Rosa Matzkin elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

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Rosa Matzkin

UCLA professor of economics Rosa Matzkin is among 213 individuals from a wide range of disciplines and professions to be elected as members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2018.

Founded in 1780, the academy honors exceptional scholars, leaders, artists and innovators and engages them in sharing knowledge and addressing challenges facing the world.

Matzkin is the Charles E. Davidson Professor of Economics. Her research has been aimed at creating a tight connection between econometrics and economic theory. Econometrics is a field that harnesses mathematics and statistical methods to quantify economic phenomena into empirical data, turning theoretical models into useful tools for economic policymaking.

Her methods can be used to test whether data is consistent with any particular model, to estimate unobservable functions and distributions, and to predict behavior and economic outcomes when economic structures change.

Her work has been published in Econometrica, Journal of the American Statistical Association, Journal of Economic Theory and Journal of Econometrics, among others.

Matzkin, who is a fellow of the Econometric Society, was a member of the executive committees of the American Economic Association and of the Econometric Society. Matzkin was also editor of Quantitative Economics, co-editor of the research monograph series of the Econometric Society and associate editor of Econometrica and Journal of Econometrics. She is currently committee member for the Annual Review of Economics

Before joining UCLA, Matzkin held positions at Northwestern and Yale.

“This class of 2018 is a testament to the academy’s ability to both uphold our 238-year commitment to honor exceptional individuals and to recognize new expertise,” said Nancy Andrews, the chair of the board of the academy. “John Adams, James Bowdoin and other founders did not imagine climatology, econometrics, gene regulation, nanostructures or Netflix. They did, however, have a vision that the academy would be dedicated to new knowledge — and these new members help us achieve that goal.”

The new class will be inducted at a ceremony in October 2018 in Cambridge, Massachusetts at which the newly elected members will sign the Book of Members, and their signatures will be added to the academy members who came before them, including Benjamin Franklin (1781) and Alexander Hamilton (elected 1791) in the 18th century; Ralph Waldo Emerson, (1864), Maria Mitchell (1848), and Charles Darwin (1874) in the 19th; and Albert Einstein (1924), Robert Frost (1931), Margaret Mead (1948), Milton Friedman (1959) and Martin Luther King Jr. (1966) in the 20th.

Jim Heckman gives MAE Distinguished Lecture

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James J. Heckman

Yesterday, Nobel Prize winner, Professor Heckman, gave a MAE distinguished speaker lecture on “Policies to Promote Social Mobility”.

Professor Heckman is the Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. He has conducted groundbreaking work with a consortium of economists, psychologists, sociologists, statisticians and neuroscientists showing that quality early childhood development heavily influences health, economic and social outcomes for individuals and society at large.

 

Sule Ozler Publishes New Book

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Professor Sule Ozler has published a new book with Routledge Press titled “Psychoanalytic Studies of the Work of Adam Smith: Towards a Theory of Moral Development and Social Relations.”  Congratulations Sule!

Wettbewerb und Wirtschaft interviews Volker Nocke

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In its latest issue, the leading German antitrust law journal “Wettbewerb und Wirtschaft” is interviewing UCLA-professor Volker Nocke. The interview centers around the usefulness of the “as-efficient competitor test” for predation and foreclosure, which the European Court of Justice appears to endorse in its judgment in the Intel case; the role of economics in antitrust practice; the difficulties of market delineation in platform markets; and the appeal of the top U.S. universities to European academics.

Stephanie Dong

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2017 John. J. Peterson Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Stephanie Dong is a junior pursuing a major in business economics and minors in accounting and statistics. She is also an Achievement Scholar and college honors student. She is currently involved in undergraduate research under Professor Mark Grinblatt (UCLA Anderson School of Management), investigating factors that affect stock market cycles. As her diverse interests range from psychology, to computer science, to finance, she enjoys interdisciplinary research and is especially interested in the fields of behavioral economics/finance. Outside her academics, she is Managing Editor of Aleph Undergraduate Journal for Humanities and Social Sciences, a member of various undergraduate business clubs, and an avid table tennis player.

Future plans: While at UCLA, Stephanie hopes to continue partaking in quantitative research projects that combine her diverse interests, as well as further develop her own start-up projects. She also aims to apply her business/economics knowledge and data analysis skills in her upcoming summer internship. In the long run, she aspires to pursue a career that will allow her to integrate knowledge and skills from multiple disciplines to solve crucial problems in business/economics.

What does this scholarship mean to me?: I am incredibly honored and delighted to be a recipient of this award. This scholarship is an enormous encouragement and confirmation of my efforts to continuously work toward my goals. I am grateful for the abundant resources UCLA has provided me to make the most of my college education and experience. I look forward to truly applying my knowledge and skills to the real world in the coming years, and hope that one day I can give back to the school I esteem.

Haoran Zhang

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2017 Professor Harry Simons Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship for the Study of Accounting Recipient

Biography: Haoran Zhang is a senior student at UCLA with a major in Business Economics and minor in Accounting. As a transfer student from Santa Monica College, she believes that university education further enhances her capability and lead she toward the right direction in the field of business and economics. She takes active part in volunteer work in organizations such as the Alpha Gamma Sigma and Phi Theta Kappa during the weekends. In Haoran’s spare time, she enjoys reading, biking and traveling. She also has a strong passion to translate beautiful English articles and poems into Chinese.

