Spring 2020
RICE ECON
News and Views from the Economics Department at Rice
Congratulations Class of 2020!
We would like to offer our heartiest
congratulations to all of our graduating
ECON and MTEC majors! I know that
with the coronavirus pandemic this has
been a rough semester in many ways, but
not only did you (and your instructors)
adapt and persevere, you came through
with flying colors. And I think that is a
harbinger of great things to come, as you
boldly go forth to forge your way to what I
know will be a long series of professional
and personal successes. So, best of luck to
the class of 2020 as you find a multitude of
ways of doing well by doing good. Live
long and prosper!
As part of our graduation events, we held
our fifth annual RISE Day Economics
awards celebration – and the first and
hopefully last virtual version – on
Wednesday May 13, 2020. I would like to
thank all who attended, especially families
and friends of the award winners. In this
issue of the RICE ECON newsletter, we
highlight our undergraduate and faculty
award winners.
We hope you have a safe and healthy
summer.
George Zodrow
Department Chair
Social Sciences
faculty offer their
congratulations to
the Class of 2020!
Congratulations to
the Class of 2020
from the RICE
ECON Faculty!
2020 RISE Day Award Winners
RISE or the Rice Initiative for the Study of Economics is an ongoing venture dedicated to enhancing teaching and research in Economics
at Rice, guided by the RISE Council, a group of nearly twenty supporters of Economics at Rice that is chaired by Houston businessman
Robert Ladd. On May 13 via a Zoom webinar, the Economics Department held its fifth annual RISE Day celebration during which we
honored outstanding students in our undergraduate, graduate, and Master in Energy Economics programs; two faculty awards were
presented as well. In this newsletter, we would like to recognize all of our undergraduate and faculty award winners. It is a pleasure to
acknowledge your outstanding accomplishments. Note that a few students won multiple awards – in those cases, we provide their photos
and bios after the last award received is mentioned.
Undergraduate Awards
Malcolm Gillis Award in Economics
The Malcolm Gillis Award in Economics is named after Rice’s former president, who was also a highly
respected member of the Economics department. It is presented to the graduating senior majoring in
Economics with the highest GPA in courses for the major. We have two recipients
of the 2020 award, whose GPAs were within 0.004 of each other: Su Chen The and
Erin Kilbride.
Su Chen Teh is a senior majoring in Economics and Environmental Engineering.
She is interested in how economics can inform public policy, and has enjoyed
learning new perspectives through her economics classes at Rice.
Su Chen Teh
Erin Kilbride studied Economics and Chemistry at Rice, and in her free time, she
enjoyed playing on the Rice Women’s Club Soccer and Club Basketball teams. After graduation, she will be
working as a consultant for the global strategy company Simon-Kucher and Partners.
Erin Kilbride
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