UCSB will host world-renowned researchers this weekend at the 12th Occasional Workshop on Environmental and Resource Economics.

Commencing today, the conference brings together graduate students, university faculty and researchers to discuss current and future research into environmental and resource economics. The two-day event in Corwin Pavilion includes a series of seminars on recent findings.

The symposium, held every one to two years, also allows graduate students to receive input about their own work from leading researchers in their respective fields.

Economics graduate student Katherine Kimble said she hopes to gain new insight on her research into the Clean Water Act and toxic substances that cause water pollution.

“I am studying the impact of corruption on environmental quality and compliance with environmental regulation,” Kimble said. “Since I am at the beginning stages of this research, I hope to get some feedback and input from other people in the field regarding the next phase of my research.”

UC Berkeley graduate student Benjamin Crost said the forum will alert him of research being conducted at other universities.

“I think that ongoing research is essential in order to keep the profession informed of all the new developments in the industry,” Crost said. “It being a weekend, I think many of us are appreciative of the relaxed environment that can be maintained while discussing such serious topics at hand.”

While the overall conference will focus on environmental and resource economics, individual sessions will concentrate on more specific topics including technology adoption, market structure, climate policy, transportation and environmental policies.

Considering the university’s prestige in environmental economics, environmental economics professor Charles Kolstad, one of the event’s coordinators, said UCSB is the ideal venue for the event.

“UCSB as a university is ranked in the top five nationally in this field, behind Harvard and MIT,” Kolstad said.

The conference — sponsored by the Dept. of Economics and Bren School of Environmental Science & Management — is funded in part by grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the UC Center for Energy and Environmental Economics.

According to Kolstad, the convention has continued to improve since its creation nearly two decades ago.

“I am glad that the conference has progressed so much from the beginning when it was just an idea,” Kolstad said. “It is getting better each time it is put on.”

Kolstad said attendance was intentionally restricted this year because past years have been so successful.

“Over the past decade, the conference has grown to over 125 [attendees],” Kolstad said. “It’s becoming such a well known event that many people show great interest in participating. That’s why we had to restrict attendance this year.”