Remembering Axel Leijonhufvud

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The UCLA Department of Economics is sad to announce that Axel Leijonhufvud (1933-2022) passed away on May 2nd 2022.

Axel was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and obtained his bachelor degree at the University of Lund. After coming to the United States in 1960, he earned an M.A. from the University of Pittsburgh and his Ph.D. from Northwestern University. He came to the University of California at Los Angeles in 1964 and was named Full Professor in 1971. He served as Chairman of the Economics Department, most recently in 1990-1992. In 1991, he started the Center for Computable Economics at UCLA and remained its Director until 1997. Leijonhufvud was awarded an honoris causa doctoral degree by the University of Lund in 1983 and by the University Nice – Sophia Antipolis in 1996. In 1995 he was appointed Professor of Monetary Theory and Policy at the University of Trento, Italy, serving until 2008. Since 2000 he has organized annual Ph.D level Summer Schools in Adaptive Economic Dynamics.

Axel will be missed by the UCLA community. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

Roger Farmer, a former chair of the department, shares his memory here.

David K. Levine, a former faculty member of the department, shares his memory here.

Guido Tabellini, a former faculty member of the department, shares his memory here.

Axel’s obituary, published in the Los Angeles Times, can be found here.

Rosa Matzkin Elected National Academy of Sciences Member

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Rosa Matzkin, Charles E. Davidson Professor of Economics, has been elected a 2022 National Academy of Sciences member.

The National Academy of Sciences, established in 1863 by a congressional act of incorporation signed by Abraham Lincoln, acts as an official advisory body to the federal government on matters of science and technology upon request. The academy is a private, nonprofit institution dedicated to the furtherance of science and its use for the general welfare.

UCLA’s announcement can be found here.

More information about the national academy of sciences can be found here.

The full 2022 list of members can be found here.

Aarushi Gupta

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Donald Edward Bragg & Diane Sims Bragg Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Aarushi Gupta is a third-year majoring in Business Economics and currently minoring in Statistics and Entrepreneurship. At UCLA, she serves as External Vice President of 180 Degrees Consulting, the world’s largest volunteer consultancy for nonprofits and social enterprises, and Co-President & Account Supervisor of the Bruin Advertising & Marketing Team, UCLA’s student-run creative marketing agency. Previously, she has completed various internships in data analytics, venture capital, asset management, and media & entertainment. During her free time, Aarushi enjoys escape rooms, playing the piano, and figure skating.

Future Plans: This summer, Aarushi will be interning in consulting as a Summer Associate at EY-Parthenon in their San Francisco office. While she plans to broaden her knowledge about the business world after graduation through a consulting career, in the long term, she hopes to combine her passions for business and social impact through impact investing. She may also pursue an MBA a few years down the road, after gaining further work experience.

What does this scholarship mean to me? I am extremely grateful and honored to receive the Donald Edward Bragg & Diane Sims Bragg Scholarship. This scholarship strengthens my confidence in my academic endeavors, while allowing me to pursue relevant professional opportunities with less of a financial burden. The invaluable support from both the Bragg family and Economics Department further motivates me to continue striving for success, so I can one day pay it forward to others.

Genevieve Trimbell

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Donald Lipshutz Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Genevieve Trimbell is a second-year student from Seattle, WA majoring in business economics. She discovered her passion for economics in her AP Economics class in high school and never looked back. She loves gymnastics and currently participates in UCLA’s club gymnastics program as well as coaches for Bruin Gymnastics Academy. Additionally, she enjoys writing, and is a reporter for Daily Bruin Sports. Some of her other UCLA positions include membership in the sorority Gamma Phi Beta, strategic marketing manager for UCLA’s Bruin Sports Business Association, and junior consultant for Consult Your Community. Outside of these commitments, Genevieve likes hiking, exploring LA, painting, and reading. She loves the weather in LA and can often be found outside enjoying the sun.

Future Plans: Genevieve plans to graduate in June of 2024. She aspires to pursue a career in either consulting or in the sports business field, furthering her ambition to combine both the quantitative and qualitative skills learned in the business economics major. She is currently searching for an internship in management consulting or sports marketing. Passionate about travel, she hopes to study and potentially work abroad.

What does this scholarship mean to me? I am honored to be a recipient of the Donald Lipshutz Scholarship and am grateful for the generosity of the donors. As an out of state student, tuition is high, and anything I can receive to help is greatly appreciated. This scholarship will reduce financial need and allow me to put all my focus into my academic and extracurricular pursuits. I cannot express enough thanks to the donors and am thankful to in turn be able to contribute to the UCLA community.

Daibik Chakraborty

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Venu and Ana Kotamraju Endowed Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Daibik Chakraborty is a junior at UCLA hailing from the greater Los Angeles area. Double majoring in Public Affairs and Economics, he has grounded his academic curriculum with an emphasis on data and research to build upon skills that will help him to make informed decisions in his career as an attorney. As a member of UCLA’s Global Development Lab, Daibik applies his interest in debate and problem solving to discuss and analyze remedies to multivariate international issues. Daibik also currently works as a program assistant at the UCLA Anderson School of Management where he supports and facilitates the educational and logistical requisites of the Executive MBA program.

Future Plans: At the end of his junior year, Daibik will be joining Deloitte as a Global Consulting Intern, with a focus on strategy, finance, and operations. During his senior year, he will work for a government organization or NGO, as a part of his Public Affairs experiential capstone project, in hopes to expand the positive community impact of the organization he will be assisting. Upon graduation from UCLA, Daibik plans on attending law school to pursue a Juris Doctor and eventually land a legal career track that involves patent & intellectual property law and/or constitutional law.

