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Doctoral and Ph.D. Programs

Ph.D. Student Job Market Candidates

Urban Planning and Development

Robert Binder

Robert Binder

Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development

[email protected] | LinkedIn

Education: Master in City and Regional Planning, Georgia Institute of Technology; Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, Michigan State University

Research Interests: Public transportation, equity and justice, urban sociology, social interactions in public space, ethnography, community engagement, storytelling in planning, urban design, and public finance

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Genevieve Giuliano

Alycia Cheng

Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development

[email protected] | LinkedIn

Education: Master of Urban and Regional Planning, University of California, Los Angeles; Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles

Research Interests: Housing, community development, immigrant communities, social networks

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Dowell Myers

Seongmoon Cho

Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development

[email protected] | LinkedIn

Education: Master of Planning, USC, Master of Science in City and Regional Planning, Seoul National University, Bachelor of Architecture, Yonsei University

Research Interests: Housing demography, urban economics, urban analytics, data science

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Dowell Myers

Sue Dexter

Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development

[email protected] | LinkedIn

Education: Master of Science in Operations Research, London School of Economics and Political Science; Bachelor of Arts in Management Science, University of California, San Diego

Research Interests: Sustainable urban freight, transportation planning and infrastructure, land use policy, environmental policy, climate change mitigation, international development

Committee Chair: Dr. Genevieve Giuliano

Job paper titles:

  1. Lifecycle Analysis of Heavy-duty Trucks: An environmental impact study comparing alternative fuels/drivetrains
  2. Understanding Choice Behavior in Drayage Trucking (with Dr. Gen Giuliano)

Elizabeth Joun

Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development

[email protected]

Education: Master of Public Policy, University of California, Los Angeles; Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, University of Chicago

Research Interests: Remote work, organizational behavior, impact of technology on society, identity and perception, public safety, neighborhood effect, urban design, data science

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Bill Resh

Job Paper Title: Effect of Remote Work Offering on State-Level Federal Employee Recruitment

Seula (Naomi) Lee

Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development

[email protected] | LinkedIn

Education: Master of City and Regional Planning, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Bachelor of Science in Economics and Finance, Hanyang University

Research Interests: Travel behavior, transportation planning, transport policy, urban mobility, urban space, urban economics, new mobilities

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Marlon Boarnet

Job Paper Title: What happens to travel behavior when treatment changes: An analysis of slow streets program changes in two US cities

David Flores Moctezuma

Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development

[email protected] | LinkedIn

Education: Master of Science, Geographic Information Science and Technology, Bachelor of Arts in Music, University of Southern California

Research Interests: Urban Demography, Housing, Hispanic Homeownership, GIS, Urban Sociology, Transportation, Real Estate

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Dowell Myers

Ben Toney

Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development

[email protected]

Education: Bachelor of Arts in Urban and Environmental Policy, Occidental College

Research Interests: Long term public planning, equity implications of the shifting role of the public sector, critiques of new public management, social justice, distributive justice, planning theory

Committee Chair: Dr. Gary Painter

Bonnie Wang

Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development

[email protected] | LinkedIn

Education: Master of Urban Planning, University of Michigan; Bachelor of Arts in Land Economics, National ChengChi University, Taiwan

Research Interests: Land use and transportation, spatial analysis, social equality, urban economics, international development, public health

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Marlon Boarnet

Kurt Wyatt

Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Development

[email protected] | LinkedIn

Education: Bachelor of Arts in Geography, University of Miami

Research Interests: Digital geographies, planning + metaverse, LGBTQ+ studies, public space, virtual worlds, media effects

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Lisa Schweitzer

Public Policy and Management

Virat Agrawal

Virat Agrawal

Ph.D. in Public Policy and Management

[email protected] | LinkedIn | Website

Education: Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California; Bachelor of Technology in Biomedical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, India

Research Interests: Research Interests: Health Economics and Policy; Health-related Behavior and Consumption; Social Determinants of Health; Macro-level Shocks to Health (COVID-19, Inflation, Housing)

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Neeraj Sood

Jordy Coutin

Ph.D. in Public Policy and Management

[email protected]

Education: Master of Public Policy, USC; Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Bachelor of Science in Conservation and Resource Studies, University of California, Berkeley

Research Interests: Homelessness policy, local governance, social equity, criminal legal policy, housing policy, social policy, poverty, encampment sweeps, social determinants of health

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Juliet Musso

Job Paper: The spatial distribution of camping ban enforcement in Los Angeles during changing governance regimes

Esther Gonzalez

Esther Gonzalez

Ph.D. in Public Policy and Management

[email protected] | website

Education: Master of Business Administration, Cornell University; Master of Public Administration, Cal Poly Pomona; Bachelor of Arts in International Development Studies, University of California, Los Angeles

Research Interests:  Organizational Behavior, Representative Bureaucracy, Diversity Management

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Bill Resh

Keunyoung (Eli) Lee

Keunyoung (Eli) Lee

Ph.D. in Public Policy and Management

[email protected] | LinkedIn | website

Education: Master of Public Administration, USC; Master of Public Administration, Seoul National University; Bachelor of Arts in International Liberal Studies Psychology Track, Waseda University

Research Interests: Public Administration, Organizational Theory/Behavior, Human Resource Management, Bureaucratic Politics

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Bill Resh

Job Paper: The Effects of Agency Reputation on Federal Workforce Turnover

Phillip Sangwoo Lee

Phillip Sangwoo Lee

Ph.D. in Public Policy and Management

[email protected] | website

Education: Master of Public Policy, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor; Master of Applied Economics, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor; Bachelor of Science in Statistical Science and Psychology, Duke University

Research Interests: Environmental economics, environmental justice, renewable energy/energy security, sustainable development, clean technology adoption, behavioral economics

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Antonio Bento

Job Paper: Navigating the Ripple Effect: Unveiling the Hidden Currents of the Panama Canal, U.S. West Coast Ports, and El Niño

Lizhong Liu

Ph.D. in Public Policy and Management

[email protected] | website

Education: Master of Public Policy, University of Chicago; Bachelor of Arts in Management, Renmin University of China

Research Interests: Housing policy, housing market, urban economics, land use regulations, urban inequality

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Richard Green; Dr. Gary Painter

Job Paper Title: The effects of Neighborhood Redevelopment on Housing Markets and Beyond: Evidence from HOPE VI Revitalization Programs

Jose J. Scott

Jose J. Scott

Ph.D. in Public Policy and Management

[email protected] | LinkedIn

Education: Bachelor of Arts in Public Affairs, Public Policy and Politics, Washington State University; Master of Public Administration, University of Southern California

Research Interests: Social and economic inequality, behavioral public policy, behavioral welfare economics, poverty alleviation policy, social policy

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Wändi Bruine de Bruin