Undergraduate Awards 2020
Congratulations to our 2020 Award Winners
Dr. Hugo Mialon
Director of Economics Undergraduate Program
The W. Tate Whitman Prize in Economics
This award was named in honor of Tate Whitman, the first chair of the Economics Department from 1968 to 1978. The award is for the ability to present clear, cogent analysis of complex issues, extraordinary personal integrity, and wise leadership in the classroom and department.
2020 Recipient is Max Krauskopf
Max's honors thesis presents a novel model of criminal justice systems that use trial by ordeal. The predictions of the model are used to evaluation the transitions from trials by ordeal in medieval Europe and modern-day Liberia. In the words of his thesis adviser, Professor Blake Allison, “Max put a tremendous effort into his thesis, which really pushed beyond the boundaries of his own education at Emory. I was constantly impressed by his eagerness to learn not only game theoretic techniques, but also the process of constructing a workable theoretical model.”
The Jack and Lewis Greenhut Prize
This award was originally the Lewis Greenhut Prize, and was established in memory of Lewis Greenhut by his brother, Jack. When Jack passed away in 1986, his name was added to the prize to honor his spirit of compassion and dedication to education. The prize is awarded to a graduating senior who has demonstrated the highest degree of excellence in classwork, research, and scholarly activities.
2020 Recipient is Andrew Teodorescu
Andrew's honors thesis applies sophisticated panel-regression techniques to examine the effects confining mutual fund holdings to a single fund family. He shows that doing so is not as bad for investor welfare as the previous literature has suggested. In the words of his adviser, Professor John Kim, “Andrew has been extraordinarily ambitious and independent in his honors research.”
The George Benston and Richard Muth Prize for Excellence in Economics
This award was originally funded by George Benston and called the Richard Muth Award for Excellence in Economics. Prof. Muth is the father of urban economics and his contributions to the discipline are still studied and celebrated today. With the unexpected passing of George Benston in 2008, and with permission of his wife, Alice, the award was changed to the George Benston and Richard Muth Prize for Excellence in Economics. The award celebrates the spirit of both Profs. Benston and Muth, whose strong commitment to research and reputation for excellence helped facilitate Emory's change to becoming the world class research institution it is today. In their honor, we give this award to the student who demonstrates exemplary intellectual curiosity, passion, and skill in economic analysis.
2020 Recipient is Miaomiao Zhang
Miaomiao's honors thesis, which showcases her deep understanding of modern econometric and machine-learning techniques, examines the heterogeneous causal effects of social welfare programs. In the words of her adviser, Professor Stephen O'Connell, “Miaomiao stands out for her passion for delving into economic and statistical theory, and her skilled application of these principles to real-world problems. It was a pleasure to have been her adviser — I feel that I truly learned a great deal from her throughout the process!”
Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Assistant
This award recognizes undergraduate students who have served as exceptional teaching assistants in our Economics classes.
2020 Recipient is Hannan Sylla
Hannan has been an extraordinary TA for Professor Shomu Banerjee's Econ 201 class. In Professor Banerjee's words, "Hannan Sylla went beyond the call of duty to hold office hours on weekends and help students at all kinds of hours, in addition to coming to my class once every week to grade my in-class quizzes for a full two hours."
