Welcome New Faculty Member: Arman Kachiyan

We are excited to announce that?Arman Kachiyan - a Ph.D. candidate in the UC San Diego Economics program, will be joining the Economics Department at the University of San Francisco this Fall 2022 as a tenure-track Assistant Professor. His research focuses on the studies of the neighborhoods and employees most exposed to aggregate industrial transitions, such as climate adaptation and automation. We invite you to learn more about him and why he is excited to join USF through this interview.

Tell us a little about?your background: My family emigrated from Armenia when I was a baby. I grew up in East Bay (Livermore) and studied economics and public policy as an undergraduate at Berkeley. After a few years working as a research assistant and taking courses in Boston, I was ready to come back to California and join the Ph.D. program at UC San Diego. I'm currently?wrapping up my dissertation, in which I study the distributional consequences of environmental and labor economics shocks.

Why did you choose the University of San Francisco? This position at USF is very well aligned with my research and teaching interests, so that was an immediate attraction. Throughout the interview process, I had the pleasure of meeting many of the wonderful?faculty and students and felt that this is an environment I would enjoy and thrive in. And to top it off, the Bay Area is where my wife and I ideally wanted to settle down, so the choice was ultimately an easy one!?

What are you most excited about teaching and researching?at USF? Teaching has been a big focus of mine as a grad student and I'm thrilled to expand on this at USF. At the undergraduate level, I will focus on inspiring new students to consider the myriad societal issues that the economics?toolkit can help to study and address. I'll do this through introductory courses like microeconomics. At the graduate level, my teaching will emphasize the implementation of modern statistical and computational methods on policy topics such as energy transition, climate adaptation, and labor force displacement. This connects directly to my current research using daytime satellite imagery and machine learning to study the local distributional impacts of energy extraction. More broadly, I study inequities associated with long-run economic transitions, and develop new data sources to do so

What do you like to do in your free time? I'm always looking for opportunities to connect with people and spend more time outdoors. I do this through activities like tennis and biking, and also with simple things like taking a walk through a nice park or neighborhood. Food is another big outlet for me: I enjoy learning about different cultures by exploring local cafes and restaurants, and by trying to perfect new recipes at home!?

What advice do you have for current master's students studying economics at USF? I wouldn't say I necessarily have advice to offer, but maybe just an invitation. Stop by my office and say hi in the Fall! I'm eager to learn about your background and interests and to see if/how I can help guide your coursework, Master's project, and career path. I've benefited immeasurably from outstanding mentors throughout my education and work experiences, so I always encourage students to connect with faculty early and often and will strongly prioritize advising in my new role at USF!

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To learn more about Arman Khachiyan and his work, please visit https://www.armankhachiyan.com/ .