Bilal Celik

Teaching approach

I start with intuition before moving to graphs, calculations, and applications. To reach students with different learning styles, I mix lecture with classroom experiments, group work, clicker check-ins, and short news-article reflection papers. Examples often draw on cross-cultural comparisons. I collect anonymous one-minute response papers about once a month so the course can adjust to what students are actually struggling with.

What students have said

“I really enjoyed this class and feel like I learned more than in any other classes I've taken so far. Professor Celik explains things in a way that's interesting and easy to understand. I feel like I will actually retain what I learned in this course.”

— Basic Economics (online), University of Arkansas, Spring 2026

“Content is explained very clearly and I can tell you care about your students! Your grading is fair and has the right amount of difficulty for an honors course. You have mastered the perfect mix of enthusiasm, professionalism, and kindness.”

— Honors Basic Economics, University of Arkansas, Spring 2025

“He was able to present information differently than how it was presented in the textbook, which enabled many students to better understand the material from this new perspective.”

— Intro Economics, Wake Forest University, Spring 2018

“Dr. Celik consistently showed devotion to making sure every student was succeeding in the class. He communicated clearly and frequently with every student, which in turn increased my confidence in the course and propelled me into greater understanding of the material.”

— Intermediate Macroeconomics, University of Tennessee, Summer 2016

ScanToGrade

ScanToGrade is a desktop application for instructors who use paper-based multiple-choice exams. It can generate custom scantrons, support multiple exam versions, grade scanned answer sheets, flag items that need review, and export results for course management systems. The app processes exam files locally, so student exam data does not need to be uploaded to a cloud grading service.

Built from classroom experience

My projects usually begin with problems I encounter directly as an instructor. That keeps the design practical: the tool has to work during a real semester, with real students, real exams, and limited time.

Academic General and Subspecialty Pediatric Promotion Timelines and Lifetime Earnings

Analyzes academic promotion timelines and projected lifetime earnings for general and subspecialty pediatricians, quantifying how career timing shapes long-run financial outcomes.

Large Natural Disasters and Economic Activity: Evidence from a Synthetic Control Approach Using Satellite Imagery

Uses satellite-based nighttime light intensity to estimate the effect of large natural disasters on economic activity. Within a 200-mile radius of three major earthquakes, light intensity falls with distance from the epicenter following the disaster. A synthetic-control analysis of nine large disasters at the national level shows heterogeneous effects — three positive, one negative, five null — with a small average positive impact that dissipates within four to five years.

Does the Sun Set for Students' Success? Time Zone Boundaries and School Performance

Exploits the sharp one-hour discontinuity at U.S. time zone boundaries — which gives students on the west side more sleep and more evening time — to identify the effect on school performance. Using a regression-discontinuity design across elementary, middle, and high schools in 37 states, schools on the west side score higher than those on the east, with the largest effect at the middle-school level.

Aligned City Mayors and Economic Activity in Coalition and One-Party Governments

Tests whether mayors politically aligned with the national governing party generate measurable differences in local economic activity, using nighttime light intensity as a proxy for output in Turkish municipalities. Under coalition governments, aligned mayors' cities show more economic activity; under one-party governments the relationship reverses — consistent with stronger electoral incentives when no single party dominates.

Effects of the Location of Solar Panels on Home Values in Spartanburg County, SC

Examines how the geographic placement of residential solar installations relates to property values, with implications for the spatial diffusion of clean-energy infrastructure.