University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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program in Environmental and Resource Economics University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
The program for Environmental and Resource Economics (pERE) was established in 1992 with leadership from Prof. John Braden and Charles Kolstad, and with faculty involvement from six departments. In 1995 the pERE scholar program was introduced. The program has since been expanded with a grant from the Environmental Council and matching grants from participating departments of the University of Illinois.
pERE offers courses, seminars and an opportunity to conduct research under the guidance of some of the nation's leading scholars in environmental and resource economics. Its faculty serve on major government advisory bodies, editorial boards, and have been visiting scholars at universities around the globe. Their expertise ranges from environmental law and regulatory policy to advanced methods for the analysis of ecological-economic problems.
Courses offered through the program in environmental and resource economics cover modern economic theory and its application to problems in environmental regulation, environmental quality, and natural resource management. A weekly pERE graduate seminar brings speakers from academia, industry, and government to campus. pERE is one of several environmental programs supported by the Environmental Council at the University of Illinois.
The program is not an official degree-granting or fund-receiving unit. It operates as a voluntary association of faculty and departments. The working of the program is overseen by a faculty steering committee. The program is headed by a coordinator. Amy Ando is serving as pERE Coordinator for 2006-07
The program in Environmental and Resource Economics seeks to enhance the quality of environmental education at the University of Illinois. It offers courses covering modern economic theory and its application to problems in environmental regulation, environmental quality, and natural resource management. These courses draw students from several departments.
While most of the activity is at the graduate level, the program also has significant undergraduate presence. Its 200-level course, Environmental Economics, is cross-listed in several departments and attracts students from across the campus. Similarly, Natural Resource Economics, a 300-level course, is popular.
pERE has a distinguished faculty known for high-quality research. They have wide ranging research interests, many of which are pursued through interdisciplinary collaborations. The following topics illustrate this breadth: watershed protection, river management, environmentally-attuned farming methods, adoption of pollution prevention technologies in industry and agriculture, forest policy, species and habitat conservation, mobile-source air-pollution policy, natural-resource damage assessment, evaluation of voluntary pollution reduction programs, and federalism in environmental policies. The faculty serve on major government advisory bodies, editorial boards, and have been visiting scholars at universities around the globe. Their expertise ranges from environmental law and regulatory policy to advanced methods for the analysis of ecological-economic problems.
The program provides an excellent forum for research project development. pERE faculty have been quite successful in attracting sponsored research. Most of their research is interdisciplinary in nature. Though these projects are administered through the home departments of faculty, this success is translated directly into a capacity to support and develop graduate students. Participating faculty have collaborative research awards from the National Science Foundation, Ford Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Council for Food and Agricultural Research, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Department of Energy. pERE also brings out a working paper series, which consists of recently completed research of participating faculty and students.
pERE encourages applied research that is directly relevant for the industry, the government, and the public at large. The program and its participants have strong ties with the government agencies like the USEPA, the Illinois EPA, the U.S. Department. of Energy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Illinois Department of Agriculture and Illinois Department of Natural Resources, as well as with the National Science Foundation and environmental groups such as The Nature Conservatory. pERE faculty often participate in public forums on environmental issues. pERE seminars also invite speakers from industry and the government. Recent examples of community and statewide initiatives include:
These activities have drawn favorable public attention to the program, the Environmental Council, and the University of Illinois.
Environmental and resource economics is a rapidly growing field that offers opportunities as challenging and varied as your interests. Recent graduates, for examples, examined the trade effects of environmental regulations, the economic aspects of forest management in developing countries, low-level nuclear waste disposal, environmental valuation methods, environmental decision-making for military bases, strategies for global climate protection, and pollution allowance markets.
These graduates are now filling positions in academia, industry, consulting firms, government, and international and non-governmental organizations. Among their employers are University of Maryland, Ohio University, University of Idaho, Rensselear Polytechnical Institute,Carnegie-Mellon University, University of Guelph, University of Alberta, University of Central Florida,U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, Reed College, Grinnell College, Whitman College, Davidson College, Kwasei Gakuin University (Japan), Universitas Indonesia and the Hyundai Institute of Eco-Management (Korea) and Abt. Associates.
pERE holds a weekly workshop that provides a forum for interaction between students, faculty, and scholars from other institutions to present and discuss research. It also provides students with an opportunity to present research proposals and prepare for job seminars. The workshop averages 12-15 students and 3-4 faculty members representing 4-5 departments. pERE students and faculty also participate in the annual Environmental Horizons conference and present posters and organize sessions on their research.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a great research university. Its faculty includes members of many national and international scientific academies. Among its alumni are winners of Nobel Prizes and other international awards. The campus is home to 28,000 undergraduate and 10,000 graduate students pursuing the full range of scientific and professional studies. The library maintains the third largest university collection in the United States, following only Harvard and Yale. The Krannert Center for the Performing Arts offers an exceptional array of performing arts. Urbana-Champaign is a community of about 100,000, combining the best of rural and urban living. It is surrounded by some of the world's most productive agricultural land, yet it is within a three-hour drive from both Chicago and St. Louis.
