columbia university economics phd placement

Economics and Education PhD

Doctor of philosophy in economics and education.

Admissions Information

Displaying requirements for the Spring 2024, Summer 2024, and Fall 2024 terms.

Doctor of Philosophy

• Points/Credits: 75
• Entry Terms: Fall

Application Deadlines

Select programs remain open beyond our standard application deadlines , such as those with an extended deadline or those that are rolling (open until June or July). If your program is rolling or has an extended deadline indicated above, applications are reviewed as they are received and on a space-available basis. We recommend you complete your application as soon as possible as these programs can close earlier if full capacity has been met.

Application Requirements

Additional degree information.

Program Guide

Doctoral Program Worksheet

Requirements from the TC Catalog (AY 2023-2024)

Displaying catalog information for the Fall 2023, Spring 2024 and Summer 2024 terms.

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This 75-point degree program is intended for individuals who want to acquire advanced training in the theory, methods, and practices in the economics of education. It is a highly selective program to prepare individuals for leadership roles in teaching, research, or administrative settings.

The coursework for this program consists of three parts: core courses, courses in research methods, and courses in a specialized area of study, such as higher education, early childhood education, field experimentation, or a regional focus. Students work on their dissertation under the guidance of faculty advisors within the program; additional members of the dissertation committee may be drawn from other TC Departments, and at least one committee member must be from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. All degrees are conferred by Columbia University. https://www.tc.columbia.edu/education-policy-and- social-analysis/economics-and-education/degrees/doctor-of-philosophy- in-economics-and-education-econ/

Admission to the Ph.D. program is highly selective. All applications to enter the program are evaluated on an individual and holistic basis. However, the curriculum of the degree program assumes that students have some previous coursework in economics and statistics, possess intellectual maturity, and demonstrate an interest in education policy and practice. Compelling applications for admission demonstrate the applicant’s capacity for success and also clearly explain how the Economics and Education curriculum fits with the applicant’s past experiences and future goals.

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Program Director : Professor Alex Eble

Teachers College, Columbia University 212 Zankel, Suite B

Contact Person: Katherine Y. Chung, Program Manager

Phone: (212) 678-3677 Fax: (212) 678-3677

Email: kc2610@tc.columbia.edu

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• Administration
• Career Placement for Prior Classes

Graduates from the PhD program are placed in Academia, Government Agencies, Technology Industry, Finance and Banking.  

Graduate Student Placement 2023

Graduate student placement 2022, graduate student placement 2021, graduate student placement 2020, graduate student placement 2019, graduate student placement 2018, graduate student placement 2017, graduate student placement 2016, graduate student placement 2015, graduate student placement 2014, graduate student placement 2013, graduate student placement 2012, graduate student placement 2011, graduate student placement 2010, graduate student placement 2009, graduate student placement 2008, graduate student placement 2007, graduate student placement 2006, graduate student placement 2005.

• PhD Program
• Program Requirements
• Job Market Candidates
• Financial Support

Recent PhD Placements

Economics phd accepted job offers.

Bank of Japan Bogazici University, Turkey Central European University, Hungary International Monetary Fund, DC Korea Information Society Development Institute Korean Institution for Industrial Economics and Trade National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Japan National University of Singapore (NUS) Renmin University, China Tulane University, LA University of New South Wales, Australia University of Oregon University of Sydney, Australia Wisconsin Center for Education Research, WI

Rutgers Business School, NY Banco de Mexico Banco de Mexico Bank of Canada Bank of Chile Clark University, School of Management, MA Central Michigan University Congressional Budget Office, DC European University Institute, Max Weber Fellowship, Florence, Italy Hong Kong University of Science and Technology European University Institute, Max Weber Fellowship, Florence, Italy Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain Federal Reserve Bank Board of Governors, DCInternational Monetary Fund, DC Korea Institute for International Economic Policy Libera Università Internazionale Degli Studi Sociali, Rome, Italy Max Planck Institute, Jena, Germany Middle East Technical University, Turkey Oberlin College, OH University of Alberta School of Business, Canada University of Copenhagen, School of Business, Denmark University of Naples, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (post-doctoral fellowship), Italy

Analysis Group, Boston Bank of Canada Black & Veatch, Houston Blackrock, New York Bureau of Economic Analysis, Washington DC Deloitte, Transfer Pricing Group, Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank, Atlanta Fudan University, China Georgia Tech Indiana University Kelly School of Business Institute for Financial Management and Research, Chennai India International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington DC ITESMs (Monterrey Tech) Graduate School of Public Policy and ALFA, Monterey, Mexico Korean Insurance Research Institute (KIRI), Korea McKinsey and Co., Brazil Michigan State University Oberlin College, OH Singapore Management University, Singapore Stanford Business School, CA Private hedge fund, New York Toulouse School of Economics, France University of California Davis University of Exeter, UK University of Hawaii, Hilo University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management Vanderbilt University, TN

