Liad Wagman

Notable Quote
“Being a student was the best time of my life. I met wonderful people, made life-long connections, gained valuable knowledge, and, equally as important, I learned how to learn. My goal as an instructor is to help pave the way for my students to partake in similar experiences.”

Notable Vignette
My own college professor used to tell us to each find what is exciting to us and focus on that. College is too short to waste it on classes you cannot get excited about. Once you are passionate and excited about something, everything else will come to you in a much more natural way (though it will still require effort and dedication!).

What Excites Me About Stuart
We live in the 21st century where globalization is taking place with technology as its conduit. The Stuart School of Business is a technologically-oriented institution with technologically-oriented faculty. Naturally, SSB attracts students who are technologically savvy. The core idea is to leverage student and faculty knowledge in technology so as to enhance student education, and to prepare students to be strategically competitive in the 21st century job market. My own background is a perfect example of this as it mixes technology with business and economics. My undergraduate education and my master’s degree are in computer science; my practical experience includes working as a software engineer at a Silicon Valley start-up; and my other master’s degree and my doctorate are in economics. I fully leverage my knowledge in all three areas both in my research and in my teaching.

My Teaching Philosophy/Method
Since I already touched on my teaching philosophy above, I will focus here on my teaching method instead. In my teaching, I often make use of what I term as the “Fourfold-Coverage” method. It works as follows. Prior to lecture, I inform students of the topics to be covered and I usually provide them with handouts. This encourages students to conduct a first read-through of the material. In class, I make use of a tablet PC (projected on a screen) instead of a whiteboard, allowing both the students and myself to take interactive notes; and I make the tablet notes available online right after class. Finally, homework assignments and projects (that are structured to foster group work) encourage students to make a second read-through of the material and to learn from each other. Overall, students read the material at least twice and are left with at least two sets of notes, thus nailing down the material. In class, I frequently use current events to put the material in context and to provide intuitive examples.

My Teaching/Research Interests
My research interests are interdisciplinary and include topics in the fields of industrial organization, microeconomics, game theory, mechanism design, social choice, and electronic commerce. I am particularly interested in the design and regulation of electronic markets.