The ECON LAB @ Roanoke College

Spring 2023 Mini-Conference

Our five spring researchers presented their semester explorations on May 1, 2023. It was standing room only as faculty, staff, and students listened to what answers the crew found to their research questions.

What questions did the researchers ask?

Raquel Dominguez (freshman) wanted to know about the supply and demand of meat substitutes and their impact on the soybean market.

Ethan Stevenson (junior) continued his study of Catan, this time measuring the role of luck in winning.

Nick Young (sophomore) tested his wrestling coaches’ strategy of getting the first takedown.

Lilly Blair (senior) explored the impact of women’s lacrosse moving to four quarters (from two halves) on the speed of play and points scored.

Peter Simani (sophomore) shared his literature review of student perceptions of group work.

Want to see their findings? Check out our slide deck. Pictures of the day are coming soon.

Spring 2023 Presentations Coming Soon…Until Then, Look What We Did Last Semester!

We are very close to the Spring 2023 Mini-Conference. We will share the agenda, photos, and slides as we get closer, but to get you excited, please look at the slides below from the Fall 2022 edition of the Mini-Conference or read the article that the College wrote about it.

Students share their semester research in 3-5 minutes. We call this a mini-conference, not because their ideas are mini – just their delivery. It is excellent practice for an interview, where no one has 10-20 minutes to hear about a research project!

Article on the Spring 2022 Mini-Conference

On April 29th, The ECON LAB @ RC hosted its first fully in-person Mini-Conference where the six researchers showcased their research in front of a full house. Roanoke College wrote a nice article on the event highlighting Katherine Vaughan’s work: https://www.roanoke.edu/about/news/econ_lab_spring_2022

You can see the full agenda for the Mini-Conference below.

Fall 2021 Mini-Conference

Watch the video of our student researchers presenting at our Fall 2021 Mini-Conference to get you ready for the Spring 2022 edition. Last semester seven students presented their research to a hybrid audience. Several Roanoke College faculty and staff listened to the presentations live in West Hall, while a large group of alumni and friends watched via Zoom. The students got several great questions from the live audience and the Zoom audience (through the chat feature.)

You can watch the presentations from the fall edition here.

You can read an excellent article on the conference and what the audience had to say here.

The Spring 2022 Mini-Conference will be in-person on April 29 in West Hall at Roanoke College. The visuals from each presentation will be posted here soon after that.

Comment submitted via Zoom chat from alumna Michelle Austen.

Roanoke College pens piece on RC ECON LAB

Roanoke College penned an article about The ECON LAB and shared it on the College webpage. Check out what we are all about! https://www.roanoke.edu/about/news/econ_lab_student_research

Students and faculty from The ECON LAB present at a national conference

Student researchers Theo Bookheimer and Eric Lee along with Professors Alice Kassens and Michael Enz shared their experiences, challenges, and adaptations made during the move from in person to online courses over the pandemic as a panel at the 32nd Annual Teaching Economics Conference hosted by Robert Morris University. Watch and hear what they shared. The format was a prepared Q and A between the faculty and students so each perspective is explored.

You can watch it here:

Researcher: Jake Beardsley

Jake Beardsley is an Economics and Math double major from Bakersfield, CA. He is researching access to and use of telemedicine during the pandemic.

Researcher: Quinn Keatley

Quinn Keatley of Richmond, VA is an Actuarial Science and Spanish double major at Roanoke College. She is exploring the relationship between small businesses and insurance. In particular, she is interested in protections small businesses have against disaster, including the COVID pandemic.

Researcher: Theo Bookheimer

Theo is a senior economics major and math minor from Lexington, SC. He is researching the environmental impact of COVID-19, including the change in air pollution levels. Did air quality improve as fewer people drove to work? That is one of the questions Theo is investigating.

Watch the Fall 2020 Mini-Conference

Want to watch the ~5:00 (each) presentations from each of The ECON LAB @ RC student researchers? They presented their work virtually today, but we recorded the event, so you can watch too. So, grab a coffee and watch their excellent work.