Future Plans: After graduation, Haoran intends to pursue a career in an accounting firm and takes the CPA exam. In the next few year, she hopes to seek a position for account manager. And if needed, she will apply to graduate school to improve her professional skills and pursue her interests in more depth.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I am honored to be one of the recipients of the Professor Harry Simons Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship. Receiving this scholarship means a lot to me and my family who have supported me from the beginning. This award also relieves my financial stress. As proof of my efforts, this scholarship empowers me to approach my education with more confidence. Thanks again and I promise to do my best to make my educational dream come true.

Zoe (Yimeng) Ye

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2017 Donald Edward Bragg & Diane Sims Bragg Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Zoe (Yimeng) Ye is a sophomore pursuing her major in Business Economics and minor in Accounting. Born in China and immigrated to Canada, she found her transition to new environments not only helped her gain new perspectives of the world around her, but also challenged her in a multitude of dimensions. Due to this, her decision to continue higher education at UCLA follows her goal to constantly challenge and better herself. As someone with no prior exposure to economics or accounting, she started from scratch and very much enjoyed the learning process. Zoe has also been a competitive karate athlete, an art student, and the Culture and Education Representative for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games.

Future Plans: Zoe aims to finish her undergraduate degree prior to June 2020. She will be interning at Solganick & Co. this spring to explore her fit in investment banking and will also be looking for opportunities within the accounting industry. It is her goal to incorporate her passion for fashion design or gourmet with entrepreneurship sometime in the future to establish her own line of clothing or dessert shop.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I cannot express enough of my gratitude to the Bragg family for their kindness and generosity that both encourage and support me towards pursuing a career in business. It is a great honor to be a recipient of this award and I will definitely work even harder to prove myself worthy of this recognition.  This award showed me the importance of giving and inspires me to give back to the community as much as possible in future.

Johnny (Zhiyu) Yan

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2017 Gumbiner Savett Inc. Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Johnny Yan is a third year student majoring in Business Economics with a minor in Mathematics. He grew up in Singapore and served two years in the Singapore military before coming to UCLA. While attending UCLA, Johnny has held leadership roles in Bruin Value Investing, Bruin Consulting and UCLA’s Singaporean Student Association. In addition, he has also completed several internships across investment banking, financial planning and business operations. In his free time, Johnny enjoys snowboarding, Game of Thrones, reading and investing.

Future Plans: Having a strong interest in finance, Johnny intends to pursue a career in investment banking upon graduation. This summer he will be interning at Goldman Sachs in their San Francisco office. In the long term, he hopes to return to Asia to be closer to his family who are in Singapore.

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I am truly grateful and honored to receive the Gumbiner, Savett Scholarship, both as means to pay for my educational and living expenses and as recognition of my collegiate achievements. I am humbled by the award and encouraged to rightfully represent this university, this scholarship, and myself in the years to come.

Linda Su

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2017 Ralph and Shirley Shapiro Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Linda Su is a third-year Business Economics major and Accounting Minor. She teaches high school students financial literacy, plays club tennis, co-leads a mentorship team in Beta Alpha Psi, and supervises all marketing and promotion for UCLA Studio 22, a multimedia studio at UCLA. During her free time, Linda enjoys hiking, baking, and exploring LA with her friends.

Future Plans: Linda participated in various public accounting leadership programs the summer of her sophomore year. She accepted an internship in core assurance with PriceWaterhouseCoopers this summer in the Los Angeles office. She plans to pursue a career in public accounting after graduation, and she may pursue an MBA in the future after gaining work experience.

What does this scholarship mean to me?: I am very honored to have been selected for the Ralph and Shirley Shapiro Scholarship. This scholarship will support my academic work in economics and accounting. I am also grateful that I will be able to focus on my studies and future career with less of a financial burden. I am thankful for Mr. and Mrs. Shapiro’s support and hope to pay it forward one day as well.

James Setiadi

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2017 Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship Recipient

Biography: James Setiadi is a sophomore with a major in Business Economics and minor in Accounting. He was born in Jakarta, Indonesia and raised in Northridge, California. He developed a strong interest in business after taking accounting classes in high school. At UCLA, he deepened his accounting knowledge and joined the Student Accounting Society. During summers, he worked as an intern for the Kellogg and Andelson Accountancy Corporation and for a local, small business. Alongside accounting, James has an interest in community service and marine biology. He is a member of the volunteer organization Circle K and its fundraising committee. He also volunteers at the Aquarium of the Pacific where he has logged 410 service hours over the past 5 years.

Future Plans: After graduating, James plans on becoming a Certified Public Accountant. To gain some CPA experience, he hopes to attend summer leadership programs at Big 4 and mid-tier accounting firms. Later, he plans on interning at an accounting firm in his junior year and accepting a full time offer by his senior year. Currently, he is most interested in working in the field of auditing.

What does this scholarship mean to me?: As I have learned in my business classes, “there is no such thing as a free lunch.” Covering my educational expenses will be a challenge that conflicts with my accounting studies over the coming years. I will have to face this challenge on my own since I am the first person in my family to attend a university in the United States. Therefore, I feel extremely grateful to receive the Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship. The Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship will help me tremendously by being one of my support systems at UCLA. This scholarship will help me achieve my career goals by allowing me to focus on my accounting studies and less on my financial burden. Thank you to Mr. Mortenson and his family for supporting my education. I will not take this award for granted and work hard so that I can give back to my community.