Mukund Narayanan graduated with a BS in Computer engineering and an MS in Physics from Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS) Pilani, a top-tier school in India. In 2000, he was part of the team that won the "All-India First" distinction in a technology development contest conducted by Intel Corp. For his Master's thesis, he applied his quantitative and programming skills to analyze and implement a cost optimal parallel sorting algorithm, Parallel Sorting by Regular Sampling. Upon graduation in 2005, he joined Oracle Corp, where he worked on a Java based product used to build finance and business applications. To pursue his interests in finance, he interned with Motilal Oswal Securities, a leading Indian research based stock brokerage, where he worked on the performance analysis of Indian stock index companies and the diversification of equity portfolios for different risk profiles. He also completed certifications in debt, derivatives and commodities markets offered by the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE). Recently, he volunteered to work on a project for the Environmental Defense Organization, CA to analyze the effects of risk mitigation in the ocean carbon sequestration industry on financial decision making, particularly on buyout strategies. Mukund believes the MFE program would aptly leverage his quantitative and computational skills to broaden his knowledge in finance. Post MFE, he wishes to take on a role in trading, portfolio management or product structuring at an investment bank or a hedge fund. His interests include billiards, reading fiction and playing outdoor sports.

Rajadhyaksha Narayanan graduated with a BTech in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras and went on to do a Masters in Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Davis. His research work in UC Davis involved simulation of viscoelastic flows using finite element methods for modeling the complex mathematical formulations. After his Masters, Rajadhyaksha joined i2 Technologies, a supply chain management software company headquartered in Dallas, as a consultant involved in the implementation and customization of i2’s suite of products. After working with i2 for two years, he joined the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta where he earned an MBA in Finance. In B-school, he developed a particular liking for the analytical and quantitative aspects of finance. After business school, he worked in the investment banking industry for over three years with Investment banks such as Lazard, Kotak, and ICICI Bank in Mumbai and Singapore. He has been primarily involved in the pricing and structuring of equity linked transactions involving convertible bonds, IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, and private equity. Post MFE, Rajadhyaksha hopes to join the derivatives desk in an Investment bank or a hedge fund in a role involving pricing and structuring / research. His other interests include playing music, reading and traveling.

Rodrigo Nunez Lagos was born in Mexico City. He graduated from ITAM (Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico) with 2 degrees; a B.S. in Actuarial Science and B.A. in Economics with a dissertation thesis titled: The effect of a Restrictive Monetary Policy on the Mexican Stock Market, the interest rates and the foreign exchange rate: an event study. While studying he also worked full time at the Ministry of Finance for a year improving price structures for oil derived products. After graduating he joined Deutsche Bank, first as a trainee (for 6 months) and then as an Associate for two years where he was the trader responsible for the FX Spot and for the trading at the CME for the Mexican Peso. Afterwards he was hired by Enlace, one of the top brokerage houses in Mexico and where he helped develop the first brokerage service in Mexico for Pension Funds. Finally he was presented with the opportunity to work at ING Bank, Mexico as the trader responsible for the FX Derivatives products where he worked for the last two years and a half. Rodrigo has decided to join the MFE Program because he believes that the MFE Program will give him the necessary tools to improve his knowledge of modeling and finance to continue his professional career.

Louis Odette received his BA, cum laude, from Dartmouth College with an Economics major (Money and Finance concentration) and a Pure Mathematics minor. While at Dartmouth, he was a research assistant studying international business at the Tuck School of Business, and also worked in London at Barclays Bank PLC as an intern for a financial software development group. Prior to beginning the MFE Program, Louis worked for Corporate Diligence Specialists LLC., providing financial due diligence services on M&A transactions. In addition, he is a Level II candidate in the CFA Program. Upon completion of the MFE Program, Louis intends to pursue a career in trading, either at an investment bank or hedge fund. In his spare time, he enjoys playing guitar and appreciating the outdoors, particularly through hiking and alpine skiing.

John J. Oh, CFA, FRM, graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a BS in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. Since his graduation, John has worked at various financial companies and at a governmental investment promotion agency. In the past, he priced whole-loans and mortgage-backed securities in the secondary market of the largest mortgage bank in the US; worked on analyzing relative values of high-yield bonds, CDS, and equity derivatives at a hedge fund; modeled various cash-flow and synthetic CDOs at a commercial bank and was responsible for inducing large-scale foreign direct investments from the U.S. to South Korea. He plans to strengthen his quantitative finance skills during the MFE program applying them to trading or structuring derivative products upon graduation. In his free time, he enjoys playing outdoor sports, working out, and traveling.

Hayato Ono graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he earned a BS in Electrical Engineering with an emphasis in Computer Engineering. During his undergraduate program, Hayato studied abroad at the University of Tokyo, one of the top-ranked universities in Japan. Prior to joining the MFE program, he worked as a pricing analyst managing automobile and homeowners insurance, responsible for overseeing a portfolio of insurance policies of over $70 million. His responsibilities also included developing pricing models to accurately price insurance policies based on actuarial principles. Upon completing the program, Hayato looks forward to applying his quantitative skills and mathematical knowledge in the dynamic world of finance. In his spare time, he enjoys studying foreign languages and playing the oboe, with which he holds more than a decade of performance experience.

