Current Research & Opportunities

Virginia’s Land Use-Value Assessment Program Fellowship

This opportunity offers juniors or seniors hands-on experience under the mentorship of Jennifer Friedel and Patrick Kayser.

The LUVA Fellow will assist with:

Data collection and analysis
Co-author at least one Extension publication
Attend statewide and local stakeholder meetings
Assist with annual reporting, including report preparation
Assist with LUVA website updates and management
Update stakeholder resources and publications

You will receive:

$500 per semester with a one-year commitment
The program covers travel expenses for professional opportunities, including conferences and stakeholder or industry events

To apply, you must have the following requirements:

Junior or senior standing
Available to work at least 5-10 hours a week during the semester
Have taken AAEC 2434 preferred or equivalent instruction in basic economic principles and business finance
Have taken AAEC 3014 preferred or equivalent experience with Excel spreadsheets, formulas, data visualization tools, and data analytics
Provide a minimum one-page writing sample

Skills you’ll learn:

Statistical programming in SAS, STATA, and R
GIS systems
Communication
Collaboration and teamwork
Presentation and outreach
Leadership
Organizational skills
Networking with industry and stakeholders

The Fellows will work with the Marketing, Communications, and Partnerships Manager to ensure that presentations and articles are properly branded, grammatically accurate, and aligned with both departmental and university standards.

Graduate Assistantship

Graduate students enrolled in degree programs for the M.S. thesis option, and for the Ph.D. are eligible for support by a graduate teaching assistantship (GTA) or graduate research assistantship (GRA). Assistantships may be offered to any of these graduate students, except those entering on provisional status. A graduate student who does not initially receive an assistantship may qualify for assistantship support as early as the second semester of his/her program depending upon performance in the classroom.

Assistantship assignments may be for the academic year (9 months) or calendar year (12 months). Some students are supported for shorter periods on an hourly-wage basis, and all students enrolled in the graduate degree programs are eligible for hourly-wage employment.

Current Research Projects

Solar Facilities Effect on Agricultural Land in Virginia

Utility-scale solar farms are rapidly expanding across the United States, especially in rural Virginia. This research aims to measure the impact of hosting a utility-scale solar farm on agricultural land prices within that county of Virginia, as well as estimate regional spillover effects by quantifying how proximity to adjacent treated counties influences agricultural land values. This research was conducted by Isaac Hull in collaboration with Michael Cary.

Current Students

Valentina Rodgers

Senior, Undergraduate
Hometown: Greenville, South Carolina
Major: Environmental Science

After taking Professor Friedel’s Environmental Law course (AAEC 3314), Rogers hoped for an opportunity to work under Friedel’s leadership to learn more about the particular intersection of environmental policy and data science. When the opportunity to become a LUVA Fellow arose, she jumped right on it. Rogers was excited to meet professionals in the field of agricultural economics and policy makers and for the opportunity of being introduced to the career possibilities in these fields.

As an Environmental Science Major, Rogers has many questions she wants to answer while being a LUVA fellow such as “How can we make sure that discoveries we make in the field of science translate into real world change?” and “What good is science research if we are not utilizing it to strengthen our communities and improve the lives of others?”

LUVA exemplifies research that directly impacts the lives of our communities, and importantly, farmers and producers.Rogers is excited to be a part of a program that is so impactful for agriculture and our communities

Coren Huff

Junior, Undergraduate
Hometown: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Major: Applied Economic Management
Minor: Spanish

Huff grew up around the farming community, so she has always been fascinated by agriculture. She is interested in agricultural development in the United States as well as from around the globe. Huff is looking forward to learning more about data analysis within the agricultural industry, and understanding the policy-making process for laws and regulations which affect farmers and landowners.

Becoming a LUVA fellow allows Huff to challenge her technical skills and use them beyond her fellowship. She plans to continue to strengthen her technical abilities, utilizing them in future data and policy analyses. Huff has been interested in the data and policy sectors since taking classes for her major, which is one of the many reasons why she wanted to become a LUVA Fellow.

Cary Chen

Graduate Student
Hometown: Bay Area, California
M.S. in Agricultural and Applied Economics

Chen is a graduate student who is earning her Master of Science in Agricultural and Applied Economics. Wanting to further her education with what she learned with her undergraduate degree in Economics, Chen decided to come to Virginia Tech and focus on the agricultural side of economics and finances.

With the analytical skills she learned as an undergrad, Chen is interested in using what she has learned to serve the Land-Use Value Assessment’s (LUVA) purpose and mission. She looks forward to expanding her knowledge of land-use policies and how those can alter land values, and the implications this has for landowners. She is excited to produce helpful data visualizations to make presentations and publications more digestible and demonstrative to readers.