CREATE is proud to announce the appointment of two new External Senior Research Fellows. Todd Sandler is considered the leading scholar in the economics of terrorism. He is a former member of the USC Economics and Political Science Departments, and was a CREATE faculty affiliate during its early years. Jun Zhuang is a protégé of long-time CREATE faculty affiliate, Professor Vicki Bier of the University of Wisconsin; his dissertation and some subsequent research have been funded by CREATE. We welcome both Todd and Jun back to the fold.
(See also the following link to four recently appointed Research Fellows within USC Link; and the following link to 10 Senior Research Fellows appointed several months ago Link)
Dr. Todd Sandler is Chair Emeritus in Economics and Political Economy at the University of Texas at Dallas. He received his Ph.D. in Economics in 1971 from the State University of New York at Binghamton. He has held positions at Arizona State University, University of Wyoming, Iowa State University, Australian National University, University of York, UK, University of Southern California, and elsewhere.
In 1983 and thereafter, Dr. Sandler published some of the pioneering studies on terrorism in the American Economic Review, Journal of Law and Economics, American Political Science Review, Journal of Public Economics, and elsewhere that continue to be highly cited. In 2003, he was the co-recipient of the National Academy of Sciences Award for Behavioral Research Relevant to the Prevention of Nuclear War for game-theoretic analyses of terrorism.
His current research interests include the study of terrorism and its myriad aspects (e.g., hostage taking, terrorist groups, and foreign aid as a counterterrorism tool). He also studies public goods and defense economics. He received funding from the National Science Foundation, UN Development Program, Asian Development Bank, and CREATE to study terrorism.
Dr. Sandler has written or edited twenty-four books and authored over 300 refereed articles. His latest book, Terrorism: What Everyone Needs to Know, was published by Oxford University Press in 2018.
Dr. Jun Zhuang is a Professor, Director of Graduate Studies, and Director of the Decision, Risk & Data Laboratory, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) at the University at Buffalo (UB). Dr. Zhuang has a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering in 2008 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dr. Zhuang’s long-term research goal is to integrate operations research, big data analytics, game theory, and decision analysis to improve mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery for natural and man-made disasters. Other areas of interest include applications to health care, sports, transportation, supply chain management, sustainability, and architecture. Dr. Zhuang has been a principal investigator of over 30 research grants funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), by the U.S. Department of Energy, by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), and by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
Dr. Zhuang received the 2019 Chauncey Starr Distinguished Young Risk Analyst Award from the Society for Risk Analysis. Dr. Zhuang is a recipient of the UB’s 2019 Exceptional Scholar Award – Sustained Achievement, the 2018 SEAS Senior Researcher of the Year Award, and the 2018-2020 Buffalo Blue Sky Gold Coin Award. Dr. Zhuang is a recipient of the 2017 Koopman Prize from the INFORMS’ Military Applications Society and the 2014 Military Operations Research Journal Award. Dr. Zhuang is a recipient of the 2013 UB’s Exceptional Scholar–Young Investigator Award. Dr. Zhuang is also a fellow of the 2011 U.S. Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship Program, sponsored by the AFOSR, and a fellow of the 2009-2010 Next Generation of Hazards and Disasters Researchers Program, sponsored by the NSF.
Posted March 22, 2021