What does this scholarship mean to me? Words cannot fully express how humbled and grateful I feel as a recipient of this scholarship and of Mr. and Mrs. Kotamraju’s unending benevolence. This scholarship serves as a motivational reminder that I am pursuing a path which I am meant to be successful in and inspires me to never settle for less than what I am capable of achieving. Furthermore, Mr. and Mrs. Kotamraju’s generosity has encouraged me to support academia in the future to aid UCLA students in becoming leaders in their bodies of work.

Kristen Chan

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Patricia and Harry L. Bruce Endowed Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Kristen Chan is a third year Business Economics major with a minor in Accounting and Digital Humanities. Growing up in the Bay Area, Kristen has always been passionate about startup culture. At UCLA, she is involved in both the consulting and accounting community, serving as the External Vice President of the Bruin Group Consulting and the Director of Student Affairs of the Student Accounting Society. She also joined Alpha Kappa Psi, a business fraternity to get more exposure to different careers in business. Outside of school, Kristen danced on multiple Foundation dance teams and was an event planner for the Association of Chinese Americans, the largest cultural organization on campus dedicated to spreading Chinese culture on campus. In her free time, Kristen enjoys going on food adventures, finding new viewpoints, and doing puzzles.

Future Plans: This upcoming summer, Kristen will be interning at Accenture as a Consulting Development Intern. After graduation, she plans on working full-time for a couple years before pursuing an MBA.

What does this scholarship mean to me? I am so grateful to be the recipient of the Patricia and Harry L. Bruce Endowed Scholarship. This scholarship affirms all the hard work I have put into school, clubs, and internships during my time at UCLA so far. Thank you again to the Bruce Family as well as the Economics Department for supporting me towards my academic and career goals.

Kris Nagdev

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Donald Lipshutz Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Kris Nagdev is a senior Business Economics major from Delhi, India. As an aspiring entrepreneur, he is pursuing the entrepreneurship minor. Raised by two entrepreneurs, Kris has always been immersed in the world of business. Creating value by alleviating pain points and generating gains motivates Kris to solve problems by engineering solutions. Kris has completed internships in various fields, including marketing, business development, strategy, and finance. Furthermore, Kris serves as the teaching assistant for Managerial Accounting (MGMT 122) taught by Professor Neha Kuma. Kris is a part of the Chancellor’s LINK (Leadership, Innovation, Networking, and Knowledge) Program that prepares students to become future leaders as well as the Social Enterprise Academy. He serves as the President of the Founder’s Club and APEX@UCLA on-campus. Beyond academics, Kris competes internationally as a professional racing driver for Volkswagen Motorsport. He believes that racing is a microcosm of life; just like he strives to extract the maximum performance from the racecar by pushing to the limit, he aims for perfection to yield the best possible results each day.

Future Plans: Kris plans to graduate in Fall 2022, completing his degree in an accelerated two-year period. Post-graduation, Kris aims to apply everything he has learned at UCLA into multiple areas ranging from automobiles to fintech to gain a wide range of experience. For Summer 2022, Kris will choose between numerous internship offers received from Fortune 500 companies and high-growth Series A start-ups.

What does this scholarship mean to me? I am honored to receive the Donald Lipshutz Scholarship. I want to extend a sincere thank you to the scholarship donors and the economics department. This scholarship will help me continue my academic pursuits as an international student while reducing my financial burden. More importantly, I am humbled to know that my efforts and successes at UCLA are recognized. This scholarship motivates me to work harder to make those who believe in me proud.

Joel Santiago

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Jeffrey W. Baus ’59 Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Joel Santiago is a 3rd year Business Economics major, minoring in Accounting. He was raised in Anaheim, California and is a first-generation student in college pursuing a career in the business industry. Joel became fascinated by the art of entrepreneurship and accounting from a young age and is always looking for innovative ways to succeed through business while also helping out his family and community in the process. In his spare time, Joel makes music with his bandmates and enjoys teaching others about several different subjects, always trying to find a way to entertain others and hoping to make a positive impact.

Future Plans: After graduating, Joel plans to work at an accounting firm while also pursuing to become a CPA. This is all to gain the experience needed to eventually start his own business to help others and his family live a better life. One day he hopes for him and his dad to start a non-profit in Mexico to help those in need and truly make a difference where it matters the most.

What does the scholarship mean to me? I am extremely honored to have been selected for the Jeffrey W. Baus ’59 Scholarship. I am truly grateful for this opportunity since now I don’t have the overbearing stress looming of having to worry about my financial situation, and instead put my full attention into pursuing academic greatness and search for opportunities that will enhance my career moving forward. This scholarship truly inspires me to keep pushing through the obstacles presented to me these years, and how proud I am to be at UCLA with the help of this scholarship and the Economics Department.

Itai Tismansky

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Professor Harry Simons Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship for the Study of Accounting Recipient

Biography: Itai Tismansky is a second-year student at UCLA majoring in Economics and minoring in Accounting. He finds the accounting classes to be some of the most practical and interesting classes he has taken at UCLA, and appreciates that he is learning skills that translate directly outside the classroom setting. He has avidly sought opportunities to apply these skills, including a wealth management internship and a research position in which he studies financial statements to collect data on CEO compensation and economic inequality. Outside of his classes, Itai is a Campus Tour Guide, where he is proud to promote higher education to high school students, and a member of the Student Alumni Association.

Future Plans: Itai is specifically interested in the intersection between business and law, and would like to keep exploring how businesses react to reforms and laws related to accounting and corporate governance. This summer, he plans to continue his role as a research assistant at UCLA.

What does the scholarship mean to me? Receiving the Professor Harry Simon’s Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship for the Study of Accounting is an honor, and I could not be more thankful. The support this scholarship provides allows me to focus on my education and eases the financial burden that comes with an undergraduate education. I appreciate this award immensely and would like to thank the donors for their generosity.