Bank Indonesia California State University East Bay Case Western Reserve, PA Department of Justice, DC El Colegio de Mexico Federal Reserve Board of Governors, DC London School of Economics, UK Multi-Cultural Mental Health Research Center, Harvard University Purdue University, IN Analysis Group, Boston University of Sao Paulo, Brazil University of Virginia

Bates White, MA DxCG Inc, MA Ernst & Young, GA Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, TX International Monetary Fund, DC NERA, NY Northwestern University (Economics), IL Northwestern University (Kellogg School of Management), IL Wayne State University, MI World Bank, DC

Chinese University of Hong Kong, China Bank of Japan, Japan Bank of Japan, Japan Cornerstone Research, Menlo Park, CA University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University of Notre Dame, IN Suffolk University, MA

Note: Positions from 2005 to 2010 reflect only PhD students who entered the formal job market and accepted a job through that process. Students who already had jobs arranged or did not do a formal search are not included in those years. Hence the lists are incomplete. Students from 2011 on are those who voluntarily chose to list their new jobs, regardless of the search process.

• Faculty Intranet

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

• Prospective Ph.D.s

The department assists students, both financially and practically, to prepare and distribute job market materials to potential employers. We have an excellent record of placing students with leading research universities, liberal arts colleges, government agencies and the private sector.

Listed below is the initial placement for all 274 of our graduates receiving a Ph.D. in the years between 2010 and 2024. The unemployment rate was 0%. For academic positions, appointment is in an Economics Department except where indicated.

Academic placements

• Brown University (postdoc)/University of Nottingham
• Chinese University of Hong Kong (Business School)
• Cornell University
• European University Institute, Italy (postdoc)
• John Hopkins University
• Kobe University
• Princeton University (postdoc)/University of Pennsylvania (Business School)
• Tel Aviv University
• University of Bristol
• University of California-Davis
• University of California Los Angeles (Business School)
• University of Cambridge (postdoc)
• University of Chile
• Yale Cowles Foundation (postdoc)/University of Michigan
• University of Munich
• University of Tokyo
• University of Virginia
• University of Warwick
• University of Zurich (postdoc)
• Vanderbilt University

Government placements

• DIME World Bank

Private industry & consulting placements

• Bates White, Washington, DC
• Compass Lexecon, Chicago
• Compass Lexecon, Washington, DC
• Cornerstone Research, Chicago
• Cornerstone Research, UK
• Early Warning Service LLC
• Marshall Wace
• Becker Friedman Institute (postdoc)/University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Duke University (Business School)
• Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance, Rome
• Harvard  University (Business School) postdoc
• McGill University
• Michigan State University
• Montreal School of Pharmacy (postdoc)
• Tilburg University
• University of California, Los Angeles
• University of Georgia
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• University of Iowa (Business School)
• Warwick University (Business School), UK
• Yale University (Business School)
• Bank of Italy
• Federal Trade Commission, Washington DC
• Gender Innovation Lab of the World Bank
• Amazon, San Francisco
• Cornerstone Research
• CRI Foundation
• Jane Street Capital
• T-Mobile US Inc., Seattle
• Uber, New York City
• Walmart Inc.
• American University (Business School)
• Brigham Young University
• California Institute of Technology
• Collegio Carlo Alberto
• Florida State University
• Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore
• MIT (Business School)
• National University of Singapore
• Ohio State University (Business School)
• Peking HSBC (Business School)
• Princeton (postdoc)/Columbia University (Business School)
• Stanford (postdoc)/Tilburg University
• Stanford GSB (postdoc)/University of Delaware
• UCLA (Business School)
• University of Alberta
• University of Bonn (postdoc)
• University of Chicago (postdoc)/Stanford GSB
• University of Chicago Crime Lab
• University of St. Gallen
• University of Surrey
• University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Interamerican Development Bank
• Kiel Institute for World Economy

