Kevin Meyer (pictured left), a second year Ph.D. student in the Department of Economics at Iowa State University, is the most recent recipient of the Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowship (NNF). Meyer will receive three years of financial support for his doctoral studies in the economics and management of bio-renewable energy.

The fellowship is part of a $234,000 competitive grant from the USDA NIFA, and was procured by Department of Economics faculty John Beghin, GianCarlo Moschini, and James Bushnell (now at UC Davis). It is designed to support the doctoral training and research of three individual Ph.D. students of US nationality, each for a three-year period. Fellows will receive multidisciplinary training in economics, with statistics, ecology, and bio-renewable resources and technology as complementary fields. They will also gain industry experience through internships with firms or government agencies associated with ISU's Bio-based Industry Center.

Meyer joins two other National Needs fellows, Edward Perry and Matthew Clancy (pictured center and right), who were appointed last year on the same grant.

The fellowship will increase the number of researchers able to address important societal and policy challenges in phasing out fossil fuels. Beghin says that it also focuses on "attracting and retaining talented domestic students," and that the three awardees are "enthusiastic and capable." Moschini notes that the NNF grant recognizes the strength of the Ph.D. program offered by ISU's Department of Economics, and he "looks forward to the contributions" of the three fellows.

Meyer, who received his master’s degree in economics from Central Michigan University, said that he is "thankful for the support and excited about the opportunity" to focus his upcoming research on bio-renewable fuels.