EPIC Pre-Doctoral Fellow Sariya Stowers won a prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship—joining a tradition that includes Google co-founder Sergey Brin, NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins and 42 Nobel laureates. With the support of the fellowship, Stowers will pursue a Ph.D. in economics at the University of California San Diego.
Stowers is a member of the EPIC pre-doctoral fellowship program, which offers ambitious young researchers interested in Economics a bridge program between their undergraduate and graduate studies. In her two years as a fellow, Stowers has worked with EPIC Director Michael Greenstone researching the economics of electricity and the environment. One paper Stowers worked on evaluates the impacts of Renewable Portfolio Standards—policies which mandate that a portion of electricity come from renewable sources.
“It’s been an honor to work with Sariya for the last several years,” says Greenstone, the Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor in Economics. “She repeatedly makes important contributions and has the potential for a very bright future. I’m excited to see where she takes her research and her broader impacts on Economics and society as she moves forward in her career.”
Prior to being accepted into EPIC’s pre-doctoral fellowship program, Stowers participated in the first cohort of the Expanding Discovery in Economics+ Summer Institute at UChicago’s Becker Friedman Institute for Economics while attending Macalester College. The program allows undergraduates interested in economics to develop their research and technical skills. To Stowers, the program was instrumental in starting off her career, introducing her to the possibility of pre-doctoral research and the Ph.D. application process. “EDE+ showed me what was possible,” she said. “It was my main path into economics. I don’t know if I’d be doing the same thing without it.”
Stowers’ NSF proposal focused on the end of Chevron Deference and its effects on EPA regulations. The fellowship will allow her to focus on her research full-time, as well as provide access to a nationwide community of leading scholars.
Though Stowers looks forward to the sunny weather and breadth of research opportunities in San Diego, it’s bittersweet to leave her longtime UChicago family.
“Working with Michael Greenstone has challenged me to become a better researcher, and I think I’ve grown a lot while working in this role,” Stowers says. “Michael also really values what we have to say, and the EPIC and BFI community is super supportive. Between staff and other RPs, I’ve gotten to know some really amazing people here that I’m hoping to stay connected with even in the future. Everyone here is so brilliant. I’m happy if a little bit of that has rubbed off on me while I’ve been here.”
For more information on EPIC’s pre-doctoral fellowship program and how to apply, visit here.