RISE Event : Conversations with Our Faculty
On Wednesday , March 23 at 4:00 p . m ., we held another installment of our RISE webinars entitled “ Conversations with Our Faculty .” The event featured two of our outstanding junior faculty members , Professors Yunmi Kong and YingHua He , who discussed their ongoing research projects .
Yunmi ’ s talk was entitled “ Auctions and Arbitration in the Public Sector .” It examined public sector economic activity that is mediated by what economists view as strategic “ games ,” such as auctions in procurement and arbitration in labor disputes . The designs of these games can profoundly impact government revenue and resource allocation . Yunmi discussed various design choices that have been made in applications ranging from mineral leasing in New Mexico to wage arbitration for police in New Jersey , and explained what the data can tell us about the merits of different designs .
YingHua ’ s talk examined “ Optimal Allocation without Money : School Seats , Donor Kidneys , and Beyond .” Traditional economics studies resource allocations where monetary prices adjust so that supply equals demand . However , in some cases , monetary prices cannot be used : Tuition and fees that can be charged at public schools and even public colleges and universities are highly regulated , and monetary payments for human organs are illegal . How can resources be allocated efficiently in such cases ? YingHua discussed ways to address this question , with applications from Houston , New York City , and Paris , as well as country-wide applications in France and Germany .
Yunmi Kong is an assistant professor who joined the economics department in 2016 after receiving her doctorate from New York University . Her research combines data analysis with economic theory to analyze auctions and other institutions through which buyers and sellers interact . She is the 2022 recipient of the Korea-America Economic Association Young Scholar Award and the 2018 recipient of Rice ’ s Malcolm Gillis Award for Distinction in Undergraduate Teaching in Economics .
YingHua He has been an assistant professor at Rice since 2016 . He uses a variety of analytical tools to study the allocation of resources when monetary prices are precluded . He has developed new scientific methods that facilitate the use of data in improving resource allocation policies . He has also developed novel algorithms for school choice and kidney exchange . Many of his results can be readily be applied in practice .
RISE Event : Conversations with Our Alumni
We have created a new speaker series targeted at undergraduates interested in joining the workforce after graduation . We ’ re calling this seminar series “ RISE : Conversations with Our Alumni ” ( to complement our popular RISE : Conversations with Our Faculty series that highlights Economics Department faculty research ). Every semester , we will have a fireside chat with a Rice alum who has gone on to a successful career in an Economics / Finance related field .
The first in the “ RISE : Conversations with Our Alumni ” series was held on a lovely spring afternoon on March 30 . A dozen or so ECON , MTEC and MEOS majors stopped by for a freewheeling conversation with Sten Gustafson (’ 89 ), who is a member of our RISE Council and the CEO of Pyrophyte Acquisition Corp . The event was chaired by RISE Council chairman Nick Zdeblick , who titled this edition of the event “ Charting a Career Path Without a Map .” Sten talked in response to questions asked by Nick and the audience about various choices he made in his career , his observations about hiring Rice and non-Rice undergrads ( he favored the former !), and his experience advising his own children . We ’ re looking forward to hosting the second in this series next fall !
About Sten : Mr . Sten Gustafson is a highly experienced energy service industry executive , investment banker , and corporate securities attorney , and is currently CEO of Pyrophyte Acquisition Corp . ( NYSE : PHYT ). With over 25 years of experience in the global energy sector , he has advised on over 100 corporate transactions around the world for over $ 100 billion of transaction value . He earned a B . A . from Rice in 1989 and a J . D . from the University of Houston in 1992 . Mr . Gustafson and his wife , alumna Sofia Adrogué (‘ 88 ), have three children including their daughter , Schuyler (’ 22 ), who currently attends Rice , and Stefan (’ 26 ), who will attend and play football for Rice .
And about Nick : Mr . Nicholas ( Nick ) Zdeblick has been the Chair of the RISE Council since 2020 when he took over from the founding Chair , Mr . Rob Ladd , who is currently the Chair of the Rice Board of Trustees . Nick is a Principal at Fayez Sarofim & Co . and a member of the Rice Investment Committee . He has been a community associate at Jones College since 2007 , is an Owls season ticket holder , and now lives with his wife Beth and their two young children just across the street from Rice .
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