Ph.D.

$300,000 NSF Grant

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

UConn Receives a $300,000 NSF Grant Toward Student, Faculty Research

By Molly Stadnicki.  This article originally appeared in The Daily Campus.

The University of Connecticut was recently recognized as a National Science Foundation I-Corps Site (NSF) and will receive a grant of $300,000 distributed over the next three years.

NSF’s I-Corps program focuses on fostering entrepreneurship that will lead to the development of technological advancements. Institutions recognized by this program are those that incorporate teams that are committed to strengthening local innovations.Continue Reading

Why Certain Managers Thrive

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

Why Certain Managers Thrive in Tough New Jobs While Others Get Fed Up
Harvard Business Review – Career development is supposed to keep young managers engaged and motivated, but sometimes it backfires, prompting them to start looking for an exit from the company. That’s because the new responsibilities that facilitate on-the-job learning can take them well beyond their comfort zones, making them feel frustrated, angry, or fearful of failure.

‘Resilient Astronauts’

Posted on by Claire Hall

 mars

School of Business Professor Uses Expertise in Teamwork To Help NASA Prepare ‘Resilient Astronauts’ to Travel to Mars

Management Professor John Mathieu, an expert in team dynamics, is helping NASA figure out the complexities of developing a socially compatible and resilient crew of astronauts to travel to Mars.

Consider the challenges: an international crew of up to six astronauts will contend with isolation from their families, cramped living quarters, and extensive boredom that is punctuated with life-threatening danger.

They will sleep, dine and work side-by-side with their colleagues for up to two years, and privacy will be minimal. To send a simple message to mission command, and receive a response, will take 45 minutes, thus requiring the crew to be largely autonomous.Continue Reading

Going Once, Going Twice…

Posted on by Claire Hall

auction

OPIM Professor Robert Day’s Combinatorial Auction Algorithm Employed Throughout Europe, Canada in Billion-Dollar Bidding Deals

When the Canadian government wanted to apportion mobile broadband services in February 2014—so that there would be plenty of cell-phone coverage, competitive prices and more provider options nationwide—it used an algorithm devised by UConn Business Professor Bob Day and his colleagues.

Day, a professor of Operations and Information Management in the School of Business, is an expert in combinatorial auctions. His services have been called upon by the governments in Canada and England, who have collected over $8 billion in auction revenues for just two projects he worked on in 2013 and 2014.Continue Reading

Eight Outstanding School of Business Professors Earn 2015 Faculty Awards

Posted on by Claire Hall

A professor who used chocolate chip cookies to teach about quality control, three researchers who had work published in top journals, and an educator who vigorously promoted the School of Business were among the 2015 Faculty Award recipients.

“This year we honored eight outstanding faculty members for their exceptional research, teaching and leadership achievements,” said Associate Dean Sulin Ba. “The selection process was particularly difficult due to the dozens of impressive nominees. We are fortunate to have such talented, creative and remarkable colleagues.”Continue Reading

Does SOX 404 Have Teeth?

Posted on by Claire Hall

A regulation that is supposed to provide a warning bell and greater transparency for investors is hampered by a lack of enforcement, according to new research conducted by accounting professor David Weber.

Professor David Weber

The School of Business has awarded one of its 2015 Best Paper Awards to Weber for his research titled, “Does SOX 404 Have Teeth? Consequences of the Failure to Report Existing Internal Control Weaknesses,” co-authored with UConn doctoral student Biyu Wu and Sarah Rice of Texas A&M. It will appear in the American Accounting Association’s premier journal, The Accounting Review.

Continue Reading

Accounting, Finance Faculty Members Recognized for Outstanding Research

Posted on by Claire Hall

2015-03-20_facultyThe School of Business has awarded its 2015 Best Paper Award to professors David Weber, from accounting, and Jose Martinez, of finance, for their exceptional research articles that will appear in esteemed academic journals.

Weber’s research paper is titled, “Does SOX 404 Have Teeth? Consequences of the Failure to Report Existing Internal Control Weaknesses.”

“Picking Winners? Investment Consultants’ Recommendations of Fund Managers,” is the title of Martinez’s work. His paper also recently received a prize from the University of Cambridge and the Commonfund Institute.

“Both papers are to appear in very prestigious journals in their respective fields, The Accounting Review and Journal of Finance,” said Sulin Ba, associate dean of academic and research support. “The selection committee was particularly impressed by the public policy implications that came out of both research projects. These implications will have an impact on our society in the years to come.”

The competition was intense this year with 10 nominations, all papers accepted in top academic journals, Ba said.

“Dr. Weber’s paper, co-authored with Ph.D. student Biyu Wu, addresses the requirement that corporations and their auditors publicly disclose internal control weaknesses, which is one of the most contentious and costly provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act,” said Mohamed Hussein, accounting department head. “The study is important because it shows that the enforcement mechanisms surrounding internal control reporting are often ineffective and in some cases may even provide disincentives for compliance.”

“This paper is one of many research projects conducted by the UConn accounting faculty that addressed critical accounting and tax issues,” said Hussein, noting that UConn accounting faculty research has been cited in Congressional hearings and in the British Parliament.

Chinmoy Ghosh, department head in finance, said he is pleased with his colleague’s success.

“Within a very short period of time since arriving at UConn in August 2014, Jose has made a significant contribution in almost every aspect of the job. Acceptance of his paper by the Journal of Finance, the top journal in the discipline, brings tremendous visibility and prestige to the department and the school,” he said. “Very recently, his research has been recognized by a leading academic group in Europe. His style of teaching and knowledge drew great praise from the Risk Management students at both our Hartford and Stamford campuses.

“Jose has also shown great interest and objectivity in various academic issues currently under review by the department faculty. We are very pleased to have him as a colleague and look forward to many more productive years from him at the School of Business.”

The Best Paper Award is funded by the generous support of the Arnold M. Robin & Rochelle M. Robin Excellence Fund.

Related articles:

Professor Jose Martinez Earns Triple Recognition for Work on Dubious Investment Management

Professor David Weber Finds Lack of Enforcement Surrounds Key Provision of Sarbanes-Oxley Act

Picking Winners?

Posted on by Claire Hall

Professor Jose Martinez Earns Triple Recognition For Work on Dubious Investment Management

A four-year research project by UConn finance professor Jose Martinez found no evidence that recommendations by highly paid investment consultants to institutional investors subsequently outperformed the market.

Professor Jose Martinez

In his paper, “Picking Winners? Investment Consultants’ Recommendations of Fund Managers,” Martinez presents survey data from investment consultants with a combined share of 90 percent of the consulting market, and focuses on the recommendations consultants made for actively managed U.S. equity funds.Continue Reading