Economic Modeling
Crop budgets, net returns, investment analysis, net present value, policy scenarios, and agricultural production economics.
About
I study agricultural adaptation to water scarcity through economics, geospatial analysis, and decision-support modeling.
My work focuses on groundwater sustainability, irrigation systems, crop choice, land-use transitions, and the economic feasibility of agricultural adaptation strategies.
Professional Bio
I am an agricultural and resource economist specializing in hydro-economic modeling, irrigation systems, groundwater sustainability, and geospatial agricultural analysis. My research examines how agricultural producers and landscapes adapt to water scarcity through changes in irrigation technology, crop selection, land use, and investment decisions.
I am a researcher at the Nelson Institute Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where I contribute to the U.S. Department of Energy Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC). My current research focuses on groundwater-dependent agricultural regions, especially the U.S. High Plains Aquifer, where long-term aquifer depletion is reshaping irrigation capacity, crop production, and land-use decisions.
My work integrates agricultural economics, optimization, groundwater simulation, crop-water relationships, remote sensing, GIS, and field- to county-level agricultural datasets to evaluate policy and management strategies for water-limited agricultural systems.
Research Interests
My research interests sit at the intersection of agricultural economics, water resources, spatial analysis, and applied decision support.
Hydro-economic modeling of groundwater
Groundwater sustainability and aquifer management
Irrigation technology adoption and water conservation
Bioenergy crop systems and land-use transitions
Climate adaptation in agricultural systems
Optimization for water and land resources
Food–energy–water system integration
Geospatial modeling
Decision-support tools
Experience and Education
My training combines agricultural economics, irrigation engineering, groundwater management, spatial analysis, and applied modeling.
2026–Present
Researcher I, SAGE, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Hydro-economic and geospatial research on irrigation system transitions, groundwater sustainability, and bioenergy crop systems, including integrated systems modeling for GLBRC.
2023–2026
Research Associate, SAGE, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Led geospatial analysis and hydro-economic optimization modeling with national-scale agricultural datasets to assess long-term water and land-use transitions.
2020–2021
Research Fellow, California State University–Fresno
Spatial equilibrium and price-endogenous programming models for agricultural trade, pesticide regulation, and water-supply policy analysis in California.
Ph.D. 2019
Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University
Dissertation on the economics of alternative groundwater management strategies in Oklahoma, combining hydro-economic optimization with MODFLOW groundwater simulation.
M.S. 2016
Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University
Thesis on the economics of irrigated crop choices using center pivot systems in the Oklahoma Panhandle.
B.E. 2011
Agricultural and Irrigation Engineering, Anna University
College of Engineering Guindy, Chennai, India. Thesis on cost-effective approaches to weed management in irrigation tanks in southern India.
Methods and Technical Expertise
I use quantitative, spatial, and computational methods to study agricultural water systems.
Optimization
Mathematical programming and hydro-economic optimization in GAMS for crop choice, irrigation capacity, groundwater use, and land-use transitions.
Geospatial Analysis
ArcGIS Pro, ArcPy, Google Earth Engine, remote sensing, crop maps, irrigation datasets, climate data, and groundwater layers.
Simulation and Decision Support
MODFLOW groundwater simulation, EPIC crop modeling, and applied tools in Python and Excel/VBA to support irrigation and adaptation decisions.
Interested in research collaboration or related work?
I welcome inquiries related to agricultural water management, groundwater sustainability, irrigation economics, land-use transitions, and decision-support modeling.