Rice Economics Fall 2021 Newsletter | Page 7

Note from Hülya Eraslan , Director of Graduate ( PhD ) Studies
Note from Peter Hartley , Co-Director of the MEECON Program
Meet Marcie Carlson , New Coordinator of our PhD Program

Grad Student Highlights from Our Ph . D . and MEECON Programs

Note from Hülya Eraslan , Director of Graduate ( PhD ) Studies
We strongly encourage our students to present their research at conferences and other forums and are delighted to report that there has been a flurry of activity over recent months . Recent student presentations include :
Kirill Evdokimov : Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory ( June 15 ).
Qinyou Hu : Population Association of America Annual Meeting ( May 5 ); Society of Labor Economics Annual Meeting ( May 14 ); Young Economist Symposium ( August 17 ).
Kelly Neill : Australian Conference of Economists ( July 12 ).
Andrea Salvati : Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics ( June 11 ); European Society of Population Economics ( June 18 ); European Economic Association and Econometric Society European Meeting ( August 23 ); Labor Econometrics Workshop at Monash University ( August 26 ); European Association of Labor Economists ( September 16 ).
Fisher Yu : 7th International Young Finance Scholars ’ Conference ( July 13 ); International Finance and Banking Society Oxford Conference ( September 15 ).
Note from Peter Hartley , Co-Director of the MEECON Program
We are delighted to have our classes back in face-to-face format this year ! In contrast to last year , we have a more normal-sized class and the students are all very enthusiastic , asking good questions and making good comments in lectures . Please keep up the good work .
We understand that you are all extremely busy with your coursework right now , but we also urge you to think about internships and jobs . The end of the academic year will arrive sooner than you appreciate . As part of getting ready to interview , please also take seriously the task of getting your portrait taken for our web site .
Speaking of internships and jobs , I also want to take this opportunity to thank Rivka Ettinger , who has done such a good job helping the MEECON students with resumes , interviews and finding employment . We are disappointed that she is leaving Rice , but are hopeful the Social Science Dean ’ s office will find a suitable replacement reasonably quickly .
Finally , I just wanted to confirm that the Baker Institute has graciously agreed to allow MEECON students to use the Barbara and Gerald Hines Research Lab ( 310 and 310A ) as a study space .
Meet Marcie Carlson , New Coordinator of our PhD Program
We are pleased to welcome Marcie Carlson as the new program coordinator for our PhD program . Marcie comes to us from the Jones Graduate School of Business where she had been a faculty coordinator since 2012 and was the recipient of a Rice Mile award , which recognizes excellent performance by university staff . Prior to coming to Rice , she worked in admissions at Texas Woman ’ s University . Marcie has been working in the department since the beginning of the semester , and said , “ I am enjoying my new adventure in the Economics Department , learning a lot and gradually settling in .” Director of Graduate Studies Hülya Eraslan told RICE ECON , “ We are delighted that Marcie has joined our team and looking forward to her help as we continue to improve our program and provide an outstanding learning environment for our students .”
Marcie and her husband Curtis have been married for 21 years , and have two sons , Leif ( 28 years old ) and Ethan ( 11 years old ). She added , “ We also have two puppies , a 4-month old blue heeler and a 6-month old red heeler . My son Ethan and I have both studied the violin , and I am really proud he is interested in the same instrument I love .”
If you haven ’ t met Marcie yet , stop by her office ( KRF 406 ) and say hello !
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