Since becoming a College of Business faculty member in 2019, Jamal Mamkhezri has been busy working to elevate NMSU's profile in energy economics. 

Mamkhezri, an associate professor in the Department of Economics, Applied Statistics and International Business, has dedicated much of his professional career as a researcher to energy economics. His mission at NMSU is to continue growing interest in the field and expand its impact. 

"My research interest lies in the field of environmental and natural resource economics, with a specific emphasis on fossil fuels and renewables," he said.

Before joining NMSU, Mamkhezri completed a Ph.D. in economics from the University of New Mexico in 2019. His dissertation examined the market and non-market valuation of renewable energy, specifically within the electricity sector. 

Since March 2024, Mamkhezri has held the College of Business's Chevron Endowed Professorship. The Chevron Endowed Professorship, established in 2012 to honor the late Sen. Pete Domenici, supports faculty engaged in robust research, teaching and advising that advances energy economics. 

 "My current work integrates the study of economic and environmental trade-offs, using complex systems modeling to assess consumer preferences for renewable energy adoption," Mamkhezri added.

Currently, Mamkhezri is using funds from the professorship, along with external state and federal grants totaling more than $2 million, to further his research and amplify it on a global scale. In June 2024, he traveled to Turkey to present his latest research at the International Association of Energy Economics. Mamkhezri administered an online survey to 1,500 United States residents to assess their attitudes toward battery electric vehicles and the energy sources powering them. 

In January 2025, the study was published and featured in the prestigious Energy Economics journal. It found that U.S. taxpayers have a positive "willingness to pay" for increasing battery electric vehicle adoption in the transportation system. Respondents also support job creation associated with accelerated vehicle decarbonization and prefer tax credits as incentives over free charging and parking initiatives, among other findings. 

During his first year at NMSU, Mamkhezri helped develop and launch an energy economics concentration in the undergraduate economics program. The 12-credit concentration aims to prepare students for energy administration jobs, including those leading to executive responsibility. He emphasized New Mexico's potential as a prime location for energy economics. 

"We have all the right resources in New Mexico," he said. "It is the second-highest producer of oil in the United States. It boasts more than 300 days of sunshine each year, and the wind that flows through the eastern part of the state has the potential to generate a tremendous amount of energy." 

Mamkhezri's own profile has been on the rise at NMSU and nationally. In 2023, he received the Undergraduate Teaching Award from the College of Business for outstanding teaching. The following year, he earned another college award for excellence in research. 

Also in 2023, the National Science Foundation highlighted Mamkhezri's SEED Award project as an exemplary effort in supporting underrepresented students in energy economics. In December 2024, Mamkhezri was elected to serve on the United States Association for Energy Economics Executive Council as the vice president for Academic Affairs. During the spring 2025 convocation, he received the Early Career Award from the University Research Council. The latter award recognizes early career faculty for exceptional research and other creative scholarly achievements.

A version of this story first published in the latest issue of the College of Business Annual Report. Read the issue here.

The full article can be seen at https://newsroom.nmsu.edu/news/jamal-mamkhezri-aims-to-elevate-energy-economics-at-nmsu/s/167d6680-338a-4d91-b18b-7cf0fc917f73