Four University of Toronto Professors Appointed as Chief Scientists

Four chief scientists have been tasked with leading research and activities at the University of Toronto in behavioral insights as applied to consumers, citizens, organizations and markets. The appointees will work at the Behavioural Economics in Action at Rotman (BEAR) center, which is part of the Rotman School of Management. The center’s goal is to facilitate behavioral change through research in decision-making and use of empirically tested tools. Using a behavioral science framework, the centre strives to develop non-traditional solutions to social and economic problems.

As for the four new chief scientists, Professor Dilip Soman, Co-Director of BEAR and the Corus Chair in Communications Strategy, believes that their appointments will strengthen the Center’s research work. “Our leading-edge research offers a unique behavioral lens on relevant challenges faced by individuals and organizations,” Soman said in a press release. “These appointments will strengthen our work as we continue to publish our findings in peer-reviewed academic journals as well as white papers and reports that are geared towards the practitioner.”

The four professors who were chosen are as follows:

Lu Han’s research specialties include housing market dynamics and policies as well as mortgage insurance, real estate brokerage and green amenities. She is currently the academic director of the Centre for Real Estate and Urban Economics at Rotman as well as the Petro-Canada Associate Professor of Economic Analysis and Policy.

Tanjim Hossain holds positions both at the University of Toronto Mississauga as an associate professor of marketing and at the Rotman School department of economics. His research interests include behavioral economics and industrial organization.

Sonia Kang’s research specialty explores the challenges and opportunities of diversity. She looks that the strategies that alleviate the negative effects of stigma as well as how to harness the power of diversity. Sonia is an assistant professor of organizational behavior and human resource management.

Nicola Lacetera researches various topics in industrial and innovation economics as well as ethical constraints in markets and the motivations behind altruistic behavior. He is also the faculty lead at the ICube UTM business accelerator while also being an associate professor of strategic management.

regions: Toronto

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