Melvin Adams

A predoctoral researcher at Northwestern Economics, I enjoy traveling to places around the world and socializing through virtual reality technology. I am currently based in Evanston, Illinois, though I consider myself a proud Californian. I graduated University of California, Berkeley, with a bachelor's degree in Economics, Applied Mathematics, and Data Science.

Born in Shanghai and raised Guangzhou as an American citizen abroad, I am proud of my Chinese heritage and my non-traditional background. Prior to transferring to Berkeley, I have received an associate's degree in Business and Japanese from Pasadena City College. During my time at Berkeley, I was the Head of Peer Review at Berkeley Economic Review, and I am honored to have had the opportunity of working under Professor Ulrike Malmendier's research team.

I currently work under Professor Charles Manski, applying econometric methods and economic intuition to improve medical literature surrounding liver cirrhosis. I am working on a paper that motivates statistical model calibration, exhibited through real morbidity data, when performing record linkage.

Select pictures from Norway. Left to right: The Geirangerfjord, Unjemslia seen from Åndalsnes, and the Arctic Cathedral seen from the Port of Tromsø.

Select pictures from Japan. Left to right: The Senbon Torii at Fushimi Inari Taisha, the ryokans at Ginzan Onsen, and a duck in the grounds of Tsurugaoka Hachimangū.

Select pictures from the US. Left to right: Midtown Manhattan seen from 30 Hudson Yards, Alviso Marina in San Jose, and the signage at the Chicago Theater.

I like to enjoy life. One way I enjoy life is through traveling. Above, I include select photos from different countries I have been to recently. It is just a great feeling to immerse yourself different environments, whether it is the awe-inspiring monoliths of Yosemite, the fjords reigning the coasts of Norway, the replenishing onsens across Japan, the towering skyscrapers of Manhattan, or even the everyday commute to work. The beauty of the world peeks through around every corner, and I am grateful for where I am.

Traveling was a key motivator for me to pick up the Japanese language, in which I am now fluent in.

Since 2020, I have been an active virtual reality user, with language learning as my main initial motivation. In VRChat, I have created a virtual environment, or a ``world'', called Yosemi, where I place the player in a café at the bottom of the Yosemite Valley, with tools that encourage language exchanging and socialization among other players. Language learning is a process that requires the bravery of making mistakes, and as such, the café setting and the beautiful scenery hopefully eases the fear. On Sundays, I host events that encourage English attainment targeting the Japanese VRChat community.