Emerging Scholars Award for Excellence in
Research and Public Policy

The UC Center Sacramento announces its seventh annual Emerging Scholars Award for Excellence in Research and Public Policy. The award will recognize excellence in graduate student research with a direct impact on public policy. The recipients of the Emerging Scholars Award will receive a $750 prize and will deliver an invited policy lecture at the UC Center.

The deadline to apply is June 16, 2022.

Application can be found here.

2021- Emerging Scholars Award Winners

Melissa R. Cronin (UC Santa Cruz) is a PhD candidate in the Conservation Action Lab. She examines policies related to shark and ray bycatch (unintentional capture across five Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (tRFMOs).  The goal of her work is to understand the extent and regulatory strength of bycatch policy, and to identify policy gaps and opportunities in tRFMOs for shark and ray conservation. Her results indicate that there are 45 active policies that address shark and ray bycatch, and that the vast majority of them (80%) are unlikely to avoid or minimize the likelihood of shark and ray capture.

Zoe Guttman (UCLA) received her PhD in Neuroscience and is currently a Science & Technology Policy Fellow with the California Council on Science & Technology. She argues that green spaces are associated with enhanced physiological and mental well-being of residents; a reduction in crime, aggression, and violence; improve social cohesion, mental acuity, and resilience in children and adolescents; and shade, cooling, and eliminate pollutants from the air. She urges municipal governments to consider the evidence in favor of green spaces and direct funding to enhancing green spaces in desolate and low-income neighborhoods.

 

Samuel Trachtman (UC Berkeley) is currently a postdoctoral fellow for the American Political Economy Project. His work explores the diffusion of rooftop solar policies across states. He shows how solar installer firms from states with solar-friendly policies can leverage their success to influence policy in other states. 

Past Winners and Honorable Mentions 

Winner (2020) 

Kristin Dobbin, University of California, Davis-Department of Ecology

Honorable Mentions (2020)

Magiana Petersen-Rockney, University of California, Berkeley- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management 

Matt Unrath, University of California, Berkeley-Goldman School of Public Policy 

Maysen Yen, University of California,Irvine-Department of Economics 

Winner (2019) 

Zachary Bleemer, University of California, Berkeley-Department of Economics 

Winners (2018)

Brittany Bass, University of California, Irvine - Department of Economics

Jacob Kirksey, University of California, Santa Barbara - Department of Education 

Honorable Mentions (2018)

Adam Fine, University of California, Irvine  - Department of Psychology and Social Behavior

Tessa Provins, University of California, Merced - Department of Political Science 

Zachary Bleemer, University of California, Berkeley  - Department of Economics

Matt Barno, University of California, Irvine - Department of Criminology, Law, and Society 

Winners (2017)

Dallas Augustine, University of California, Irvine - Department of Criminology, Law, and Society

Jay Plasman, University of California, Santa Barbara - Department of Education

Honorable Mentions (2017)

Michel Grosz, University of California - Davis - Department of Economics

Rylan Simpson, University of California, Irvine - Department of Criminology, Law, & Society

Winners (2016)

Rebecca Taylor, University of California, Berkeley - Agricultural & Resource Economics

Anne Brown, University of California, Los Angeles - Department of Urban Planning

Honorable Mentions (2016)

Matt Lesenyie, University of California, Davis - Department of Political Science

Raul Tadle, University of California, Santa Cruz - Department of Economics

Natalie Pifer, University of California, Irvine – Department of Criminology, Law and Society

Winners (2015)

Ann Hollingshead, University of California, Berkeley - Goldman School of Public Policy

Cameron Sublett, University of California, Santa Barbara - Gevirtz Graduate School of Education