Charles Sims
Dr. Charles Sims joined the faculty of the Department of Applied Economics in August 2009. Sims comes to USU from East Tennessee, where he was born and raised. He attended the University of Tennessee, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Forest Resource Management (2001) and an MS in Forestry, with a minor in Environmental Policy (2004). After spending a year as a Research Associate at the University of Tennessee, he headed west to join the Economics doctoral program at the University of Wyoming, graduating in 2009.
Sims research specialties include the valuation of recreational activities (such as rock-climbing and off highway vehicle use). His research on transportation alternatives in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park helped create a private shuttle system that relieves traffic congestion in the heavily visited national park. More recently, Sims has been interested in bioeconomic models that integrate ecological realities with economic decision-making. His dissertation research examined the economic dimensions of managing mountain pine beetle as well as an application of financial economic models to the control of invasive species.
In his spare time, Sims enjoys whitewater kayaking, rafting, mountain biking, and snowboarding.
