-country fact-finding trip to Arizona and Indiana to answer lingering questions about these new uses of a Library’s space. Glenn has led with tremendous energy, brilliant insights regarding students and technology, undaunted optimism, and a collaborative style that captivated all.

Bernie’s commitment is to the learning of students. He combines meticulous preparation with an infectious wonder and tough standards. His use of the blackboard is masterful. Starting in 2002, Bernie began participating in the Davis Grant on Redesigning the Large Classroom as part of the team teaching Introductory Statistics in the Resource Economics Department. Bernie was chosen to participate based on his phenomenal teaching prowess, achieved without the use of technology. He contributed a multi-semester test of teaching approaches by progressively adding new elements from semester to semester. In spring 2002 he taught as usual without technology. Then in spring 2003 he added OWL (on-line testing) and in fall 2003 added the Personal Response System (PRS). Using careful experimental design and statistical analysis, this experience convinced Bernie that the technology aided student learning. Bernie will be using his year as a University of Massachusetts TEACHnology fellow to take his use of the “blackboard style” to a new level, using a Tablet PC, with color, in the classroom to project to the big screen for all to see, and with digital capture for reviewing post lecture.

The goal of the Classroom Improvement Project (Instructional Technology for UMass Classrooms), is to provide 90 classrooms across campus with projection, video, and audio equipment. The project focuses on general-purpose classrooms with 30–90 seats that lack instructional technology beyond overhead projectors and internet access. >>more

Richard, as Faculty Advisor to the Provost for Undergraduate Education, chaired the Learning Commons Committee and Glenn fired the Committee with ideas and enthusiasm. Glenn is also currently serving as Chair of the UMass Information Technology Program.

On October 21st, Microsoft Corp. designated the University of Massachusetts Amherst as the first Microsoft IT Showcase School in the nation, recognizing the university’s innovative leadership in applying information technology to teaching and learning. Resource Economics was a key contributor to UMass earning this recognition through its pioneering of the use of personal response systems, web-based quizzing, and tablet PCs in courses, and through the ResEc-led IT Program. Go ResEc and Go UMass!

For more on the Learning Commons see: http://www.umass.edu/umhome/ news/articles/24587.php

For more on the Microsoft IT Showcase School designation see:
http://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/ newsreleases/articles/24104.php

Jen Lewis Gruber earned a BS in Resource Economics in 1995 and a MS in 1997. She works for Advantage Sales and Marketing in the Boston area. Jessica Teilborg earned a BS in Resource Economics in 2001 and works for Unilever, with her home office in New Jersey. Mike Chisholm graduated with a BS in 2003. He works with Jen at Advantage Sales and Marketing. Jen, Jess, and Mike would be happy to be in contact with students interested in food marketing. Contact Julie Caswell for more information.

A team of Japanese scholars, led by Takuji Sakurai, has just published a book containing translations of several book chapters, edited by Julie Caswell, on the economics of food safety and nutrition. They expect the book to serve as a central source for researchers interested in studying markets for food
quality.

Presented at the ACNielsen Category Masters Conference in August, the award recognizes the sales agency in the consumer packaged goods industry that demonstrated the best category management practices over the past year. Congratulations Jen and Jess!

Each year, an award is given for important advances in agriculture by the deans of the agricultural colleges in the northeast. Dan is being recognized for his research on the dairy industry, farm family labor decisions and Community Supported Agriculture.