Private industry and consulting placements

• Analysis Group, LA
• Compass Lexecon
• Barclays (London)
• College of Mexico, A.C.
• Harvard University Business School
• London School of Economics (2)
• Oxford University, England
• Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
• University of California, Berkeley
• University of Essex, England
• University of Mannheim, Germany
• University of North Carolina, Wilmington
• Federal Reserve Board, Washington, DC
• Amazon, Seattle, WA
• Amazon (Washington, DC)
• Research Improving People's Lives (RIPL)
• Uber, San Francisco
• Fundacao Getulio Vargas, Rio de Janeiro
• Monsah University, Australia (postdoc)
• National University of Singapore (Business School)
• Oxford University, England (postdoc)
• Peking University, China 
• Rochester University (postdoc)
• Stanford University (postdoc)
• Stockholm University, Sweden
• University of Chicago
• University of Edinburgh, Scotland
• University of Oregon
• University of Texas, Austin
• University of Tokyo (postdoc)
• Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington DC
• International Monetary Fund, Washington DC
• Analysis Group, Chicago
• Bates White, Washington DC
• Capital One, Chicago
• NERA, New York City
• Uber, Chicago
• Capital University of Economics and Business, Beijing
• Case Western Reserve University
• Duke University (Business School)
• Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance, Rome 
• New York University, Abu Dhabi
• Rice University (Business School)
• University of Copenhagen
• University of Pennsylvania (Business School)
• University of Toronto (Business School) 
• International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC (2)

Private Industry and consulting placements

• Analysis Group, Boston, MA
• Analysis Group, Dallas, TX
• Charles Rivers Associates, Oakland CA
• Quant Co, Cologne, Germany
• Uber Technologies, San Francisco, CA
• Brown University (postdoc)
• Duke University
• Hitotsubashi University, Japan
• Monash University, Australia
• New York University (Stern School)
• Ohio State University (postdoc)
• Tel Aviv University, Israel
• Toulouse School of Economics
• University of Calgary
• University of California, San Diego
• University of Chicago (Public Policy)
• University of Mannheim, Germany (2) 
• University of Michigan (postdoc)
• Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil (postdoc)
• Waseda University, Japan
• Central Bank of Mexico
• Federal Reserve Bank Board of Governors, Washington DC
• Analysis Group, Boston (2)
• Charles River Associates, Oakland, CA
• Cornerstone Research, Chicago (2)
• Brown University
• Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• International College of Economics and Finance, Moscow, Russia
• Stevens Institute of Technology (Finance)
• University of Florida (2)
• University of Southern California (Law School)
• Cornerstone Research, New York City
• Ernst & Young, Frankfurt, Germany
• SPHERE Institute, Washington DC
• Spring Venture Group (insurance industry) Kansas City, MO
• Catolica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, Portugal
• CERGE-EI, Prague, Czech Republic
• Princeton University
• Ryerson University, Canada
• University of Hong Kong
• University of Nevada, Reno
• University of Sydney, Australia
• University of Toronto (Business School)
• Yale University (postdoc)
• Charles River Associates, Washington DC
• Citadel LLC, Chicago
• Compass Lexecon, Boston
• Convertro Inc. (AOL Platforms), New York City
• Cornerstone Research, New York City (2)
• Cornerstone Research, Washington DC
• McKinsey & Company, Chicago
• Park School of Baltimore
• University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
• University of Miami
• University of Nottingham
• University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Toronto
• Federal Trade Commission, Washington DC (2)
• Inter-American Development Bank, Washington DC
• Bank of America - Merrill Lynch, New York City
• Barclays Capital, New York City
• Emil van Essen Managed Futures, LLC, Chicago
• City University of Hong Kong
• Georgia State University
• Pennsylvania State University
• Singapore Management University
• Texas A&M University
• University of Leicester, United Kingdom
• University of Maryland (Agricultural and Resource Economics)
• Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, China
• Yale University
• Analysis Group, Dallas
• Copenhagen Economics, Denmark
• Auburn University
• Collegio Carlo Alberto, Turin, Italy
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan School)
• Northwestern University
• Oregon State University
• University of British Columbia (Business School)
• University of Minnesota (Business School)
• University of North Carolina
• Universidad del Pacifico, Peru
• University of Rochester (Business School)
• Yale University (Business School) 
• Compass Lexecon, Washington DC
• Ernst & Young, Chicago
• Arizona State University
• College of William and Mary
• Georgetown University (Foreign Service)
• Gettysburg College
• Ohio State University
• University of Iowa
• University of Wisconsin (Business School)
• University of Queensland, Australia
• University of Toulouse, France
• Bank of England
• Acumen LLC, San Francisco
• GETCO LLC, Chicago
• McKinsey and Company, Chicago
• National Economic Research Associates, New York City
• PIMCO, New York City
•   Arizona State University
• European University Institute, Italy
• IMT Lucca Institute for Advanced Studies, Italy
• Middle Tennessee State University
• University of Haifa, Israel; 
• Bank of Canada
• Bank of Japan
• Carleton College
• Royal Holloway College, United Kingdom
• St Gallen University, Switzerland
• University of Luxembourg, School of Finance, Luxembourg
• University of Michigan, Survey Research Center
• University of Navarra (Business School), Spain
• University of Western Ontario
• Deloitte, Transfer Pricing Practice, Chicago
• Goldman Sachs, New York City

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MAFN Faculty

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• For MAFN alumni
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Graeme S. Baker

Irina Bogacheva

Irina Bogacheva is Director of Research at Millburn Ridgefield and Adjunct Professor within the Department of Mathematics.

