Tyler Residents Present Economics Research in UT Tyler Hibbs Institute Student Showcase

May 4, 2026 | Hannah Buchanan

Nikolaos “Niko” Vasileiou and Luisa Moraes of Tyler, undergraduate students at The University of Texas at Tyler, recently presented their research as part of the Hibbs Institute for Business and Economic Research Spring 2026 Student Research Showcase held at UT Tyler.

“We are very proud of our student researchers, Mr. Vasileiou and Ms. Moraes, who help the institute in providing key findings that support economic understanding and decision-making here in East Texas,” said Dr. Manuel Reyes, UT Tyler Hibbs Institute director and senior research analyst.

A native of Germany, Vasileiou studied the water availability in East Texas over the next 50 years. His project showed how the region's water supply and demand are different from the rest of Texas.

A native of Brazil, Moraes examined the youth labor force in East Texas, focusing on the types of occupations young workers hold. Her project classified these roles based on their level of exposure to Artificial Intelligence.

Vasileiou graduated this spring with a UT Tyler Bachelor of Science in economics with a minor in business administration. Moraes will graduate next spring with both a UT Tyler Bachelor of Business Administration in finance and a UT Tyler Bachelor of Science in economics.

The Hibbs Institute for Business and Economic Research, a unit of the UT Tyler Soules College of Business, plays a vital role in supporting the university and East Texas region by providing economic research and analysis. To learn more, email HibbsInstitute@uttyler.edu or visit uttyler.edu.

With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, UT Tyler offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 11,500 students. Through its alignment with UT Tyler Health Science Center and UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a national university, UT Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.