08/20/2025

Spotlight on Mine K. Yücel

USAEE NEWSLETTER | SUMMER 2025

This is the first article in a series featuring distinguished USAEE members reflecting on their careers and their involvement in the USAEE community.

Being a part of the USAEE community has been very rewarding for me, both professionally and personally. Having first started in academia at the beginning of my career, the USAEE enhanced my understanding of the real world of energy economics. It was also where I learned from the best minds in the energy field and made life-long friends.

My journey with the USAEE actually started with the IAEE in 1985, when the USAEE was not yet a separate entity. I remember my first meeting in Philadelphia in December of 1985 very well. Oil prices had fallen 30 percent since 1980 and were around $26 per barrel at the time of the conference. There was much debate about whether oil prices would continue to fall or stabilize. The gathering was a who’s who in energy economics at the time, with energy economists from academia like Morris Adelman, business economists like Jack Wilkinson from The Sun Company (who was head of the Philadelphia chapter and conference chair) and high-level government energy economists from the Department of Energy and the Canadian Energy Ministry, among many others. This is where I first saw the richness of discussion of real-life issues, blending academics, business and government, something the USAEE continues to do extremely well.

I took a job as energy economist at the Dallas Fed in 1989 and soon after, joined the Dallas chapter of the IAEE. My colleague Steve Brown and I were active members of this group, attending meetings, finding speakers and participating in discussions on the energy issues of the time. Our chapter was mainly composed of business economists from companies who no longer exist in their original form of organization or have been merged into other companies, such as Oryx, Fina, Mobil and Arco. The discussions in these meetings were catalysts for many research reports that Steve and I co-authored. I’ve attended nearly all USAEE conferences until I retired in 2020, either as a presenter, session chair, conference program committee member or conference co-chair. Being involved in USAEE conferences has tremendously helped my academic research, from the valuable feedback I received on my research, to the insights and understanding I developed on important energy issues.

I have served many years on the USAEE Council in different capacities, becoming president of the USAEE in 2004. My tenure with the USAEE also led to many years of involvement with the IAEE, culminating with the IAEE presidency in 2011. Working with and trying to lead intelligent, accomplished and tenacious economists taught me much about leadership and successful teamwork, which I have benefitted from throughout my career. I was honored by the USAEE with a Senior Fellow Award in 2007 and 2024 and the Adelman-Frankel Award in 2017. I am very grateful to the USAEE for these awards and all the experiences that have led to them.

Finally, I have gained lasting friendships through my involvement with the USAEE. Going to USAEE meetings was like going to a gathering of close friends and colleagues, where you enjoyed the camaraderie, but also gained much insight and knowledge. I’ve benefitted so much from these friendships. Being involved with the USAEE has broadened my professional outlook, fed my passion for energy economics and brought me much joy.

Mine K. Yücel (myucel@outlook.com) is retired from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas where she was a Senior Vice President and Senior Research Advisor.