MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students in the WSU School of Economic Sciences were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the fields of agricultural and applied economics at the 2014 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association Awards & Fellows Recognition Ceremony in Minneapolis, Minn. in July. Three of the seven students recognized for outstanding thesis and dissertation awards were from Washington State University.
“The student awards specifically recognize the contributions of the young individuals who will be the future of agricultural and applied economists,” said Brian Mondragón Jones, executive director or the Association. “Professionally, it provides recognition of their contributions at an early point in their education.”
Jeff Luckstead won the Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation award for his doctoral dissertation, Essays in Policy Analysis: Strategic Trade Theory and the Elimination of Agricultural Subsidies. He earned his doctoral degree in 2013 under Ron Mittelhammer and Stephen Devadoss. Jeff is now an Assistant Professor of Agricultual Economics and Agribusiness at the University of Arkansas.
Jude Bayham received honorable mention for his dissertation, Characterizing Incentives: An Investigation of Wildfire Response and Environmental Entry Policy. He earned his doctoral degree under Jonathan Yoder. Jude is now a postdoctoral associate at Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.
Amy Hilland, a student in the joint master’s program with University of Idaho, won Outstanding Master’s Thesis for the paper, Implications of the Yuan-Dollar Exchange Rate and Commodity Trade between China, the United States, and Competitors. Amy’s thesis was completed under the guidance of Stephen Devadoss.
Undergraduate student Triston Hanon took first place in the Undergraduate Student Outstanding Paper Competition for his thesis, The New Normal: An Analysis of the US Renewable Fuel Standard. His thesis was supervised by Phil Wandschneider. Triston now works at the Congressional Budget Office.
WSU alumna Kynda Curtis ’03 who is now an Associate Professor in Applied Economics at Utah State University was a co-recipient of the Presidential Recognition Award for Special Service to the Association.
In addition to recognizing these students and their efforts, Alan Love, Director of the School of Economic Sciences, said he commends all of the advisors and committee members of these students and the entire School of Economics Sciences faculty for their contributions to the excellence represented across all levels of student teaching, research, and mentoring.
Source contact:
Alan Love, School of Economic Sciences, 509-335-3548, a.love@wsu.edu