Lily Xu is a computer scientist developing AI methods across machine learning, optimization, and causal inference for environmental management, with a focus on biodiversity conservation. She aims to enable practitioners to make effective decisions in the face of limited data, taking actions that are robust to uncertainty, effective at scale, and future-looking. In her work, Lily partners closely with NGOs to bridge research and practice, serving as AI Lead for the SMART Partnership. Since 2020, she has co-organized the EAAMO research initiative, committed to advancing Equity and Access in Algorithms, Mechanisms, and Optimization.
Lily holds a PhD in computer science from Harvard University and a B.A. from Dartmouth College. She is currently a postdoc with the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, and in July 2025 will begin as an assistant professor at Columbia University.
My current research focuses on the design and evaluation of environmental policies aimed at (i) restoring natural infrastructure, such as forests and wetlands, and (ii) promoting climate-smart agriculture to mitigate and adapt to climate change. My Ph.D. dissertation examines: (i) the contribution of payment for ecosystem services (PES) programs to climate change adaptation and (ii) the cost-effective structure of payments and penalties in ecosystem services programs. I received my Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Maryland and my B.A. in Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University. More information is available at my personal website.
Elizabeth is an Associate Professor at the Department of Economics, and the Roger Van Noorden Fellow in Economics at Hertford College, Oxford University. Her research interests are the economics of climate change, and consumer choice between indivisible goods. The latter has applications to both auction theory and matching.
Paul Klemperer has been Edgeworth Professor of Economics, Oxford University, since 1995. His main research interests are auctions, and the environment.
My main research interests lie within market design (e.g. matching markets and auctions) and network economics. I am also interested in the applications of economic theory to many policy areas, including environment, energy, and refugee resettlement.
