Dear Rice colleagues,
I’m writing to share the tragic news that YingHua He, an associate professor of economics, died this month at the age of 44 after battling a fast-spreading cancer. It is always sad to lose a member of the Rice community; it is especially difficult to lose such a cherished colleague at such a young age.
YingHua joined Rice in 2016. He was a pioneer in the empirical study of market designs. Some of his recent work looked at market design in school choice, with applications relating to school choice programs in Beijing and Paris. He has also served as an affiliated researcher at Institut des Politiques Publiques (Institute of Public Policy) in Paris and as associate faculty at the Toulouse School of Economics.
Nobel laureate Al Roth, past president of the American Economic Association, wrote a tribute to YingHua on his blog, praising him as “one of the pioneers of empirical market design, combining econometrics with matching theory.”
YingHua’s colleagues remembered him as “exceptionally compassionate,” extraordinarily caring and dedicated to his graduate and undergraduate students. Even after his diagnosis, he continued his research, teaching and service at Rice. He taught, advised doctoral students on their dissertations and undergraduate students on their senior theses, served on committees, organized conferences and more, all while fighting for his life.
I invite you to read more about this remarkable, resilient person and scholar in Rice News. A memorial organized by the economics department will take place Oct. 4.
Warm regards,
Amy Dittmar,
Howard R. Hughes Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs