Ujjwol Paudel & Stephen Devadoss
Texas Tech's Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics earned multiple national honors at the 2026 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting, underscoring the department's growing reputation for research excellence, student achievement and professional leadership.
The conference, held July 26–28 in Kansas City, Missouri, brought together agricultural economists from across the United States and around the world. Texas Tech faculty members, graduate students, undergraduate students and a postdoctoral research associate presented research, moderated technical sessions, competed in national student contests, and participated in professional development and networking activities.
'Their accomplishments reflect the department's continued commitment to excellence in research, teaching, outreach, student success and professional service.'
"I congratulate all faculty, students and postdoctoral researchers who represented Texas Tech so well," said Krishna Paudel, chair of Texas Tech's Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics. "Their accomplishments reflect the department's continued commitment to excellence in research, teaching, outreach, student success and professional service."
Among the conference's highest honors, current Davis College instructor and incoming assistant professor Ujjwol Paudel received the Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy (AEPP) Outstanding Paper Award for his co-authored article, Farmworker Bargaining in U.S. Agricultural Labor Markets. Paudel, whose research focuses on agricultural labor markets, food prices and public policy, officially joins the department as an assistant professor on Sept. 1.
Another major honor went to Stephen Devadoss, the Emabeth Thompson Endowed Professor of Agricultural Economics, who received the Outstanding CHOICES Article Award for leading a special collection examining the economic consequences of recent U.S. tariff policies.
Published by the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association, CHOICES: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resource Issues is the association's flagship peer-reviewed outreach publication. The award recognized Devadoss' theme overview as well as two companion articles that explored the impacts of changing U.S. trade policies on American agriculture.
Texas Tech's Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics faculty and students earned multiple national honors at the 2026 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association Annual Meeting.
Texas Tech students also delivered an impressive showing in national competitions. The department's undergraduate team captured second place in the AAEA Excel Competition, demonstrating exceptional analytical ability and teamwork against some of the nation's leading agricultural economics programs.
Students also competed in the Undergraduate Quiz Bowl and Graduate Student Case Study Competition while presenting research on agricultural markets, policy, production economics and resource management.
Representing Texas Tech were undergraduate students Cheyene Wedeking, Cooper Mau, Kory Nolen and Jack Davis; graduate students Brenda Mamani Escobar, Tuhinur Rahman Chowdhury, Gangcheol Seo, Reymark Alcantara, Oluwabusolami Ogunmoyero, Sarah Thomas and Lily Connaway; and postdoctoral research associate Saurav Raj Kunwar.
Faculty members attending the conference included Syed Badruddoza, Abhipsita Das, Modhurima Dey Amin, Conrad Lyford, Marty Middleton, Khondoker Mottaleb, Krishna Paudel, Ujjwol Paudel, Luis Sandoval M., and Chenggang Wang.
The Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics has expanded steadily in recent years and now includes 21 tenured or tenure-track faculty members, along with professors of practice and adjunct faculty. Serving more than 600 undergraduate and graduate students, the department offers bachelor's degrees in agribusiness and agricultural & applied economics, master's and doctoral degrees, and a Master of Agribusiness program, preparing graduates for leadership roles in academia, industry, and public service.
CONTACT: Krishna Paudel, chair of Texas Tech's Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-8360 or kripaude@ttu.edu
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