How Business Students Found Inspiration for Their URC Projects

Ryan Vogel ‘26, Analytical Economics 
Jesse Harriott ‘27, Analytical Economics 

“Occupational AI Exposure and the Wage Premium for Economics Majors” (First Place Poster in Econ 775 Session)

Vogel and Harriott explored how exposure to artificial intelligence is shaping wages across different careers. They found that jobs more connected to AI tend to pay more — and that economics majors may see an added advantage in those roles. The findings suggest that analytical skill sets could become even more valuable as AI continues to expand. 

What inspired you to explore this topic? 

Harriott: We've seen a lot about how AI is rapidly advancing recently, and it's causing uncertainty around who's going to see the benefits and who's going to suffer from all these changes. 

We wanted to look at econ majors specifically because we are econ majors, and we want to know how things are going to play out for us, but also because econ majors can be highly analytical and quantitative in their methods, and looking at that group might give us a little bit of a window into how it might be affecting some of those more high-risk occupations since those quantitative and analytical methods tend to be more replaceable by AI. 

What stood out in your findings? 

Harriott: We found that econ majors are earning about 7% more on top of all the other majors for higher exposure to AI. I thought that was interesting, and it was honestly a little bit higher than I was expecting. 

Vogel: We were assuming higher AI exposure would most likely lead to higher wages, but before running the tests, we had no clue which way the model was going to go, so actually seeing those results become what we assumed was pretty nice. 

What was the most challenging part of this process? 

Harriott: We were faced with a lot of data limitations and had to brainstorm ways to figure out how to get around those limitations to move forward. It ended up being really gratifying and rewarding, but in the process, it's a bit of a grind, and you have to be ready to tackle those. 

Advice for future students presenting at URC? 

Vogel: Have fun with it. The first time we went through our project, it was a tiny bit shaky, but after that, I enjoyed presenting it over and over, and I got better with how I wanted to phrase things and what I wanted to point out as the key details. 

Alexandra Mahoney 26, Hospitality Management and dual major in EcoGastronomy 

“Local Plates, Lasting Connections” 

Mahoney explored how local food sourcing shapes relationships between chefs, farmers, and communities across New Hampshire. Through interviews with chefs, she found that trust, communication, and adaptability are central to building strong local food systems. The research highlights how sourcing ingredients locally can improve quality while strengthening connections across the regional food network. 

What inspired you to explore this topic? 

I studied abroad in Italy, and we learned about the whole local food system there. I thought it was really interesting to bring that back and apply it to New Hampshire. I worked with the New Hampshire Food and Agriculture Strategic Plan and focused on how to strengthen the local food system as a community issue. 

I looked at how the local food movement benefits the economy, keeps money local, creates jobs, and improves food quality and nutrition. I was also really interested in how much time chefs put into maintaining relationships with farmers and how that impacts their menus, especially with how often things change based on what’s in season.

What stood out to you during your research? 

Just how strong the community is here. Farmers aren’t really businessmen — they know how to be good farmers. It’s more than a business transaction. They’re genuinely friends, they care about each other, and they want to support each other’s businesses. 

The community is really strong, and it’s been established for a long time. Now it’s about keeping that strength going and having younger people who care enough to continue it. 

What did you enjoy most about the process? 

I just love food — I love to eat, cook, and harvest my own food. I really enjoyed talking to chefs in a more casual setting. They’re so passionate, and they just speak honestly about what they do. It was valuable to hear their perspectives and have those conversations, especially since in a normal restaurant setting, they don’t always have time to stop and talk. 

Who do you hope this research benefits? 

I hope it benefits the average person who isn’t very educated on this topic. Local food can be more expensive, and people aren’t always willing to pay for it, but if they understood the benefits, they might be. I think this could also expand through social media or a website to promote local farms, restaurants, and markets, because a lot of farmers aren’t promoting themselves that way. 

Advice for future students presenting at URC? 

Don’t stress yourself out trying to have the perfect pitch. You’ve spent so much time working on your project — you know the information. Just be confident and talk about it. 

Rhea Shirodkar ‘26, Management and Information Systems & Business Analytics 

“Differential Effects of Climate Anomalies on New England Crop Yields, 1990-2024" (First Place Honors Poster Session)

Shirodkar explored how climate change is affecting crop yields across New England, focusing on the impact of temperature and precipitation changes over time. Using regional data from 1990 to 2024, she found that some crops, such as potatoes and cranberries, benefit from warming conditions, while others like tomatoes experience declines. The research highlights how these effects vary depending on each crop’s sensitivity to heat, and the need for adaptive farming strategies to maintain crop productivity and regional food security. 

What inspired you to explore this topic? 

This topic was meaningful to me because local crop yields are something I’m really interested in. I was curious about how temperature and precipitation are continuously changing, and I wanted to learn more about how those climate effects impact crop yields. 

What stood out to you during your research? 

Something that really stood out to me was just how much information there was to look at, and making sure to find the right sources that were reputable and usable for this area of study. 

How do you hope this research can be expanded or used in the future? 

Looking at more crops, doing a more in-depth analysis, or studying factors beyond just temperature and precipitation, could be really valuable. There are other analyses done for the entire U.S. or even other countries, but by focusing on this smaller region, which really means a lot to me, I was able to go one step further. 

What was the most challenging part of this process? 

Collecting the data and standardizing it. It took a lot of time to dig deep and find reliable sources, and there was a lot of work to make sure that before even performing the analysis, my data was accurate. 

Advice for future students presenting at URC? 

Just have fun with it. Your topic doesn’t really have to do with your major or anything in particular — choose something you’re really interested in. Find an advisor who’ll support you. 

Cameron Badger ‘26, Mechanical Engineering  

“Does Residential Electrification Reduce Energy Expenditure” (First Place Econ 774 Session) 

Badger explored whether switching homes to all-electric systems can reduce household energy costs. Using national data and regression analysis, he found that electrified homes tend to save money on energy, with average annual heating savings of about $110. The research shows that these savings can vary by region, income level, and fuel type, but remain consistent across many households 

What inspired you to explore this topic? 

I spent a few summers working for Eversource's Energy Efficiency Team. I've helped with programs related to newly constructed residential homes and retrofits. They certainly have data that suggests that electrification save consumers money, but I've always been interested in investigating it further on my own. I am also an ME student, so energy economics is a great intersection of engineering and economics. 

What stood out in your findings? 

Certainly, more work could be done to formally ensure the validity of my findings, but even with what I have completed, there is a clear and countable benefit to electrification nationwide. The magnitudes are rather similar to what the literature suggests so I would say that it made me realize that electrification of the housing stock just plain makes sense in a lot cases, and in the future. 

What did you enjoy most about the research process? 

I find the presentation of data to be really interesting to me personally. Data is messy, it's noisy, but if you really spend some time cleaning and thinking through the best way to present it, the results will speak for themselves. I find that very satisfying. 

What was the most challenging part of the process? 

Finding good, informative, and helpful literature on the topics of interest is difficult. Thankfully, AI has made this process a lot easier. Even so, you still have to sift through many articles to extract singular or only a few pieces of important information.  

What advice would you give to future students presenting at URC? 

I would say that it really isn't anything to get too worried about. The project is already done, the poster is made, and the judges are all very nice people. Introduce yourself, be polite, and ask for help and advice from classmates and from your teachers or friends.