Lang Wong Memorial Endowment Scholarship

Jeff started his Ph.D. program in economics at SFU in 2020. Prior to this, he earned both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in economics at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan. Jeff worked at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, where he participated in projects focusing on economic collaboration between Taiwan, China, and other ASEAN countries. His research interests are in econometric theory, applied microeconomics, and family economics.

Matheus joined the MA program in the Department of Economics at Simon Fraser University in 2017 and started pursuing his PhD degree in the following year. His main research interests lie in the areas of Political Economy, Economic History and Development. Within these areas, his research combines theoretical methods with the study of historical episodes to analyze political institutions and the mechanisms by which they affect the welfare of different societies.

Uzair started the Ph.D. program in economics at SFU in 2020 after finishing his Master's degree in economics at Lahore University of Management Sciences. His research interests are in financial economics and consumption models, especially in issues about pricing alternative mortgages and analyzing homeowner’s welfare. Uzair has also passed all the levels for CFA and has published a paper in Journal of Real Estate Research.

Babak Sahragard joined the SFU Economics department as a PhD student in 2021, after completing a Masters degree at the University of Calgary. His primary fields of interest are Decision theory, Mechanism design and Political Economy. His main objective is to take advantage of the brilliant faculty members and enriching experience of the Department, to develop skills for an academic career after graduation. 

Shayan started his Ph.D. in Economics at Western University in 2019. He did his bachelor's in Industrial Engineering at Sharif University of Technology and his Master's in Economics at SFU. After passing the comprehensive exams and all the materials of the first year of the Ph.D. program, he transferred back to SFU continuing from the second year. His main research interests are empirical industrial organization, applied microeconomics, and applied econometrics.

Jonathan Puigvert is a third-year PhD student in Economics at Simon Fraser University and joined the program in August of 2019. He completed his B.A. in Economics at the Centro de Investigacion y Docencia Economica (CIDE) in Mexico, and his Master’s in Economics from the University of British Columbia (UBC). Jonathan worked at the Bank of Mexico and the Central Bank of Mexico, in which he was involved in research projects including competition in the payment sector, the study of labor participation in Mexico, and the effects of hurricanes in economic activity. Jonathan’s current research focuses on the application of machine learning methods in financial economics and time series. 

Kiarash started his Ph.D. in economics at SFU in 2020, after completing his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and his master’s degree in economics. Kiarash’s research focus is on applied econometrics, political economy, and labor economics.

Zhen started the Ph.D. program in economics at SFU in 2018 after finishing her Master's degree in economic development at Vanderbilt University. Her research interests are in education and labor economics, especially in issues about discrimination and inequality. Zhen also enjoys traveling and would love to explore local attractions and restaurants with friends. 

Liang Diao is a PhD student in Economics at SFU. After obtaining his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Waterloo, he joined SFU to pursue further study and research in Law and Economics. Liang has a general interest in the rationales and the effects of institutions. He is currently studying Israel kibbutz as defensive institution under external threats.

Minoru moved to Vancouver together with his wife and son to start the Ph.D. in Economics at Simon Fraser University (SFU). He got his B.A. in Economics from Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru (PUCP), and his Master's in Economics from University of California, Santa Barbara (USA) and Tilburg University (Netherlands). He has been a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Labour Organization (ILO). Recently, he teamed up with his wife and won the 2019-2020 SFU Student-Community Engagement Competition to implement social impact projects in Vancouver. Currently, he is conducting research in the field of Environmental Economics. 

Born and raised in Sai Gon, Vietnam, Hung Truong is a second-year PhD student in economics at SFU. After completing his Bachelor's degree in Economics at Singapore (SIM) and California (UCSD), he joined SFU in 2018 to pursue graduate training in Economics. Hung enjoys exploring outcome of collective behavior of individuals in both computational and experimental environments. His research interests include monetary policy, behavioral economics and evolution of choice. Hung likes to share and exchange economic understanding with his students. Aside from all this, Hung is a novice hiker and tennis player.

Following a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering and a Master of Arts degree in economics from Bogazici University, Anil Donmez is currently a 3rd year PhD student in Economics at SFU. His research focuses on financial economics, behavioral finance, and learning & adaptation.

Stan Hetalo is a PhD student in Economics at SFU. He has completed his Bachelor’s degree in System Analysis back in his home country – Ukraine, Master’s degree in Economics at University of New Brunswick, and joined SFU in 2018. Stan’s research interests primarily lie in the fields of Environmental and Financial Economics. He is looking forward towards sustainable future and actively seeks for potential improvements in the given area.

Zhifeng is a second-year Phd student in economics at SFU. After finishing his master study in economics and finance at CEMFI, Madrid, he joined the Econ program at SFU in pursuit of studying and doing research in development and political economics. One of his research interest is to study the evolution of social norms brought by the emergence of new economy, new social media and migration. 

Marieh Azizirad is a PhD candidate in economics at SFU who joined the program in Fall 2017. Marieh was born and raised in Iran where she completed her bachelor's and master's degrees in economics. Her research interests are macroeconomics with a focus on monetary economics. She is currently a sessional instructor at SFU. She enjoys both research and teaching, and is planning to stay in academia after completing her PhD.