Department News - Spring 2007

Jim Mak Appointed to UH Press Editorial Board

Jim Mak has been appointed to serve another three year term on the editorial board of the University of Hawai‘i Press. Established in 1967, the Press has published over 1,500 books. It is a leading publisher of books and Journals on Asia, Asian Americans, Hawaii, and the Pacific.

Student Awards Ceremony at the Department's Semester-End Party

Congratulations to our 2006-2007 UH Manoa Economics Award Winners!

See photos from the end-of-the-semester celebration!

David Ching and Ilan Noy Win College of Social Sciences Award for Excellence in Teaching

Congratulations to David Ching and Ilan Noy for receiving this year's College of Social Sciences Award for Excellence in Teaching for 2006-2007. Both are exemplary teachers and are well deserving of this honor.

Alumnus Dr. Jae Jin Byun Appointed South Korea's Minister of Health and Welfare

South Korea President Roh Moo-hyun has appointed Dr. Jae Jin Byun as the new Minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Byun received his Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii Department of Economics in 2001. Park Nam-choon, senior presidential secretary for personnel affairs, said of Dr. Byun: "[He] is a civil servant who worked at major economy-related ministries," and that the President expects Byun to be the vanguard for revisions of the National Pension Fund Law and the Medical Law. For more information, you can view this article on the appointment from The Korea Times.

Congratulations Dr. Byun on this very important appointment!

Sarah Takemoto Awarded 2007 URC Summer Undergraduate Research Grant

The University Research Council (URC) has awarded undergraduate Economics major Sarah Takemoto a $2,100 grant for summer research. Sarah's research deals with prospects for Mainland Chinese tourism to Hawaii. She is currently an intern in the tourism branch of the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism. Congratulations, Sarah, on this prestigious award!

	UHM Economics is delighted to announce the appointment of a new assistant professor to our faculty beginning with the 2006-2007 academic year: Hui He -- University of Minnesota

For more information on our newest faculty member, click here.

Prof Jerry Russo Elected Department Chair

Prof Jerry Russo has been elected to head the Department of Economics as its new Department Chair when current chair Prof James Mak steps down on June 30th of this year. Prof Russo will serve the next three academic years, until July of 2010.

Prof Carl Bonham and Byron Gangnes Receive Prestigious Community Service Award

Congratulations to Carl Bonham and Byron Gangnes for being the co-recipients of this year's Hung Wo and Elizabeth Lau Ching Foundation Award for Faculty to the Community from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In selecting them for the prestigious award, the 2007 Award Committee noted the following:

"The selection committee recognized your exceptional service as extraordinary scholars, teachers, and persons. Not only have you dedicated countless hours to working with community organizations, but your entire career has been dedicated to improving, in very tangible and direct ways, the lives of people in Hawaii. The selection committee noted that you were instrumental in the establishment of the UH Economic Research Organization (UHERO) in 1997. UHERO is currently a widely recognized and respected economic research organization in the local community and outside of Hawaii."

Research Award for Econ Major Adrian Martin

In the summer of 2006, Adrian Martin, an economics undergraduate major, was awarded one of three University Research Council (URC) Awards for Summer Research. This award aims at encouraging outstanding undergraduate students to pursue projects of academic significance that can contribute to their fields of research as well as their own individual work.

Adrian's work on food culture in early modern Japan will be showcased, along with other award recipients, in a forthcoming campus conference on undergraduate research.

Adrian Martin has long had a fascination with Japanese culture and history. In 2004, he participated in the Student Exchange program with Nihon University, where he learned about Japanese commerce and finance. For his honors thesis, he decided on a very eclectic topic: Japanese cuisine! His research is on how urbanization and the formation of a commercial class during the Tokugawa period (1600-1868) helped produce a unique urban culture in Edo (present-day Tokyo), including a culinary culture that became the dominant culture of all Japan.

Adrian is a member of the Economics Club, as well as Omicron Delta Epsilon, the Economics honors society, Phi Alpha Theta, the History honors society, Golden Key, and Phi Beta Kappa.