Divya Shanmugam is a Barnard College Class of 2027 student studying Economics and Statistics. Their interests focus on using econometrics to understand how U.S. political and economic systems distribute resources and opportunity, especially across wealth groups and in access to broadband, healthcare, and education.

Previous research experience: I created datasets in Python for a project analyzing how social networks influence political knowledge, pulled FCC data to study how broadband speeds have evolved in rural areas, and worked on a project using regression analysis to understand how changes in public debt affect the bond holdings of different wealth percentiles. Much of my work has involved sourcing and building datasets and analyzing results using Python and R.

How I got started: I began by responding to a research assistant posting through my school website and by cold emailing professors. I would recommend talking with professors you already have some relationship with to see whether they know of opportunities with their own work or with colleagues.

Open to being contacted: Yes

Preferred contact: dshanmugam224@gmail.com

Advice/notes: Getting started with research on campus.

Location

Manhattan

Manhattan, New York, NY, USA