Economics Ph.D. Students
Ph.D. students in the Department of Economics at The College of Business conduct research across economics, finance, marketing, and management, addressing both theoretical and applied questions in their fields.
Ke Lyu
Ke (Kerr) Lyu will be on the job market for the 2025–2026 academic year. Her research interests lie at the intersection of Entrepreneurship, Labor Economics, and Health Economics, with a focus on how public policies shape entrepreneurial outcomes. Prior to joining the University, Ke earned an MSc in Economics from the University of Edinburgh in the UK. More about her research and teaching can be found on Ke's website.
Urjaswi Mukherjee
Urjaswi Mukherjee's research field is Health Economics. Before coming to the University of Nevada, Reno, Urjaswi completed her M.S. in Economics and B.S. in Economics from the University of Calcutta.
Thomas Bridges-Lyman
Tom Bridges-Lyman received a B.S. in Mathematical and Computational Science from Stanford University prior to attending the University of Nevada, Reno. His research interests include wildfire, water, and power outages.
Qizhou (Robin) Luo
Qizhou (Robin) Luo holds an MSc in Economics, Finance, and Management from the University of Bristol and a BBA in Economics from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research focuses on development economics and behavioral economics. His work has been published in reputable journals, including the Australian Economic Review, Asian Development Review, Tourism and Hospitality, and Chinese Studies. Further details are available on Robin Luo's website.
Debopriti Bhattacharya
Debopriti Bhattacharya completed her undergraduate degree in Economics in India, followed by two master’s programs, prior to joining the University of Nevada, Reno. In her first master’s in Economics, she wrote a dissertation on the economics of education in India, and in her second master’s in Development Studies with a specialization in Economics, she focused on occupational and educational mobility in India. She also worked as a research assistant on several projects before beginning her doctoral studies. Her current research focuses on health and labor economics.
Kevin Norton
Kevin Norton received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Sonoma State University. His research interests are in applied microeconomics/microeconometrics with an emphasis on public economics and the economics of casinos/gambling.
Daniyal Butt
Kaiana Miller
Sriparna Bhattacharjee
Sriparna Bhattacharjee holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Calcutta, India. Before joining the University of Nevada, Reno, she worked as an academic associate at the Indian Institute of Management. Her research focuses on financial markets with an emphasis on behavioral finance and experimental economics, particularly understanding how individual decision-making and behavioral biases influence market behavior and policy-relevant outcomes. Her recent projects examine the long-run dynamics of equity capital gains across developed countries. At the University, she teaches Principles of Statistics II.
Mengfei Zhang
Mengfei Zhang holds a Master’s degree in Economics from Durham University and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Macau. Her research focuses on behavioral economics, particularly investor and consumer behavior, and she is currently working on a paper about China’s Targeted Poverty Alleviation (TPA) program.
Merinda Zywicz
Merinda is interested in a range of economic topics related to inequality and social wellbeing. She holds a BA in International Development from UC Berkeley, where she concentrated on rural development in Latin America. She is passionate about using rigorous research to inform policy and promote a more inclusive and prosperous world. Her current areas of focus are public economics and meta-analysis.
Minh Nguyen
Aastha Pudasainee
Aastha Pudasainee holds an M.S. in Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics from Michigan State University and an M.S. in Agricultural and Applied Economics from Virginia Tech. Her research interests include workforce development, clean energy, and regional economic transformation. She currently contributes to applied economic projects through the University Center for Economic Development and the Nevada Tech Hub initiative.
Adetomiwa Adesokan
Adetomiwa Adesokan earned an MSc in Economics from the University of Ibadan and a BSc in Economics from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. His research interests include Environmental Economics, Macroeconomics, Cybersecurity, and Artificial Intelligence, with recent publications exploring cybersecurity risks, financial sector resilience, and climate-economy dynamics. More about his work can be found on his personal website.
Greyson Hulet
Mohammadamin Atharirad
Mohammadamin Atharirad earned his Bachelor's in Economics and his Master's in Energy Economics from the University of Mazandaran, Iran. His research interests include energy economics, natural resource economics, and environmental economics.
Weinan Liu
Weinan Liu earned a BS in Statistics and Economics from Iowa State University in May 2022 and an MA in Economics from the University of Kansas in May 2024. His research interests include applied microeconomics, with a focus on labor and health, econometrics, and urban and regional research.
Kamrul Hassan
Kehinde Agbeni
Kehinde Agbeni previously served as a Research and Teaching Assistant at Lagos State University and taught at Zamfara College of Arts and Sciences, as well as several Nigerian high schools. He holds a B.Sc. in Economics Education and a Diploma in Business Accounting from CIMA, UK. His research focuses on development, health, and environmental economics, particularly the economic and health impacts of environmental pollution. More information can be found on his website.