Nima Dahir, an Ohio State junior majoring in economics and mathematics, has been named a 2015 Beinecke Scholar.

The Beinecke Scholarship is awarded to twenty students annually who have demonstrated superior standards of intellectual ability, scholastic achievement, and personal promise. Beinecke Scholars must be current college juniors with plans to pursue a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, or social sciences. The award provides $34,000 to support graduate studies.

The daughter of Somali immigrants, Nima is dedicated to finding innovative ways to use economic research as a tool for the betterment of developing communities. She has conducted experimental economics research with Dr. Katherine Coffman, who is advising her research on the relationship between optimism and willingness to borrow microfinance loans.

“I have known Nima since the spring of 2013,” said Coffman. “She stands out as an undergraduate in that her interest in research stems largely from her deeply-rooted desire to find ways to improve economic and social conditions in developing communities.”  

An Honors student, Nima also serves as a research assistant to labor economist Dr. Bruce Weinberg. Outside the classroom, she is a Buckeye Leadership Fellow, a volunteer and board member for the Broad Street Food Pantry, and the past editor of the Journal of Politics and International Affairs. She has also studied abroad in Morocco and volunteered teaching English to young girls in Somalia.