On this episode of It’s Hot in Here, host Chris Askew-Merwin sits down with University of Michigan undergraduate Benjamin Sonnega to discuss the research that he and his classmates have been doing over the last semester for a new course called Environ 302: Energy and Environmental Policy Research taught by Dr. Sarah Mills.  The class had students pick topics that interested them from plastic bag policies, food policies, to net metering and taught them the research skills necessary to study those issues. These research projects culminated in a fantastic student symposium on Wednesday, April 26, where each student was given time to present their findings.

Ben and I talk about his dive into residential energy tax credits and who is actually using them. He accessed and analyzed an IRS dataset come to his conclusions. Then we listen to recordings of his classmates presenting their research and discuss the course in greater detail. If you want to know how U of M is teaching the next generation of policy analysts, then you don’t want to miss this show.