C.-Y. Cynthia Lin Lawell's Students

I find working with students on research projects to be one of the most rewarding parts of my job, and I work hard to be a good advisor and mentor. With each of my students, I strive hard to advise, mentor, guide, and teach them so that they are challenged to do research to the best of their ability, and so that the research they conduct with me results in as high quality a publication as possible.

Some of my students and former students are affiliated with Cornell University Dynamics, Economics, Econometrics, Policy, and Games: Rigorous Environmental, Energy, Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Development Analysis and Research (DEEP-GREEN-RADAR).

Some of my students and former students are affiliated with Cornell University Think-tank for Resources, Energy, and the Environment: Science and Policy-related Economic Analysis and Research (TREESPEAR).


I am currently working with the following talented, conscientious, and motivated students and post docs, who enjoy tackling challenges and using economics to understand and make a positive difference in the world.



Current students

Dingyi Li
Ph.D. candidate, Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University
M.S., Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, 2019
email: dl922 at cornell dot edu
curriculum vitae: Dingyi Li's CV

Michael Meneses
Ph.D. candidate, Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University
Cornell Dyson Graduate Student -- Outstanding Engaged Research Award, 2022
Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, 2022
Cornell Dyson Graduate Student -- Research Excellence Award, 2024
email: mam789 at cornell dot edu
curriculum vitae: Michael Meneses' CV
web page: Michael Meneses' web page

Tong Wu
Ph.D. candidate, Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University
Cornell Dyson Graduate Teaching Assistant -- Outstanding Service Award, 2021
Cornell Dyson Graduate Student -- Research Excellence Award, 2023
Western Forest Economists (WFE) Forest Business Economics Award, 2023
Cornell Dyson Graduate Student -- Outstanding Engaged Research Award, 2024
Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, 2024
Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Land, Water and Environmental Economics Section (ENV) Poster Presentation Award, 2024
M.S., Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, 2019
email: tw494 at cornell dot edu
curriculum vitae: Tong Wu's CV
web page: Tong Wu's web page



Former graduate students

Michael K. Adjemian
Ph.D., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2009
Research Economist, USDA Economic Research Service, 2009-2015
Senior Research Economist, USDA Economic Research Service, 2015-2019
Senior Economist, Council of Economic Advisers, Executive Office of the President, 2017-2018
Consultant, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Washington, D.C.
Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Georgia

Justin Beaudoin
Ph.D., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2015
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Colgate University, 2015-2016
Assistant Professor, School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, University of Washington at Tacoma, 2016-2019
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Acadia University
web page: Professor Justin Beaudoin's web page

Ernst Bertone Oehninger
Ph.D., Ecology, University of California at Davis, 2020
Lecturer, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis

Christine L. Carroll
Ph.D., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2015
Postdoctoral scholar, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2015-2016
Assistant Professor, College of Agriculture, California State University at Chico
web page: Professor Christine Carroll's web page

Michael Castelhano
Ph.D., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2014
Market Monitoring Analyst, California ISO

Yuan Chen
Ph.D., Transportation Technology and Policy, University of California at Davis, 2018
Best Paper Award, Transportation Research Forum, 2017
Visiting Fellow, Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, 2017-2019
Assistant Professor, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics
web page: Professor Yuan Chen's web page

Jonathan A. Cook
Ph.D., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2013
Consultant, Freeman Sullivan & Company, 2013-2014
Managing Consultant, Nexant, 2014-2016
Economist, Office of Energy Policy and Innovation, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 2016-2019
Senior Analyst, Salt River Project, 2019-2021
Principal Analyst, Salt River Project
web page: Dr. Jon Cook's web page

Joeri de Wit
Ph.D., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2013
Energy Economist, World Bank

Barbara Farinelli
M.S., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2008
Energy consultant, World Bank

