Economics undergraduate student Yuriy Loukachev has been selected to receive a 2012 SHARE (Social Science, Humanities, and Arts Research Experience) Award for undergraduate research. Yuriy will be studying the economic theory of auctions with Professor Mike Shor in the Spring of 2012. He will receive a stipend from the Office of Undergraduate Research, and will present the results of his research at a poster exhibition to be held in the Spring of 2012.
Congratulations Yuriy!
On Tuesday, December 7, Prof. Carstensen hosted more than a dozen foreign journalists at the request of the U.S. Department of State. The journalists represented China, Bosnia, Germany, Switzerland, France, Sweden, and a slew of other countries. Prof. Carstensen provided an overview of Connecticut’s economic performance and the new initiatives the Governor has implemented; he highlighted the importance of the Biosciences Connecticut development and the commitment of Jackson Labs to developing a major research facility in Farmington at UCHC. Prof. Carstensen also discussed the current national economic situation and the complex situation with the euro narrowly and European economic health broadly.
Among those participating, was a film crew from Swedish television. At the end of the lively discussion with the foreign journalists, the Swedish crew filmed a five minute interview with Prof. Carstensen, which was sent to Sweden for inclusion in a national news program.
The Connecticut Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA, formerly CCEF) has asked CCEA to help developing a grant proposal for the Department of Energy (DoE) Sunshot Grant Program. The objective of the grant is to provide tools and strategies to reduce the non-hardware costs of solar photovoltaic systems, and it is meant to be developed as a multi-phase multi-disciplinary program. The proposal involves a very broad cooperation with private entities and other institutions, among which CEFIA itself and Yale University.
CCEA with the support Prof. Willig (CESE) has recruited and will work along with the Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR) and the Dept. of Geography. UConn participants will be Prof. Fred Carstensen (CCEA, Director), Prof. Daniel Civco (CLEAR, Dirctor), Prof. Jeffrey Osleeb (Dept. Geography, Head) and Prof. Chuanrong Zhang (Geography). The proposal was one of the winners, and UConn has a proposed budget of about $149,000 for the first year, with additional $169,000 for Phase II, which will take place over two years.
On Wednesday, November 16, 2011, UConn Today featured an article about Professor Oskar Harmon’s innovations to traditional class methods. The article was written by one of the department’s MA students, Andrew Sparks.
Andrew’s article outlines Prof. Harmon’s efforts to makes his lectures and class discussions available online and on mobile devices. For example, Prof. Harmon has re-formatted his lectures so that they can be played on smart-phones, and has opened class discussion threads on Facebook so that his students can choose to learn and participate on mobile devices. Andrew notes the significance of this, as Prof. Harmon recognizes the need to give students several options for participation beyond email, HuskyCT forums, and in-class lectures. Prof. Harmon saw a new opportunity in mobile media (smart-phones, tablets, etc.) and rolled out the new formats this semester.
The link to the article is here: http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2011/11/smartphones-can-make-you-smarter-when-used-as-mobile-teaching-tools/
Be sure to check UConn Today for future articles on the Econ department faculty, also written by Andrew.
The panel discussion held on Wednesday, November 16, 2011 was featured in articles on UConn Today and in the Daily Campus. Professors Carstensen, Lanza, Minkler, Ross, and Wright led a discussion (moderated by Department Head Metin Cosgel) about the state of the U.S. economy and possible improvements.
Jeff Jacobs cites Kathryn Parr’s research in the CCEA as part of his opinion piece about revamping the XL Center to bring economic changes to Hartford.
Read more here: http://www.courant.com/sports/hockey/hc-whale-xl-center-1116-20111115,0,3405456.column?page=1
Professor Hallwood’s article “The Case for Fiscal Autonomy for Scotland with or without Independence,” was recently quoted by a reader in the Scotsman.
Prof. Fred Carstensen’s article on the impact of the October snowstorm’s effect on the Connecticut economy was published on November 2, 2011 in the Hartford Courant.
Professor Miceli’s new book, The Economic Theory of Eminent Domain, is featured on UConn Today.
http://today.uconn.edu/
The Wall Street Journal posted an article about average salaries for 2011 graduates in various majors. Read more here.