Daya Muralidharan

Biography

Dr. Muralidharan earned her PhD in Economics from University of California, Riverside. She is currently researching efficiency and sustainability of the world’s natural resources with special interest in water shortages, pollution, and how they relate to agriculture and groundwater issues.  Dr. Muralidharan is also studying the impact of sustainable forest products in developing countries in an effort to observe access limitations within a poverty environment. Before joining Michigan Tech, she taught at University of California, Riverside, and at Claremont McKenna College. Dr. Muralidharan has published her research in Water Resources.

Research Focus

Economists play an important role in moving a green technology from efficiency to long-term sustainability. In the end, even the most efficient technologies must be competitive in the market. Dr. Muralidharan explains that because consumers are more likely to respond to financial arguments than scientific facts, economists have an important role in environmental issues.

Dr. Muralidharan researches sustainable water use. She is currently adapting the methods she designed for a California water sustainability project and transferring them to work in Michigan, which has different environmental and social factors. Concurrently, she is seeking to determine whether or not climate change is a factor in achieving sustainable water use.