Previously, she held senior research positions with Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Asset Management, QS Investors, and Franklin Templeton. Irina’s professional experience includes research and implementation of systematic global macro strategies, strategic and dynamic asset allocation, and active factor equity strategies. She holds Diploma in Mathematics from Moscow State University, Master’s in Economics from New Economic School (Moscow), and an MBA in Analytic Finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where she also completed Ph.D. coursework in Finance.

Alberto Botter

Adjunct Professor, Department of Mathematics MS, Columbia University Quantitative Methods in Investment Management

Alberto Botter is a Managing Director within the Portfolio Management department at AQR Capital Management. In this role, he oversees the construction, optimization, and management of AQR’s Equities Long-Short and Tax-Managed portfolios. Prior to AQR, Mr. Botter was a quant in the Wealth Strategies Group at Morgan Stanley. Alberto earned a B.S. and an M.S. in economics from the University of Bologna and an M.A. in Mathematics of Finance from Columbia University.

[email protected]

Luca Capriotti

Adjunct Professor, Department of Mathematics Ph.D., International School for Advanced Studies Credit Models, Computational Finance, and Machine Learning

Luca is the Global Head of Quantitative Strategies (QS) Credit at Credit Suisse, where he has worked since 2004. Previous to this role, he was the global head of QS for Credit and Structured Notes; he was the EMEA head and the US head of QS Global Credit Products; he worked in Commodities in New York and London, and he was part of the cross-asset modeling R&D group of QS in the London office.

Luca is also Visiting Professor at the Department of Mathematics at University College London, and an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University. His current research interests are in Credit Models, Computational Finance, and Machine Learning, with a focus on efficient numerical techniques for Derivatives Pricing and Risk Management, and applications of Adjoint Algorithmic Differentiation (AAD), which he has pioneered in Finance and Physics, and for which he holds a US Patent. Luca has published over 70 scientific papers, with the top 3 papers collecting to date over 1000 citations (h factor 27, i10 factor 49).

Prior to working in Finance, Luca was a researcher at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, Santa Barbara, California, working in High-Temperature Superconductivity and Quantum Monte Carlo methods for Condensed Matter systems. He has been awarded the Director’s fellowship at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the Wigner Fellowship at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Luca holds an M.S. cum laude in Physics from the University of Florence, and an M.Phil. and a Ph.D. cum laude in Condensed Matter Theory, from the International School for Advanced Studies, Trieste.

[email protected]

Alexei Chekhlov

Capital Markets and Investments, Math Methods in Financial Price Analysis

Alexei Chekhlov is an Adjunct Assistant Professor within the Department of Mathematics. He has previously taught graduate courses such as “Mathematical Methods in Financial Price Analysis” and “Capital Markets and Investments.” Additionally, Chekhlov serves as the Head of Research and Partner at Systematic Alpha Management, LLC, and he previously worked as a research associate at Princeton University, where he conducted research on the theory of fluid turbulence. He has published repeatedly on fluid mechanics, the kinetic theory of gases, turbulence, and within the fields of applied mathematics and quantitative finance. Chekhlov earned his Ph.D. in Applied and Computational Mathematics from Princeton University.

[email protected]

Paul-Guillaume Fournié

MSc, Ecole Polytechnique, 2015 MSc, Corps des Mines, 2018

Interest Rates Models

Paul-Guillaume Fournié has been working as an Options Rates Quant at BNP Paribas’ New York office since 2019, heading the team locally since 2022. Covering both Vanilla and Exotic options, his most recent focus has been on the creation and adaptation of interest rates models to SOFR. He holds MSc in Mathematics and Physics from Ecole Polytechnique and MSc in Economics and Public Policy from Corps des Mines. Before switching to finance he occupied several positions in leading French industrial and telecommunications companies and served in France’s Ministry of the Economy.

[email protected]

Tat Sang Fung

Adjunct Professor, Department of Mathematics PhD, Columbia University, 1996 Numerical Methods in Finance and Risk Model Methodologies

Tat Sang Fung is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, and he currently teaches “Numerical Methods in Finances,” a graduate course required for students in the Mathematics of Finance program. His areas of expertise include Quantitative Finance and Risk Management Methodology, and Mathematics. Additionally, Fung serves as the Global Head of Risk Model Methodology at Jefferies and has held other senior positions in the finance industry at Finch Lead Inc. and Finastra. Fung earned his Ph.D. in Mathematics from Columbia University.

