Travis Roach Graduated with a doctorate in Economics in 2015

Travis Roach received his PhD from Texas Tech University in 2015 and is currently an Associate Professor of Economics and chair of the Department of Economics at the University of Central Oklahoma. His research focuses on policy problems that span the fields of environmental economics, labor economics, and industrial organization with specific applications in environmental and energy economics settings. His energy and environmental research has focused on carbon dioxide emissions from energy use, labor market impacts of carbon dioxide mitigation legislation, alternative energy sources including wind and biofuels, climate change impacts on learning, and negative and positive externalities from oil and gas production. His research has been featured in newspapers locally and around the world including the Sydney Morning Herald of Australia, and The Tyee of British Columbia, Canada. Roach also actively leads workshops in the field of economic education, innovative pedagogy, and student engagement. These workshops have taken place at national conferences, Oklahoma and Texas K-12 Teachers' conferences, and even in Ningbo China

One of the main reasons I chose the PhD program at Texas Tech University is that I would have the chance to teach a class early in my graduate career and develop as an educator. Through this experience I was able to hone my skills and become more experienced as an educator before even stepping on campus at the University of Central Oklahoma where I now teach. This early opportunity has proven invaluable time and again for me, and I am so happy to have gotten a head start in the classroom while at TTU.
 

Another benefit of the program was the ability to work and collaborate with faculty on research. "These collaborations helped me develop as a researcher while I was at TTU, and have even continued on to today -- with projects spanning from the labor market impacts of new drilling, to unintended effects of cap-and-trade policies, to risk aversion when changing prices in highly competitive environments.