Michael R. Blair
I am an assistant professor in the Operations and Decision Sciences area of the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University. My research uses data-driven analytics to improve public policy solutions to societal challenges.
I completed my PhD at Yale University where I was advised by Professor Saed Alizamir and Professor Shouqiang Wang. Prior to attending Yale, I received a BMath from the University of Waterloo, and BBA from Wilfrid Laurier University.
During my time as an undergraduate and graduate student I was a teaching assistant for a variety of courses in both mathematics and business. In addition to my academic experience, I have professional experience in both capital markets and supply chain management roles.
Research Interests
My research interests lie in sustainability and environmental/energy policy. More broadly, I am interested in studying problems in the social responsibility domain that involve interaction between public agencies, private enterprises, and consumers. Motivated by real-world data, addressing these problems requires various tools from areas ranging from data-driven analytics to game theory.
Job Market Paper: The Impact of Climate Change: An Empirical Analysis of Smart Thermostat Data [SSRN]
Education
Yale University
PhD - 2023
MPhil - 2020
MA - 2020
University of Waterloo
BMath - 2016
Wilfrid Laurier University
BBA
- 2016
Teaching Overview
Throughout my undergraduate and graduate programs, I have been a teaching assistant for a wide variety of business and mathematics classes. In addition to my experience with these courses, I have taught several undergraduate course review sessions to benefit the charity Students Offering Support. I have also worked with the Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing's Math Circles enrichment program for young students.
A full description of my teaching experience and my teaching philosophy can be found on my dedicated
teaching page.