Five distinguished scholars join the Berkeley-Haas faculty this fall as assistant professors.
Collectively, these promising academics have published nearly three dozen research papers and are the recipients of numerous honors and awards.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Ganesh Iyer led the recruitment efforts to staff a wide range of academic groups while recognizing the need for solid classroom experience. "I congratulate Ganesh for his diligence and dedication to continue our tradition of research and teaching excellence," says Dean Rich Lyons.
Lucas Davis joins the Economic Analysis and Public Policy Group. He held an assistant professor post at the University of Michigan and spent the past year as a visiting assistant professor at MIT’s economics department. Davis received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin, where he wrote his thesis on applied microeconomics. His current work focuses on energy and environmental economics, and he will work with EAP’s Severin Borenstein and Catherine Wolfram on energy economics. "I am thrilled at the opportunity to work more closely with them and the entire Haas faculty," says Davis. "The depth and quality of the expertise in applied microeconomics and energy economics here is unsurpassed anywhere."
William Fuchs is the newest member of the Haas Finance Group. He served as a business analyst at Hermes Management Consulting in Argentina before earning his PhD from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2005. Prior to coming to Haas he was an assistant professor in economics at the University of Chicago. "My main interests are in problems related to coordination and/or asymmetric information. My approach to these problems draws heavily on game theory and dynamic contracts," Fuchs says, describing his work. However, he adds, "If I were not an economist, I would try to be a chef, a professional snowboarder, or a safari tour guide."
Ming Hsu returns to the West Coast; he received his PhD in social sciences at the California Institute of Technology. In 2006, he accepted a teaching position at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he was also an affiliated faculty member of the university’s Beckman Institute and Neuroscience Program. Hsu’s research focuses on behavioral economics, experimental economics, and neuroeconomics — the study of the brain in emotional responses and decision making. As a member of the Haas marketing group, Hsu will continue to conduct marketing research from a "neuroeconomics" perspective. "The goal of my research is to under¬stand the behav¬ioral and neural basis of eco¬nomic decisionmaking," says Hsu.
Atif Mian arrives at Haas to join the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics. Mian studies links between financial markets and the macro-economy. His recent work focuses on the underlying causes of the recent financial crisis in the US and seeks to understand the broader connection between asset prices, consumer credit, and the real economy. Mian earned his PhD in economics at MIT and became a faculty member at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business in 2001. He has spent the past four years as an associate professor of finance. He is currently the co-recipient of a three year National Science Foundation Research Award (2008-2011) for studying the relationship between asset prices, household borrowing, and consumption in the US.
Leif Nelson comes to the Haas Marketing Group with expertise in consumer judgment and decision making. His work examines how social and environmental factors influence consumption choice and consumption experience. Earlier this year, Nelson’s work appeared in several major media outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, CNN and ABC News. He and his co-authors found that advertisements can actually make it more enjoyable to watch TV. Nelson received his PhD in psychology from Princeton University before becoming an assistant professor of marketing at NYU’s Stern School of Business and most recently at the University of California, San Diego’s Rady School of Management. Of his personal interests, Nelson says, "I am a former radio DJ. I play guitar – poorly. I knit – worse."