On April 25, 2016 we held the inaugural RISE Day Award Luncheon. RISE Day is our annual celebration to recognize outstanding achievements by economics undergraduate and graduate students and exemplary teaching by economics faculty. The event is made possible by the generosity of our alumni and friends. Below are photos from the event and more information about some of the winners.
Rice undergraduate award winners standing with the Director of Undergraduate Studies Dr. George Zodrow (left) and Director of RISE Dr. Antonio Merlo (right). These students were recognized for academic excellence and original research. A complete list of awards and their winners can be found here.
James P. DeNicco (center), winner of the Malcolm Gillis Award for Distinction in Undergraduate Teaching in Economics. Dr. DeNicco is the Director of the Principles of Economics Program at Rice University.
Maggie Shi won the Peter Mieszkowski Prize for Honors Program Research for her paper "Exploring the Sex Difference in Sleep Duration and its Effect on Productivity".
Tanya Rajan was awarded the Gaston Rimlinger Prize, for her senior thesis "Diarrheal Disease Shocks and Childhood Growth: An Analysis of Children in Cebu, Philippines".
Yize Zhao received the RISE Award in Mathematical Economic Analysis as a academically accomplished rising senior within the MTEC major.
Graduate student award winners from the Economics Ph.D. program standing with a collection economics faculty and award eponyms. A complete list of awards and their winners can be found here.
From left to right, Professor Merlo, Bineli Gong, and Purvez Captain. Binlei Gong and Raul Bajo-Buenestado (not pictured) split the Jennifer and Purvez Captain Award for Outstanding Economics Dissertation. Binlei's research is in empirical industrial organization. He is now an assistant professor at Zhejiang University. Raul's dissertation investigates market design in the energy sector. He is now an assistant professor at the University of Navarra (Spain).
[Left] Paul Barton, winner of the George R. Zodrow Award for Best Performance in a Workshop, standing with Professor Zodrow. Paul is researching microstructure in a dynamic context within the field of Finance.
[Right] Mark Agerton, winner of the Michael D. Maher Graduate Student Teaching Prize in Economics, standing with Michael Maher from the Baker Institute. Mark's research interests are in the field of energy economics.
[Left] Margaret McKeehan, winner of the Dagobert L. Brito Award for Best Performance by a Recitation Instructor in Economics, posing with Professor Brito. Margaret is a fourth-year whose research looks at empirical and theoretical issues in taxation.
[Right] Mehreen Gul, winner of the The Robin C. Sickles Award for Best Performance in Econometrics Qualifying Exam, standing with Professor Sickles. Mehreen Gul is a second-year interested in labor economics and search theory.
From left to right, Amir Kazempour, Maria Esther, Kirill Evodokimov, and Carlos Linares. Amir and Kirill, both first-year Ph.D. students, jointly won the Maria Esther and Carlos Linares Award for Best Performance in Economics First-Year Courses.