Getting to know Evan Piermont, Lecturer in the Department of Economics.

What is your role in the Department of Economics?

I split my time between research, teaching, and helping with departmental organisation. 

What is your research about?

My research is in the intersection of microeconomic theory, experimental and behavioural economics, computer science and philosophy. In particular, I am interested in how people build mental models to represent the world around them and how these models change in response to new information. I investigate the systematic bias in these subjective representations, and connect these internal mental models to tangible, economic behaviour. In addition to its innate philosophical interest, this endeavour can make sense of, and hopefully help remedy, the recent wide-spread polarisation, disagreement, and uncertainty in the face of climate change, vaccine efficacy, election outcomes, etc.

What do you enjoy about teaching?

There are many rewarding aspects of teaching, but for me the most compelling is getting to witness the enthusiasm that accompanies newfound understanding. In other words, I get excited when students get excited about what they have learned. 

Could you tell us about the new BSc Economics and Data Science programme that you have helped the department design?

This is very exciting: we are designing a course that will combine the classical economic education with tools and methods of modern data science. These tools will provide a novel view towards the study of  Economics, since students will have the skills to engage with data analysis directly, and so to draw their own conclusions about Economic problems. Such a course would naturally challenge the traditional top-down classroom, instead encouraging  students to make their own personal discoveries through experiential learning. The skills developed in this course, namely programming, data analysis, and statistical literacy, are highly desired by industry; students will find themselves graduating with both an understanding of Economics and a set of in-demand coding, programming and data analysis skills. 

What do you do in your free time?

I have a penchant for javaScript – I spent the last few years developing elltwo, a web platform to create collaborative textbooks and lecture notes. I do most of the millennial hipster garbage: bouldering, vinyl records, biking, vegetarianism.