Omid Bagheri

Omid Bagheri is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Kent State University (Salem Campus) and also holds a membership in the Kent State University Faculty Senate. He joined Kent State after completing his Ph.D. from the Virginia Tech Department of Economics in 2017. His bachelor’s degree is in Industrial and Systems Engineering (2003), and he holds a master’s degree in Socio-Economic Systems Engineering (2006) along with a master’s degree in Economics (2013). He also holds a certificate in Executive Management (2010).

Omid conducts empirical research in labor economics with a focus on immigration and environmental economics with an emphasis on air quality. In addition, he is involved in experimental research in behavioral economics. In 2015, he received the “Best Graduate Instructor of the Year 2014-2015” award from the Virginia Tech Department of Economics. He was also nominated for the Virginia Tech “Graduate Teaching Excellence Award” for two consecutive years (2015 and 2016), a university-level competition. Additionally, he was recognized by the Virginia Tech Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research (CIDER) “Thank a Teacher” program for teaching effectiveness.

He was born in Iran and has professional experience in his home country, where he worked for two influential economical/industrial organizations: “Management and Planning Organization” and “Industrial Development and Renovation Organization (IDRO)”. At the former organization, he served as a member of the “Science and Technology Professional Committee” (part of Iran’s 5th national 5-year development plan core). He was also a member of the advisory team for micro and macro issues in marine, railway, and home appliances industries. At IDRO, as a research and strategic planning expert, he defined and supervised several foresight and strategic formulation research projects regarding high-tech industries.