Dr. Irene Tsapara

She has built an extensive career in finance and academia, demonstrating deep expertise and creativity With a solid five-year tenure as a financial engineer, she has been instrumental in developing trading algorithms for high-profile companies such as Goldman Sachs/Hull Trading and Hedge Fund Research, notably contributing to the initial creation of the investable HFRI index. Her skills extend beyond the financial sector into education, where she has played a pivotal role in designing computer science and mathematics degrees for various universities. Her dedication to education is further highlighted by her impressive record of over 35 years of teaching at universities across the US and Europe, including University of Illinois and Northwestern University. Tsapara holds a Ph.D. in mathematical computer science from the University of Illinois, focusing on computational learning theory, machine learning, and universal algebra, alongside a master's in computer science and a bachelor's in mathematics from the University of Patras. Her research spans financial risk methodologies, factor models, e-trading, and e-learning, showcasing her ability to integrate computational methods into finance and education. Currently, Irene Tsapara serves as the president of Zygen Consulting, a boutique data analytics firm. She is the Academic Program Director of the Ph.D. program in Data Science at National University.