[email protected] | 212-854-5880 | Website

Julien guyon

Adjunct Professor, Department of Mathematics PhD, École des ponts ParisTech, 2006 Nonlinear Option Pricing

Julien Guyon is a professor of Applied Mathematics at Ecole des Ponts ParisTech, one of the oldest and one of the most prestigious French Grandes Ecoles, where he holds the BNP Paribas Chair Futures of Quantitative Finance. Before joining Ecole des Ponts, Julien worked in the financial industry for 16 years, first in the Global Markets Quantitative Research team at Societe Generale in Paris (2006-2012), then as a senior quantitative analyst in the Quantitative Research group at Bloomberg L.P., New York (2012-2022). Julien was also an adjunct professor in the Department of Mathematics at Columbia University and at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, NYU, from 2015 to 2022; and previously at Universite Paris Diderot and Ecole des Ponts ParisTech. Julien serves as an Associate Editor of Finance & Stochastics, SIAM Journal on Financial Mathematics, Quantitative Finance, and Journal of Dynamics and Games. He is also a Louis Bachelier Fellow.

Julien co-authored the book Nonlinear Option Pricing (Chapman & Hall, 2014) with Pierre Henry-Labordere. He has published more than 20 articles in peer-reviewed journals (including Finance and Stochastics, SIAM Journal on Financial Mathematics, Quantitative Finance, Risk, Journal of Computational Finance, Annals of Applied Probability, Stochastic Processes and their Applications) and is a regular speaker at international conferences, both academic and professional. His main research interests include volatility and correlation modeling, option pricing, optimal transport, and numerical probabilistic methods.

A big soccer fan, Julien has also published articles on fairness in sports both in academic journals and in top-tier newspapers including The New York Times, The Times, Le Monde, and El Pais. Some of his suggestions for draws and tournament design have been adopted by FIFA and UEFA, including a new, fairer draw method for the FIFA World Cup; a fairer format for the 2026 FIFA World Cup (in progress); a new knockout bracket for the UEFA Euro; and an optimized schedule of the UEFA Champions League. His paper “Risk of collusion: Will groups of 3 ruin the FIFA World Cup?” won the 2nd prize at the 2021 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, the biggest sports analytics event in the world.

Ioannis Karatzas

Ioannis Karatzas is the Eugene Higgins Professor of Applied Probability in Columbia’s Department of Mathematics, whose research interests include Probability and Mathematical Statistics, Random Processes, Stochastic Analysis, Optimization, and Mathematical Economics and Finance. He has served as the managing editor for the book series Applications of Mathematics and on numerous editorial boards such as “Applied Mathematics & Optimization,” “Stochastics,” the “SIAM Journal on Mathematical Analysis,” and the “SIAM Journal on Control & Optimization.” His book with Steven Shreve, Brownian Motion and Stochastic Calculus, first published in 1987, is the standard reference within the field of Stochastic Analysis. Karatzas earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University and helped build and establish this Mathematics of Finance Master’s program.

[email protected] | Website

David X. Li

Adjunct Professor, Department of Mathematics PhD, University of Waterloo, 1995 Credit analytics, Risk Management, FinTech

David X. Li currently teaches at Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance, Shanghai Jiaotong University. Previously, he held senior positions at various leading financial institutions for more than two decades in the areas of new product development, risk management, asset/liability management and investment analytics.

David has a PhD degree in statistics from the University of Waterloo, Master’s degrees in economics, finance and actuarial science, and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. Dr. Li was one of the early practitioners in credit derivatives. His work of using copula functions for credit portfolio modeling has been widely cited by academic researchers, broadly used by practitioners for credit portfolio trading, credit risk management and credit rating, and well covered by media such as Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Nikkei, CBC News.

[email protected]

Bryan Liang

Adjunct Professor, Department of Mathematics PhD, University of Michigan, 2002 Non-Linear Option Pricing

Bryan Liang is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics, specializing in Derivatives Modelling. Additionally, Liang has extensive experience as a quantitative analyst in the finance industry, currently working as a Quantitative Researcher in the Quantitative Financial Research Group for Bloomberg. Liang earned his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Michigan.

Amal Moussa

Adjunct Professor, Department of Mathematics PhD, Columbia University, 2011 Modeling and Trading Derivatives

Dr. Amal Moussa is a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, where she leads the Single Stocks Exotic Derivatives Trading desk. Prior to that, Amal held senior-level positions in equity derivatives trading at other leading financial institutions such as J.P. Morgan, UBS, and Citigroup. In addition to her work in Markets, Amal is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, where she teaches a graduate course on Modeling and Trading Derivatives in the Mathematics of Finance Masters program.