Abbas Ghandi
Ph.D., Transportation Technology and Policy, University of California at Davis, 2013
Postdoctoral scholar, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California at Davis, 2013-2015
Postdoctoral Researcher, Center for Next Generation Photovoltaics, University of Texas at Austin, 2015-2016
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Energy Initiative, Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, MIT
Associate Director, Energy and Mobility Future, IHS Markit
web page: Dr. Abbas Ghandi's web page

David R. Heres del Valle
Ph.D., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2009
Postdoctoral Researcher, Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), Spain, 2010-2011
Postdoctoral scholar, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California at Davis, 2012
Assistant Professor, Division of Economics, Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE), Mexico, 2012-2019
Associate Professor, Division of Economics, Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE), Mexico
web page: Professor David Heres' web page

Sunny L. Jardine
Ph.D., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2013
Honorable Mention, North American Association of Fisheries Economists Best Student Paper Competition, 2013
Assistant Professor, School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, 2013-2016
Assistant Professor, School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, University of Washington, 2016-2021
Associate Professor, School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, University of Washington

Khaled H. Kheiravar
Ph.D., Economics, University of California at Davis, 2019
Economist and Air Pollution Specialist, Market Monitoring Section, California Air Resources Board
web page: Dr. Khaled Kheiravar's web page

Gabriel E. Lade
Ph.D., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2015
Chevron Fellowship, 2013-2014
1st Place Paper and Presentation, International Academic Conference for Graduate Students, Nanjing, 2014
National Center for Sustainable Transportation (NCST) Outstanding Graduate Student of the Year, 2015
Honorable Mention, UC-Davis Agricultural and Resource Economics Best Ph.D. Dissertation, 2015
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Iowa State University, 2015-2019
Visiting Assistant Professor, Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Macalester College, 2019-2023
Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Macalester College
web page: Professor Gabe Lade's web page

Wayne Leighty
M.S., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2008
M.S., Transportation Technology and Policy, University of California at Davis, 2008
UC-Davis Institute of Transportation Studies Outstanding Master's Thesis of the Year, 2008
M.B.A., University of California at Davis, 2010
Ph.D., Transportation Technology and Policy, University of California at Davis, 2010
Commercial Regulatory Analyst, Shell Oil Company, 2010-2012
Adjunct Faculty Member, University of Alaska at Anchorage, 2012
Business Planner, Shell Oil Company, 2012-2014
Manager, M&A and Commercial Finance, Shell Oil Company, 2014-2016
Hydrogen Business Development Manager, North America, Shell Oil Company, 2016-2020
Hydrogen Commercial Manager, North America, Shell Oil Company

Xiaochen Ma
Ph.D., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2015
Assistant Professor, China Center for Health Development Studies, Peking University

Ana McPhail
Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, 2014
Socially Responsible Investment Planning Assistant, Communitas Financial

Geoffrey M. Morrison
M.S., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2011
UC-Davis Institute of Transportation Studies Outstanding Master's Thesis of the Year, 2011
Ph.D., Transportation Technology and Policy, University of California at Davis, 2013
UC-Davis Institute of Transportation Studies Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation of the Year, 2013
Adjunct Professor, Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University, 2013
ORISE Fellow, Office of Fuel Cell Technologies, Department of Energy, 2014-2015
Senior Associate, The Cadmus Group, 2015-2021
Principal, The Cadmus Group
web page: Dr. Geoff Morrison's web page

Lisa Pfeiffer
Ph.D., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2009
Economist, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Northwest Fisheries Science Center

Lea Prince
Ph.D., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2014
Research Analyst, Health Policy Institute, School of Medicine, Stanford University

Rubén Irvin Rojas Valdés
Visiting Fellow, Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, 2017-2018
Ph.D., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2018
Assistant Professor, Division of Economics, Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE), Mexico
web page: Professor Irvin Rojas' web page

Olena Sambucci
Ph.D., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2015
Postdoctoral scholar, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2015-2019
Economist, ERA Economics, 2018-2019
Postdoctoral Researcher, Agricultural Issues Center, University of California at Davis

