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Meiyu Li Memorial Scholarship in Economics
Created in the memory of PhD candidate Meiyu Li, this entrance scholarship will go toward supporting outstanding graduate students who, like Meiyu, who are pursuing research in the Department of Economics.
2023 - Farhad Sharyarpoor
In the fall of 2023, I embarked on a new academic journey at SFU by enrolling in a Ph.D. program in economics, with a focus on macroeconomics and econometrics. My path to this point has been a transformational one. Originally, I pursued a bachelor's degree in mining engineering, finding satisfaction in the mathematical aspects of the field. However, I gradually realized that what truly fascinated me was the realm of human behavior. This epiphany led me to explore economics courses, ultimately leading to a life-altering decision to shift my academic focus entirely toward economics.
Since making that pivotal choice, I have been dedicated to the study of economics, driven by a curiosity about the nature of human decision-making and by utilization of mathematical tools to answer everyday life questions. Specifically, I have developed a curiosity in macroeconomics, delving into the intricate aggregate economic variables that shape the destinies of entire nations. Although, there remains a long way to go, I passionately want to expand my understanding of the field and enjoy Ph.D. journey at SFU’s Economics department.
Looking ahead, my aspirations are firmly rooted in academia and research. Upon graduation, I plan to continue my journey in the field of economics, contributing to the academic community as an economist.
Past Winners
2022 - Emilie Zentner
Emilie Zentner joined SFU Economics in Fall 2022 and she is excited to further her education at one of Canada’s top PhD economics programs. She joins SFU from the University of Alberta’s Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology where she completed her BSc. and MSc. in Agriculture and Resource Economics with a focus on behavioural and experimental economics. Her thesis on the role of reciprocity on cooperative behaviour in public goods games won her faculty’s graduate student MSc. thesis award in 2021. Emilie has over seven years’ experience in applied economics research ranging from benefit distributions of agricultural biotechnology, impacts of resource development on Indigenous peoples, and economics experiments in public goods games. Emilie’s current research specializations are behavioural and experimental economics and psychological game theory in a climate change context. Emilie is excited to bring her experience in student engagement from her time as departmental GSA chair to SFU Economics, and expand her collaborative and international research network.
2021 - Samuel Basoah
After graduating from the University of Ghana, Samuel Basoah joined the master's in economics program at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in 2019. Eager to expand his knowledge in economics and further his education, Samuel moved on to pursue his PhD with SFU Economics after completing the MA program with distinction within a year. His areas of specialization are macroeconomics (experimental and computational), applied-micro-econometrics, monetary, labor, and international finance. He is also interested in the economics of space particularly how the cryptocurrency market affects space exploration, and how countries can attain sustainable debt.
- 2020: Jeff Hsieh
In Memoriam
Meiyu Li was an outstanding PhD candidate who impressed all who knew her with her intelligence, generosity, enthusiasm and work ethic. Sadly, Meiyu passed away at the age of 27 in a car accident. During her studies at SFU, Meiyu was the grateful recipient of scholarships and awards, and on numerous occasions she told her parents that it was her wish to one day give back to the university by establishing a scholarship of her own. To honour this wish the Meiyu Li Memorial Scholarship in Economics will be established to create a lasting legacy that will support students.
Meiyu joined SFU Economics as an MA student in 2013 and quickly made a name for herself as an outstanding academic. She had been awarded both the department’s Herbert R. Grubel Award for top CGPA among graduating MA students, as well as the Richard G. Lipsey Award for top comprehensive exam results among PhD students. Her promising career was just beginning: specializing in time series econometrics, she had already produced two publications and was finishing the second round of revisions for her third publication to the prestigious Journal of Econometrics.
Brian Krauth, Department Chair of Economics recognizes the loss both to the field of economics as well as within our SFU community: “She was extremely active in presenting at conferences, regularly participated in hosting our seminar guests and was in general an exemplary contributor to scholarship. Meiyu was also an exemplary member of our community, always one of the first people to volunteer to help out with something. She was confident but quietly so, and I can’t remember seeing her without a smile on her face.”
The Meiyu Li Memorial Scholarship in Economics will support a scholarship for outstanding graduate students who, like Meiyu, are pursuing research in the Department of Economics.