Celebrating excellence: PhD Showcase recognizes doctoral student research

By Alexandra Richter

BUFFALO, N.Y. — On March 29, the University at Buffalo School of Management community gathered to recognize the research and success of the school’s doctoral students during the 13th annual PhD Showcase.

Fourteen doctoral students from all six School of Management departments presented posters highlighting their research accomplishments. Presentations included a wide range of topics – from whether grocery stores should remove date labels to reduce food waste, to examining employee narcissism, to studying the relationship between health outcomes and hospital capacity efficiency. The event culminated with the announcement of several student awards.

The Rising Star award – a $1,000 prize given to a student who exhibits exceptional early performance in the program through their engagement with faculty on research, coursework and contributions to the intellectual atmosphere of the school – was granted to Nima Alizadeh Basban of Karaj, Iran. Representing the Operations, Management and Strategy Department, Alizadeh Basban presented on researched titled “Multiple Competition Scenarios in Supply Chain of Waste Management Firms - Game Theoretical Approach.”

Victoria Gonzalez of Santiago, Chile, who was representing the Management Science and Systems Department, was honored with a Poster Presentation Award based on overall presentation and the clarity, strength of design and research implications. Gonzalez received a $1,000 cash prize for her research on leveraging deep learning for accounting fraud detection. In 2023, Gonzalez was also the recipient of a Rising Star award for her presentation on how to build trust to safely integrate artificial intelligence into organizations and society.

From the Marketing Department, Yoon Kang of Busan, Republic of Korea, received the Dean’s Award for Research Excellence, which goes to the senior doctoral student who demonstrates the highest level of potential as a scholar based on journal publications, research awards and presentations or papers at top conferences. Kang presented research on how the letter quantity on product package labels affects brand sincerity perception, brand transparency judgement and product evaluation. Kang received a $2,500 prize for the honor.

The Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence, recognizing exceptional promise and performance as a teacher in the program, went to Xinghui Chen of Harbin, China. Chen is currently working towards a PhD in marketing and received a $500 prize with the award.