Episode 05: Clearing the Air: How Pollution Affects the Mind—and the Research We Overlook

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Episode 05 features Assistant Professor of Economics and 2024 Polanyi Prize winner, Nikolai Cook. 

Join Dean Kyle Murray and Nik Cook for a caffeinated conversation on the life of a professor, their passion for innovative research, and concise overviews of Nik’s studies in research credibility and the psychological effects of air pollution. 

Nik breaks down his career path, from graduating with a BA in Mathematics and tutoring as a job, to eventually combining his passion for teaching with his talent for research. Kyle and Nik dig deep into Nik’s recent research which earned him the 2024 Polanyi Prize, and discuss the diligence required to balance ground-breaking research with teaching as a university professor. 

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About Nikolai Cook

Nik is currently an assistant professor of Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University. Prior to joining Laurier, he was a postdoctoral fellow in environmental economics at the University of Ottawa. Nik received his PhD in Economics from the University of Ottawa in 2020. He was awarded the 2024 John Charles Polanyi Prize in Economic Science, the highest honour awarded to researchers by the Province of Ontario. 

The main focus of Nik's research is applied micro to the field of environmental economics. Specifically, the effects of a changing climate and pollution levels on economic productivity and our available adaptations. His focus is on the effects of the environment in the Canadian context. Nik is also active in research transparency, which is the study of how academic research is conducted and the implications of researchers’ decisions. His research has been published in leading economics journals including the American Economic Review and the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management.