Support PRISE at UT Dallas
We're seeking $2,500 to expand the Policy Research in Sustainability and Economics (PRISE) Lab at The University of Texas at Dallas. PRISE is a research hub dedicated to understanding and solving critical challenges in environmental sustainability, energy, and economic inequality. Your support will provide hands-on research opportunities for UT Dallas students while producing evidence that informs real policy decisions.
Why PRISE?
From devastating wildfires and extreme weather events to rising energy costs and widening inequality, the challenges we face demand rigorous, evidence-based solutions. PRISE brings together faculty, students, and international collaborators to tackle these pressing questions through cutting-edge economic and policy research.
What makes PRISE different? We focus on the human impact of environmental and economic shock — particularly how they affect marginalized populations. Our work spans hurricane impacts in the U.S., tropical forest losses, energy access in sub-Saharan Africa, and pollution’s effects worldwide.
Your Impact: What Will $2,500 Make Possible?
Reaching our goal will enable us to:
Acquire high-quality datasets ($1,500): We'll acquire datasets on environmental pollution and household welfare, giving three to four undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to work on real-world research projects. These students will learn to analyze complex environmental and economic data, develop policy recommendations, and contribute to academic publications.
Conference presentation ($1,000): We'll support one graduate student researcher to present their work at a major academic conference, building their professional network and showcasing UT Dallas’ research.
Student Research in Action
PRISE students are working on cutting-edge projects related to:
Climate and Political Accountability: How extreme weather events influence election outcomes and reshape climate policy accountability.
Conservation Program Effectiveness: Optimizing funding for conservation programs in Vietnam to maximize impact.
Clean Energy Adoption: Understanding household adoption of energy-efficient cooking appliances in Uganda to improve health and environmental outcomes.
Your Gift Makes a Difference
$25 — Contributes toward specialized environmental datasets for student projects.
$50 — Helps fund data analysis software.
$100 — Supports one semester-long student project.
$250 — Helps cover conference expenses for a student presentation.
$500+ — Makes a significant contribution toward comprehensive datasets that support multiple student projects.
Stretch Goals: Help Us Go Further
Every dollar beyond our $2,500 goal allows us to expand our impact:
At $3,500: Support a second student to present at a conference.
At $5,000: Host a virtual workshop with international research partners, exposing students to global perspectives.
Beyond $5,000: Begin building toward hosting in-person speaker events with leading sustainability researchers.
Who We Are
PRISE is led by two assistant professors in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences:
Dr. Erin Litzow is an applied economist specializing in environmental, development, and energy economics. Her research documents how environmental degradation creates unequal costs across society, with work spanning 11 countries across Africa and Latin America. She’s affiliated with the Duke Energy Access Project and Environment for Development.
Dr. Elías Cisneros focuses on the political economy of land-use change and deforestation, examining how local political incentives drive environmental degradation in Brazil and Indonesia. He uses cutting-edge remote sensing and causal analysis methods to understand how governments and agricultural stakeholders shape environmental outcomes.
The PRISE Difference
PRISE is a cross-school hub where students gain real-world experience tackling global challenges through hands-on training with high-quality international datasets, policy-relevant research that informs real decisions, interdisciplinary collaboration across economics, political science, and public policy, and global perspectives through international partnerships.
Join us in supporting PRISE and investing in UT Dallas students who will become the sustainability leaders, policy analysts and researchers of tomorrow.