Kingsley Oteng-Amoako earned a Ph.D. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from The University of New South Wales, Australia and an Honors Bachelors degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Canterbury University, New Zealand. His Ph.D. was focused on coding theory, information theory and microelectronics. He has published peer-reviewed papers on joint source-channel coding, ergodic coding processes and VLSI implementation of FEC codes. Immediately after earning his Ph.D., Kingsley remained in academia in a lecturing and research capacity. He then went on to hold the role of research analyst with the Operations Research division of the Qantas Group; where his projects included the redesign and optimization of their aircraft route control algorithms. Prior to joining the MFE program, Kingsley was employed as a quantitative analyst with the Macquarie Group Limited (previously Macquarie Bank Limited) of Australia, where he developed statistical and factor-based trading models. He joined the MFE program to gain broader exposure to both the theoretical and practical aspects of quantitative finance. After graduation, he plans to rejoin the industry with a role in exotic derivatives, active portfolio management, or high-frequency trading; he is particularly interested in emerging markets. Kingsley is an avid traveler and enjoys relaxing with friends; he also enjoys competitive outdoor sports, especially soccer, rugby union and running.

Ron Oxom graduated in 2001 with a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His focus was on modeling plasma aided manufacturing for semiconductor applications. While still in school he worked as an industrial consultant to several semiconductor manufacturing companies and research institutes. After graduation, he moved to the Bay Area to work for the equipment manufacturing company Novellus Systems, conducting, in part, feasibility studies for process/hardware improvements of new and existing semiconductor equipment products. These studies combined his modeling background, statistical methods, design of experiments, and reliability testing for all procedures and designs. His work has resulted in nine US Patents. Complementary roles included strategic development and planning for specific customer needs, along with implementation at customer sites around the world. Upon graduation from the MFE program, Ron would like to pursue a career in investment banking or equities derivative markets. Ron speaks Spanish fluently. In his spare time, he enjoys playing golf and spending time with his family.

Eugene Pauksta, currently a CFA Level 1 candidate, graduated with honors from Riga Technical University in Latvia, where he earned a BS in Computer Sciences and MS in Control Systems. During his graduate studies, Eugene conducted research on intelligent simulation tools, and used mathematical modeling techniques to analyze and design dynamic control algorithms and systems. Eugene applied for two patents in Latvia, and has enhanced Erling pivoting algorithm for linear programming. Prior to joining the MFE, Eugene developed a wide range of statistical, royalty management, and accounting systems. Most recently, Eugene interned with The Environmental Defense Organization in Oakland where he analyzed the influence of risk mitigation on the financial decision process in the ocean carbon sequestration industry. He joined the MFE program to pursue his keen interest in quantitative finance. Upon graduation, Eugene would like to pursue a career in investment banking, in the fixed income or derivatives markets. Eugene enjoys reading, skiing, cycling, and playing tennis.

Pavlin Savov, originally from Bulgaria, holds a PhD in Astrophysics from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and Bachelor's degree in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 1996, Pavlin won a gold medal in the 27th International Physics Olympiad in Oslo, Norway. He was also awarded the best theorist award. During his undergraduate study at MIT, Pavlin was a member of the physics team that won 1st place in the Boston Area Undergraduate Physics Competition in 1999. During his graduate research at Caltech, Pavlin was part of a joint international effort to detect gravitational waves from space. In particular, he worked on second-generation gravitational-wave detectors. He discovered numerically a unique duality relation between non-spherical flat and concentric optical cavities. He proposed a conjecture and proved it analytically. Pavlin also worked on data analysis for the next generation of space-based detectors. He developed a parallelized algorithm for multiparameter search in large data sets. After finishing the MFE program, Pavlin intends to apply his analytical and quantitative skills in derivative pricing, portfolio management, structured products, and risk analysis at a leading hedge fund or investment bank. In his spare time, Pavlin enjoys playing soccer, basketball, and poker.

Mike Simmons graduated magna cum laude with a double major in Bioengineering and Economics from the University of California, San Diego. After graduation, he worked as a research associate in the International Group of the Economic Research Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. In the areas of international finance and economics, he has contributed to several research projects involving topics such as foreign reserve sterilization, currency crises, international trade, and global price dispersion. In December of 2007, he passed the CFA Level 1 exam, and he is currently preparing for the Level 2 exam this June. In his free time, he enjoys running, cycling, traveling, baseball and football.

Vipul Singhvi received his Ph.D. in Advanced Infrastructure Systems and his MS in Machine Learning (Artificial Intelligence) from Carnegie Mellon in 2006. As a research assistant at Carnegie Mellon, he worked on several key interdisciplinary projects. His primary thesis work focused on using Machine Learning (Artificial Intelligence) techniques to improve building automation control algorithms. As a part of his doctoral dissertation, he designed and implemented a novel, real time control system using the concepts of economic utility theory and principled decision theoretic approach based on probabilistic modeling. He also worked on developing industry standards for the green building design initiative at Carnegie Mellon. After his Ph.D., he worked with a business and IT consulting company focusing on the deregulated natural gas industry in Georgia. He gained experience in a wide range of areas including retail customer management, demand forecasting, and commodity trading. His team implemented an enterprise-wide Business Intelligence solution for a utility marketer, starting from the business design to the live deployment of the system. After the MFE, Vipul plans to pursue his career in financial industry where he can utilize his skills and the knowledge he has gained. Besides his interest in financial industry, he is an avid squash player. He enjoys swimming, surfing and outdoor activities.