Experience & Teaching | Eduard van der Merwe

Research & Professional Experience

Principal Investigator, Dissertation Fieldwork 2026
Maua, Meru County | Kenya
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- Designed, piloted, and fielded an original survey of 635 women, 17 religious leaders, and 4 focus groups.
- Trained and supervised 20 enumerators and translated instruments into Kimeru in partnership with Sodzo Kenya.
- Photos, a map, and the timeline are on the Fieldwork page.
Graduate Scholar 2023 – Present
Boniuk Institute | Rice University
Info
- Manage quantitative and qualitative data collection, rigorous anonymization, and statistical reporting.
- Collaborate with community leaders to translate research into policy insights.
GIS Student Assistant 2023 – 2024
GIS/Data Center, Fondren Library | Rice University
Info
- Provided spatial data analysis for faculty research and taught professional development courses.
Research Assistant 2019 – 2021
Professor Matthew Clance | University of Pretoria
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- Constructed and managed large-scale spatial and survey datasets for empirical development economics research.
- Developed a comprehensive “Introduction to R” video tutorial series for incoming students and researchers.

Math for Computational Economics Fall 2024 & Fall 2026
Teaching Assistant | Undergraduate | Chase Coleman | Rice University
Summer Math and Statistics Camp Summer 2026
Instructor | Graduate | Rice University
Machine Learning and Algorithms for Computational Economics Spring 2026
Teaching Assistant | Undergraduate/Graduate | Chase Coleman | Rice University
Dynamic Models for Computational Economics Spring & Fall 2025
Teaching Assistant | Undergraduate/Graduate | Chase Coleman | Rice University
Macroeconomics Fall 2022 & Spring 2023
Teaching Assistant | Undergraduate | Amelie Carlton | Rice University
Principles of Economics Fall 2021 & Spring 2022
Teaching Assistant | Undergraduate | James DeNicco | Rice University
Econometrics Spring 2020, Fall 2020 & Spring 2021
Teaching Assistant | Graduate | Matthew Clance | University of Pretoria
Microeconomics Fall 2019
Teaching Assistant | Undergraduate | Steve Koch | University of Pretoria
Public Economics Spring 2019
Teaching Assistant | Undergraduate | Dirk Scholtz | University of Pretoria

Graduate Student Fellowship 2021 – 2027 Department of Economics | Rice University
Student Research Grant 2026 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
Dissertation Research Improvement Grant 2026 Social Sciences Research Institute | Rice University
Wagoner Foreign Study Scholarship 2026 Wagoner Foundation | Rice University
Graduate Student Scholar 2023 Boniuk Institute | Rice University
Anton and Huberte Rupert Bursary 2020 Anton and Huberte Rupert Trust | University of Pretoria
National Research Foundation Postgraduate Scholarship 2019 National Research Foundation (NRF) | University of Pretoria
Vice-Chancellor and Principal's Award 2019 Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences | University of Pretoria
Dean's List 2019 Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences | University of Pretoria

2026
- Southern Economic Association (SEA) 96th Annual Meeting, Houston, TX, USA Upcoming
- Applied Microeconomics Workshop, Florida State University, Virtual Invited
- ASREC Europe, Warwick Venice Centre, Venice, Italy
- IRES Workshop, Chapman University, Orange, CA, USA
- ASREC Conference, Chapman University, Orange, CA, USA
- Economics Department Brown Bag, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
2025
- TEAMS Workshop, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
- Fourth Year Conference, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
2024
- Third Year Conference, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
- Boniuk Institute Graduate Scholars Meeting, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
2023
- Boniuk Institute Graduate Scholars Meeting, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
2021
- Joint Policy Workshop (Oxfam, MSF, UoN, ThinkPlace, and CHC), Virtual

Referee
Economic Development and Cultural Change
Co-Organizer
TEAMS Workshop (2026) | Rice University Development Economics Reading Group (2025 – 2026)