Amal has a Ph.D. in Statistics, obtained with distinction, from Columbia University. Her thesis “Contagion and Systemic Risk in Financial Networks” shed light on the importance of the network structure in identifying systemic financial institutions and formulating regulatory policies and has been cited by several scholars and industry professionals, including former Federal Reserve president Janet Yellen. She was also awarded the Minghui Yu Teaching Award at Columbia University. Prior to her Ph.D., Amal graduated with a Masters in Mathematical Finance from Sorbonne University (former Paris VI) and a Grande Ecole engineering degree from Télécom Paris.

Amal is a board member of Teach for Lebanon, an NGO working to ensure that all children in Lebanon have access to education regardless of socioeconomic background, and she is an active member of the Women in Trading network at Goldman Sachs.

[email protected]

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics PhD, Columbia University, 1996 Programming for Quantitative & Computational Finance

Ka Yi Ng is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics with extensive quantitative experience in FinTech. Currently, Ng works at Calypso Technology Inc. and serves as an advisor at Finch Lead Inc. Ng previously worked at Wall Street Systems and ION. At Columbia, her interests include Derivatives and Structured Products Development, and Machine Learning. Ng earned her Ph.D. in Mathematics from Columbia University.

[email protected] | Website

Lars Tyge Nielsen

Director of the Mathematics of Finance MA program PhD, Harvard University, 1985

Lars Tyge Nielsen is the Director of the Mathematics of Finance MA (MAFN) program. He was a Chaired Professor, Associate Dean, and Director of the PhD program at INSEAD, the international business school in Fontainebleau, France and Singapore and now Abu Dhabi. He has held academic appointments at Nankai University, China (Chair Professor), NYU, UT Austin, Copenhagen Business School and the University of Copenhagen. Dr. Nielsen spent 13 years on Wall Street as an executive at various institutions including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.

[email protected] | 212-854-4306 | Website

Colm O’Cinneide

Adjunct Professor, Department of Mathematics PhD, University of Kentucky, 1983 Multi-Asset Portfolio Management

Colm O’Cinneide is an adjunct professor in the Department of Mathematics. He has worked in quantitative asset allocation and portfolio construction roles for the past 20 years at Deutsche Asset Management, QS Investors, and Franklin Templeton Investments, where he is currently an SVP. He was a partner at QS investors. Prior to this, he worked in academia from 1982 to 2000 and held tenured positions in Mathematical Sciences (Statistics) at the University of Arkansas and Industrial Engineering (Operations Research) at Purdue University. He has 40+ refereed publications related to probability, statistics, numerical analysis, and finance, with 1300+ citations and a track record of National Science Foundation funding. He has a PhD in Statistics from the University of Kentucky.

[email protected]

Inna Okounkova

Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Investment Consulting, Wealth Management eJournal, and Wealth Management Editor’s Choice eJournal; formerly Director of Investment Strategy at AB Bernstein; prior to that head of Strategic Asset Allocation Portfolio Management and partner at QS Investors, LLC and head of Strategic Asset Allocation Portfolio Management at Deutsche Asset Management; Past President and Director of the Honorary Board of the Society of Quantitative Analysts; MS in Mathematical Economics and ABD from Moscow State University; MBA from the University of Chicago (1999).

[email protected]

Rosanna Pezzo-Brizio

Rosanna Pezzo-Brizio is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Mathematics, specializing in Fixed Income Portfolio Management. Pezzo-Brizio has a vast array of professional, senior experience, working at Goldman Sachs, Greenwich Capital Markets, Intesa Sanpaolo. Currently, she is the Director of the Investment Consulting Group at New York Life Investments. Pezzo-Brizio holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics of Finance from the University of Brescia. Additionally, she graduated from Columbia University’s Mathematics of Finance program in 1998 as one of the program’s first classes.

[email protected]

Franz Rembart

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Statistics PhD, University of Oxford, 2016 Statistical Inference / Time-Series Modelling

[email protected]

Gordon Ritter

PhD, Harvard University Machine Learning for Finance

Professor Ritter is founder and CIO of Ritter Alpha LP, a registered investment adviser running systematic absolute-return trading strategies across multiple asset classes and geographical regions. Before Ritter Alpha, he was a senior portfolio manager at GSA Capital and a Vice President in the Statistical Arbitrage Group at Highbridge Capital Management (HCM). Gordon completed his PhD in mathematical physics at Harvard University and his Bachelors’ degree with honors in Mathematics from the University of Chicago. While at Harvard, he published several papers in the areas of quantum field theory, differential geometry, quantum computation and abstract algebra. His current research is on portfolio optimization and statistical machine learning. Notable publications include “Optimal turnover, liquidity, and autocorrelation,” with @Bastien Baldacci of @ Université Paris Dauphine – PSL and @Jerome Benveniste of @New York University, Risk, 2022, and “Machine learning for trading,” Risk, 2017. In recognition of the latter publication, Professor Ritter was named Buy-Side Quant of the Year in 2019.

