Graduate alumni reunion program announced

Here is the program of the various events to happen on April 1 and 2, 2010.

Thursday, April 1, 4:00 pm – Philip. E. Austin Forum on Economics and Public Policy, Robert Stavins (Harvard University), “Climate Change Policy After Copenhagen,” Student Union Ballroom.

Thursday, April 1, 7:00 pm – Economics Department Annual Awards Banquet, Bishop Center.

Friday, April 2, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm – Graduate Reunion and Forum, alumni research papers, professional experience panel, and graduate research, Bishop Center.

8:30amContinental Breakfast (Room 7 lobby, downstairs)

9:00am

Welcome: William Lott, department head
Program Overview: Dennis Heffley, Professor of Economics

9:10am

Session 1: Alumni Research Papers and Presentations
Moderator: Leshui He, Past President, Association of Graduate Economics Students (AGES)
Dipasis Bhadra (PhD, UConn), Senior Economist, Federal Aviation Administration, US Department of Transportation
“Air travel in the US: How do we travel, where do we travel, and why do we travel?”
William Place (PhD, UConn), Medical Economist, Aetna Informatics, Hartford CT
“Behavioral and health care outcomes of wellness program participants”
Philip Shaw (PhD, UConn), Assistant Professor of Economics, Fairfield University
“Nonparametric Instrumental Variable Estimation in Practice”
Alice Zawacki (PhD, UConn), Senior Economist, Center for Economic Studies, US Bureau of the Census
“Searching for data? Using the Census Bureau Research Data Centers?”

10:30am

Coffee Break: Lobby

10:45am

Session 2: Alumni Professional Experience Panel
Moderator: Steven Lanza (PhD, UConn), Executive Editor, The Connecticut Economy
Laura Bhadra (MA, UConn; PhD, American University) Assistant Professor of Economics and Program Head, Northern Virginia Community College, Manassas VA
“Economics and Movies: a hybrid course”
Natalya Shelkova (PhD, UConn) Assistant Professor, Guilford College, Greensboro NC
“From job market to new job”
Hemanta Shrestha (PhD, UConn) Senior Analytics Manager, Sprint Nextel Corporation, Warren, NJ
“Building propensity models for customer targeting”
Monica Tedeschi Cantor (MA, UConn) Financial Strategist and VP, New York City Economic Development Corporation 2005-2007
“Pursuing a career in economic development: a New York City example”

12:00pm

Lunch: Bishop Center

1:45pm

AGES: Matthiew Burnside, President AGES
Introduction of officers
A word about AGES

2:00pm

Session 3: Graduate Research
Moderator: Rasha Ahmed(PhD, UConn), Assistant Professor, Trinity College, Hartford
Lei Chen (ABD, UConn)
“A study of the production technology of the US dental care industry”
Paramita Dhar (ABD, UConn)
“School quality and property values”
Patrick Flaherty (ABD, UConn), Economist, Office of Research and Information, Connecticut Department of Labor
“Tracking the recession in Connecticut: a view from the Department of Labor”
Monika Lopez-Anuarbe (PhD, UConn), Visiting Instructor, Connecticut College, New London CT
“Intergenerational transfers in the long term care market”
Michael Stone (ABD, UConn)
“Three essays on the economics of tort law”

Special thanks to Andreas Karapatakis (PhD, 1992) for his generous support of the Department of Economics 2010 Graduate Reunion and Forum and Annual Awards Banquet.

Parking: If you are traveling to campus by car, parking permits for the lot adjacent to the Bishop Center (just south) will be available at the continental breakfast. Just park, come inside to the lower level and pick up a permit to place in your car. You should be able to park in the lot the entire day if the permit is displayed in the vehicle

PS: Some pictures of the event are available.