Louis Sears
Ph.D., Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, 2023
Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Chester O. McCorkle, Jr. Student Scholarship, 2019
George F. Warren Award for Outstanding Paper, Second Place, 2020
Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association (NAREA) Best Student Paper Award, 2020
Cornell Dyson Graduate Student -- Research Excellence Award, 2022
Universities Council on Water Resources (UCOWR) Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation Award in Water Policy and SocioEconomics, 2024
Economist, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, U.S. Department of Transportation
curriculum vitae: Dr. Louis Sears' CV
web page: Dr. Louis Sears' web page

Brian Shin
M.S., Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, 2018
Ph.D. candidate, Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University

Shuyang Si
M.S., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2015
Ph.D., Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, 2021
Cornell Dyson Graduate Student -- Research Excellence Award, 2020
George F. Warren Award for Outstanding Paper, Second Place, 2021
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
curriculum vitae: Professor Shuyang Si's CV
web page: Professor Shuyang Si's web page

Karen E. Thome
Ph.D., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2012
Postdoctoral scholar, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2012-2014
Economist, USDA Economic Research Service, 2014-2019
International Trade Specialist, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, 2019-2021
International Economist, U.S. International Trade Commission

Steven Wilcox
Ph.D., Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, 2022
Cornell Dyson Graduate Student -- Outstanding Engaged Research Award, 2020
Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Economics, Utah State University
web page: Professor Steven Wilcox's web page

D. Adeline Yeh
Ph.D., Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, 2021
George F. Warren Award for Outstanding Paper, Third Place, 2020
Dyson Best Ph.D. Dissertation Award, 2022
Research Agricultural Economist, USDA Economic Research Service
web page: Dr. Adeline Yeh's web page

Fujin Yi
Ph.D., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2011
Honorable Mention, UC-Davis Agricultural and Resource Economics Best Ph.D. Dissertation, 2011
Postdoctoral scholar, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2012
Associate Professor, College of Economics and Management, Nanjing Agricultural University

Shuo Yu
M.S., Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, 2019
Ph.D. candidate, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Berkeley

Saleh Zakerinia
M.S., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2018
Visiting Fellow, Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, 2017-2018
Ph.D. candidate, Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University

Jieyin (Jean) Zeng
M.S., Transportation Technology and Policy, University of California at Davis, 2014
Ph.D. candidate, Accounting, Berkeley Haas School of Business

Wei Zhang
Ph.D., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2013
Postdoctoral scholar, University of California Agricultural Issues Center, 2013-2014
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Connecticut College, 2014-2019
Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech
web page: Professor Wei Zhang's web page



Former visiting scholars, visiting students, research assistants, and other students

Majid Aghaei
Visiting Ph.D. student, University of California at Davis, 2012-2013

Neda Akhondan
Graduate Student Researcher, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2010

Alexander (Sandy) Allan
Graduate Student Researcher, Transportation Technology and Policy, University of California at Davis, 2009

Neha Bazaj
Undergraduate Research Assistant, University of California at Davis, 2010

Luis Becerra Valbuena
Graduate Student Researcher, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2013-2015

Joel Bremson
Ph.D., Transportation Technology and Policy, University of California at Davis, 2012

Ellen Bruno
Graduate Student Researcher, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2015-2016

Santiago Bucaram
Graduate Student Researcher, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2009-2012

Paul Burow
Undergraduate Research Assistant, University of California at Davis, 2007

Isabel Call
Graduate Student Researcher, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2013-2015

Muye Chen
Graduate Research Assistant, Economics, Cornell University, 2018-2019

Yanyu (Channey) Chen
Graduate Student Researcher, Transportation Technology and Policy, University of California at Davis, 2011

Loni Coelho
Undergraduate Research Assistant, University of California at Davis, 2011
UC-Davis Outstanding Senior Award in Managerial Economics, 2012

David Corderi
Graduate Student Researcher, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2007-2010

Huijing Deng
Graduate Student Researcher, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2012