[email protected]

Renzo Silva

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics MBA, Columbia Business School Machine Learning for Finance

Renzo Silva is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics. In addition to his teaching position, Mr. Silva has extensive professional experience in the Financial Technology industry, and he currently serves as a Software Engineering Manager at Google. Previous experiences include Software Development Manager at Amazon, CTO at P1 Capital, and Managing Director at the New York Stock Exchange. Mr. Silva is a graduate of Columbia University’s Mathematics of Finance MA program, and he also holds an MBA in Finance and Economics from Columbia Business School. His research interests include Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Optimization, Simulation, and Quantum Computing.

[email protected]

Mikhail Smirnov

Mikhail Smirnov is a Senior Lecturer in Discipline in the Department of Mathematics and was Director of the Mathematics of Finance program in 1998-2012. His research interests include Quantitative Portfolio Management, Quantitative Investment Strategies, and Risk Measurement. He holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University.

[email protected] | 212-854-6955 | Website

Harvey J. Stein

Dr. Harvey J. Stein left Bloomberg in March 2022 after a distinguished 28 3/4 year career where he built quant and engineering teams and introduced a variety of innovations in option pricing, computation and risk analysis. Dr. Stein is well known in the industry, having published and lectured on credit risk modeling, financial regulation, interest rate and FX modeling, CVA calculations, mortgage-backed security valuation, COVID-19 data analysis, and other subjects. Dr. Stein is on the board of directors of the IAQF, a board member of the Rutgers University Mathematical Finance program, an adjunct professor at Columbia University, and an organizer of the IAQF/Thalesians financial seminar series. He’s also worked as a quant researcher on the Bloomberg for President campaign. He received his BA in mathematics from WPI in 1982 and his PhD in mathematics from UC Berkeley in 1991. He recently started a new position as Senior VP, Quant Research at Two Sigma.

[email protected]

Statistical Interference/ Time-Series Modeling

Yisha Yao is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Statistics. Her research interests span a wide range of modern high-dimensional statistics, including but not limited to nonparametric methods, statistical inferences, mixture models, FDR control, iterative algorithms, tensor analysis, and applications in biomedical sciences. She obtained her PhD in statistics from Rutgers University (New Brunswick) in 2021, and then spent two years at Yale University as a postdoctoral researcher in biostatistics.

[email protected]

Adjunct Professor, Department of Mathematics AB/SM, Harvard University, 1998 Hedge Funds Strategies and Risk

Eric Yeh is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Mathematics, specializing in Quantitative Investment Strategies. Yeh’s vast professional experience in the Finance industry includes senior positions at Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Tower Research Capital, and AllianceBernstein. Currently, he is President of Vermillion Leaf Capital LLC and an advisor to multiple investment managers, including the $100M hedge fund he previously co-founded. Yeh holds an AB in Mathematics and an SM in Computer Science from Harvard University.

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march, 2023

9 mar 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm Slouching towards Moscow: Family Values and the Romance of Russia (Bethany Moreton)

Event Details

Date: Thursday, March 9th, 2023 Location: 411 Fayerweather Hall, 1180 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027

Date: Thursday, March 9th, 2023

Location: 411 Fayerweather Hall, 1180 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027

Time: 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM EST

As part of the current upsurge of authoritarian politics and blood-and-soil ethnonationalism, U.S. Christians have rediscovered in Holy Russia an unlikely polestar. But this surge in the international “family values” movement is only the most recent iteration of a century-long relationship. From the Bolshevik Revolution through the present bromance with Putin, U.S. theocrats have used Russia as a resource for promoting sexual conformity, racial purity, and gender rigidity. Far from serving as mere “culture wars” distractions from law and economics, these theocratic ambitions are meant to secure a free market under God. This history suggests that when Christian nationalists tell us what they want, we should take them at their word.

Bethany Moreton  is Professor of History at Dartmouth College and a series editor for Columbia University Press’s Studies in the History of U.S. Capitalism.  Her first book,  To Serve God and Wal-Mart: The Making of Christian Free Enterprise  (Harvard University Press, 2009), won the Frederick Jackson Turner Prize for best first book in U.S. history and the John Hope Franklin Award for the best book in American Studies.  Her most recent book is  Entre Dios y el capital  (Txalaparta, 2022). 

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1180 Amsterdam Avenue

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Who Is Russia’s New Defense Minister?

Putin’s appointment of economist andrei belousov suggests moscow is digging in for the long haul..

