Math Finance Club
At University of California, IRVINE
About US
Mission Statement
Connecting students with financial professionals, fostering students’ passion for finance, and support each other.
Network Events
Connecting with your peers of UCI in finance concentration.
Internship/Job opportunities
Providing members with opportunities to obtain internships and jobs
Speaker Events
Inviting financial professionals from different fields to UC Irvine. Giving students real insight of financial word.
Academic Events
Connecting students with Professors and staff in UCI.
Club Advisors & Admins
Prof. Jeffrey Ludwig
Jeffrey Ludwig joined the UCI Math Department as an Assistant Professor of Teaching in July, 2018. Prior to joining the faculty at UCI, Dr. Ludwig was the Founding Director and Head of Ph.D. Research at Jump Labs, the research division of Jump Trading, a high frequency trading firm based in Chicago, IL. There he was deeply involved in research for quantitative high frequency trading spanning machine learning, datamining, text mining, signal processing, high performance computing, and low latency telecommunications in collaboration with academia. Previously he served as a portfolio manager for SAC Capital Management from May 2013 to November 2014 where he managed quantitative futures strategies spanning equities, fixed income, commodities, and volatility. From October 2010 to May 2013, he was Director of the Algorithmic Trading Group at Barclays Capital in New York and London where he developed statistical arbitrage and market making strategies; and supervised team of quantitative developers. From May 2004 to September 2010 he served as a portfolio manager for Millennium Partners, L.P where he managed $5 billion U.S. Treasury bond basis strategy and $100 million commodities arbitrage strategy. Earlier in his career from October 2000 to May 2004, Dr. Ludwig served as a senior vice president and portfolio manager for Pacific Investment Management Company (Pimco), Newport Beach, CA where he managed a $22 billion derivatives-based enhanced equity index product with 155 bps average annual alpha. He began his career as a vice president in the global index arbitrage trading group at Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, focusing on intraday index arbitrage.
Dr. Ludwig earned a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, all from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has published 12 journal articles and holds one U.S. patent.
Linkedin
Ryan Hill
Finance Director of Advantage Sales & Marketing.
UCI B.S Physics
USC MBA
As Director of Enterprise Information Management for a $4B, 100K employee company, I am responsible for Financial Reporting Solutions.
WHAT I DO: I improve the efficiency, accuracy, and business insights of the corporate finance and operations management teams. I do this by looking at the people, processes, and technologies that drive change. I believe in driving an organization to world-class standards, including efficiency. I view technology as an enabler, but typically not the sole solution; it is often the processes and training that require the most attention.
WHAT MAKES ME DIFFERENT: I’m a true hybrid when it comes to both Finance and Technology. I bring not only breadth but also depth to the table in this regard. I am very grounded in the real-world – many years of working in demanding finance roles have given me a perspective as to what users need, to which I now find creative ways to delight them. Are you bombarded with terms like: The Cloud, Real-Time Reporting, Machine Learning, and others by software vendors? I can explain these concepts as well as many others (including some of the technicalities on the finance side) in plain English.
WHAT MOTIVATES ME: I am passionate about making a positive change in people’s lives. It is extremely rewarding to free people from mundane tasks and let them focus on bringing insights to the business and watch them grow professionally. Looking for a corporate yes-man? – I’m not your guy. I value authenticity and enjoy working with others that relentlessly pursue world-class results, while never abandoning empathy in the process.
SPECIALITIES: Business Intelligence / CPM Systems | ERP Assessment & Implementation | Team Development | Mentoring | Process Reengineering | Data Warehouse Architecture | Portfolio Analysis | Competitive Analysis
APPLICATION EXPERIENCE: ERP: Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, Oracle | Hyperion | Business Objects | Cognos | Power BI | BI360
Prof. Matthew Foreman
UC Berkeley Ph.D., Mathematics
Harvard Business School MBA
Prof. Michelle Garfinkel
Michelle Garfinkel is a Professor of Economics at UCI. She received her PhD in Economics at Brown University in 1988, and took her first position in the Research Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. She joined the faculty at UCI in July 1991 as an Assistant Professor, and since then has taught a variety of courses, including Money and Banking and Financial Investments as well as courses in Quantitative Economic Theory. Her research, which focuses on (i) conflict and cooperation both within and between nations and (ii) credibility and politics in domestic policy, has been published in a variety of economics and interdisciplinary journals, such as the American Economic Review, Conflict Management and Peace Science, Economics and Politics, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Monetary Economics, the Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, and Public Choice.She is affiliated with the Institute for Mathematical Behavioral Sciences and the Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies at UCI, and serves on the editorial board of several academic journals.
Board
President: Tim Yuan
Vice President: Levi Braden
Director of Finance: Spencer Yu
Director of Administrative Affairs: Julia Wallace
Director of Internal Affairs: Simon Nguyen
Director of Marketing and Data: Chapman Li
Tim Yuan
President
Major(s): Math Finance & Quantitative Economics
I am looking forward to meeting you!
Email: jingby1@uci.edu
Levi Braden
Vice President
Major(s): Math Finance
Email: bradenl@uci.edu
Spencer Yu
Director of Finance
Major(s): Math Finance & Quantitative Economics
Email: jiaxiny4@uci.edu
Julia Wallace
Director of Administrative Affairs
Major(s): Math Finance & Quantitative Economics
Email: jcwallac@uci.edu
Simon Nguyen
Director of Internal Affairs
Major(s): Math Data Science & Quantitative Economics
“Hi! My name is Simon Nguyen, and I am the Director of Internal Affairs of the Math Finance Club. I’ll be the outward, social, extroverted one that *passionately* loves math! The only thing I love more than math is Mahjong, so contact me to play anytime.
Email: simondn@uci.edu
Finance
Chapman Li
Director of Marketing and Data
Major(s): Quantitative Economics
Email: chapmal1@uci.edu