Adedamola Fashokun
Undergraduate Research Assistant, University of California at Davis, 2012-2013

Mounir Fellahi
Graduate Student Researcher, Transportation Technology and Policy, University of California at Davis, 2014-2015

Mateusz Filipski
Ph.D., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2011

David Fletes
Undergraduate Research Assistant, University of California at Davis, 2010-2011

Robert Gormley
Undergraduate Research Assistant, University of California at Davis, 2010

Nisal Herath
B.A., Economics, University of California at Davis, 2012
UC-Davis Outstanding Senior Award in Economics, 2012

Jacob Humber
Graduate Student Researcher, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2013-2016

Xiaowen Jiang
Undergraduate Research Assistant, University of California at Davis, 2011-2012

Christopher Johnson
Undergraduate Research Assistant, University of California at Davis, 2009

Vincent H. Kerestes
Undergraduate Research Assistant, Cornell University, 2018-2019

Ida (Yunbai) Li
Undergraduate Research Assistant, University of California at Davis, 2010-2011

Yuanzhe (Roger) Li
Graduate Student Researcher, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California at Davis, 2014-2018

David Lim
B.S., Environmental Science and Management, University of California at Davis, 2017
Undergraduate Research Assistant, University of California at Davis, 2016-2017
M.P.S., Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, 2022

Qingchun Liu
Visiting Scholar, University of California at Davis, 2013

Mingjie (Gloria) Lyu
Visiting Ph.D. student, University of California at Davis, 2011-2013

Shan Lu
Undergraduate Research Assistant, University of California at Davis, 2012

Haoying Meng
Undergraduate Research Assistant, University of California at Davis, 2007-2008

Tsz Yan Ngai
Undergraduate Research Assistant, University of California at Davis, 2007-2008

Derek Nixon
Graduate Student Researcher, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2013-2015

Rebecca Osakwe
M.S., Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2012

Valeria Oscherov
Undergraduate Research Assistant, University of California at Davis, 2007-2008

Michael Pocress
Undergraduate Research Assistant, Cornell University, 2018

Mahdieh Rezagholizadeh
Visiting Ph.D. student, University of California at Davis, 2012-2013

Andrew Ross
Atkinson-EDF Post-Doctoral Fellow, Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future at Cornell University and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), 2020-2022

Omid Rouhani
Graduate Student Researcher, Transportation Engineering, University of California at Davis, 2007-2008

David Stowitts
Undergraduate Research Assistant, University of California at Davis, 2010

Michelle Stutey
Graduate Student Researcher, Mathematics, University of California at Davis, 2007-2008

Yongling Sun
Graduate Student Researcher, Transportation Technology and Policy, University of California at Davis, 2009-2010

Weiliang Tan
Graduate Research Assistant, Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, 2019-2020

Asare Twum-Barima
Graduate Student Researcher, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2012-2016

Lei Wang
Visiting Ph.D. student, University of California at Davis, 2013

Xin Wang
Visiting Ph.D. student, University of California at Davis, 2012-2013

Yue (Moonie) Wang
Undergraduate Research Assistant, University of California at Davis, 2010

Xiurou Wu
Graduate Student Researcher, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Davis, 2016-2017
Visiting Fellow, Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, 2017-2018

Mingzhi Xu
Ph.D., Economics, University of California at Davis, 2018

Boon-Ling Yeo
Ph.D., Ecology, University of California at Davis, 2013

Jessica Yeo
Undergraduate Research Assistant, University of California at Davis, 2013-2015

Thomas Zalc
Undergraduate Research Assistant, University of California at Davis, 2011

Jiangshan Zhang
Visiting Ph.D. student, University of California at Davis, 2011-2012

Yizhen (Emmy) Zhang
Graduate Student Researcher, Transportation Technology and Policy, University of California at Davis, 2012-2014

Disheng Zheng
Undergraduate Research Assistant, University of California at Davis, 2011-2012

Yan Hong Zhu
Undergraduate Research Assistant, University of California at Davis, 2007-2008