• Amy Mackinnon

Russia’s War in Ukraine

Understanding the conflict two years on.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed his former economic advisor, Andrei Belousov, as defense minister on Sunday in the latest sign that the country’s economy is being placed on a war footing in anticipation of a drawn-out fight in Ukraine. 

Belousov, who most recently served as first deputy prime minister, replaces longtime Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who was appointed secretary of Russia’s Security Council amid a cabinet reshuffle following Putin’s inauguration to a fifth term in office last week. 

Belousov takes the helm of the country’s Defense Ministry amid record military expenditure; spending on the war is set to account for almost one-third of the state’s budget this year. 

Putin’s decision to tap an economist with no military background to lead the closely scrutinized Defense Ministry in wartime came as a surprise to many analysts, who noted that the 65-year-old is not part of Putin’s inner circle of security hawks. His appointment speaks to the Kremlin’s thinking about the future of the war in Ukraine as it grinds into its third year, said Mark Galeotti, an expert on the Russian security services and the director of the consultancy firm Mayak Intelligence. 

“There is clearly a sense that Putin’s Russia is digging in,” he said. “It’s going to be an attritional conflict, and to that end, national resources have to be concentrated.” As first deputy prime minister, Belousov oversaw efforts to ramp up Russia’s domestic production of unmanned drones, which have plagued Ukrainian forces on the battlefield. 

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin opted to tap a civilian economist for the role in the hope of better integrating defense spending with the wider economy and fueling innovation. “ Today on the battlefield, the winner is the one who is more open to innovation,” Peskov said. “Therefore, it is natural that at the current stage, the president decided that the Russian Ministry of Defense should be headed by a civilian.”

During wartime, the Russian defense minister’s role is to ensure that the generals have the resources they need to press ahead in the war—a cross between “comptroller and political advocate,” Galeotti said. “These are roles that Belousov can absolutely fill.”

Analysts broadly divide the Russian elite into two camps: the hawks, drawn from the country’s security services, and the technocrats who have helped keep the country’s economy afloat amid increasing international isolation and punishing financial sanctions. 

Belousov, a Soviet-educated economist who supported the annexation of Crimea in 2014, is seen as straddling the two worlds as a skilled technocrat and statist who sees the government as having a large role in managing economic affairs. 

“He has always been a sort of a strange combination,” said Konstantin Sonin, an economist at the University of Chicago who has known Belousov for 20 years. “He was old school ideologically, but he was basically modern methodologically.”

In 2000, Belousov founded the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting, Russia’s first homegrown macroeconomic think tank, Sonin said. Having held a range of roles in government since 2006, including as minister of economic development, Belousov is known and trusted by Putin, but his otherwise low profile and lack of a power base pose little challenge to the Russian president’s grip on power. “Putin is extremely careful about not elevating anyone who could be seen as any kind of successor,” Sonin said.

With extravagant corruption rife among Russia’s political elite, Belousov is regarded to be relatively clean “by Moscow standards,” Sonin said, something that will likely be welcomed by Russia’s patriotic military bloggers who have long accused the Defense Ministry of being hamstrung by corruption.

“The appointment of a figure trusted by the president from a different agency will disrupt the rigid system of corrupt ties inside the Defense Ministry,” the nationalist blogger Dmitry Seleznev wrote . “It’s obvious that this reshuffling is being done for the purpose of strengthening the economic component of the military bloc.”

A tax on windfall profits of large corporations, proposed by Belousov and signed into law by Putin last year, succeeded in raising $3 billion for the country’s war-strained economy.

Shoigu, a shrewd political operator who had served in the role since 2012, was routinely singled out for scathing criticism by former Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who incited a short-lived military rebellion last year before dying in a plane crash in August. 

The dramatic arrest of Shoigu’s deputy and close ally Timur Ivanov in late April was widely interpreted as a shot across the bow at Shoigu ahead of the government reshuffle. 

Shoigu’s appointment as head of the Security Council speaks to Putin’s desire to remove Shoigu from the scene while preserving his dignity, Russian analyst Tatiana Stanovaya wrote in a post on Telegram . “Not because he is a friend but because it is safer for Putin himself,” she wrote, noting that the Security Council has become a place to park former political heavyweights who “have nowhere to settle but cannot be thrown out.” 

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has served as deputy chair of the council since 2020.

The secretary position had been held since 2008 by one of Putin’s closest friends, the ultra-hawkish Nikolai Patrushev, who forged the role into a hybrid of national security advisor and director of national intelligence, Galeotti said.

Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, said Patrushev would be appointed to a new role set to be announced this week.

Amy Mackinnon is a national security and intelligence reporter at Foreign Policy . Twitter:  @ak_mack

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