Category Archives: Student Research

Rodrigo Rivera

Major: Canfield BHP, Finance, Minor in MIS

Topics of Interest: finance, statistics, policy research, global markets, Python coding

Finance major, data wiz, numbers guru. Rodrigo Rivera, a talented Canfield BHP senior with a knack for numbers, transferred to the program his sophomore year seeking a more comprehensive education and has majored in finance with a minor in MIS ever since. An international student, Rodrigo comes to us as a native of Mexico, born and raised in Tampico, who came to the states just after being accepted to UT. Now a senior in Canfield BHP, Rodrigo recalls his time interning at Goldman Sachs and shares his experience during the pandemic, working with the Salem Center for Policy, a center that helps students, business leaders, and policymakers apply data-driven insights to complex problems. 

Read on to hear about his experience and research!

Tell us about where you have been and where you are now.

Last spring, I studied abroad in Prague. We were called back in March because of the COVID pandemic but it was still a great experience. I don’t regret going. I spent at least one month and a half meeting people from all over and getting to know Europe.

Then during the summer, I interned with Goldman Sachs in their global markets division. I ended up accepting a full-time offer with them and once I graduate, I’ll go back and move to New York and work full time there in July. 

Now, I have been working with the Salem Center for Policy since last semester. I found out about the role through one of my very close friends. He was already working there while I was studying abroad. To help with expenses at home while at UT, I started working part-time and was looking for similar roles when I eventually got interviewed by my boss, TJ. They were looking for students who already had some coding experience, like Python experience, which I had because of my MIS Minor. I got interviewed and got the role.  Continue reading

Written by Celesia Smith.

Peter Huang

Majors: Canfield BHP, Finance, Math, Economics, Plan II 

Area of Research: Behavioral, Entrepreneurship in Austin, Global Economy & Development

Topics of Interest: Playing and watching soccer, curating Spotify playlists, macroeconomics, podcasts

For some students, research is a way to hone in on a particular career path or develop a specific skill. For others, it serves as an opportunity to diversify one’s knowledge and expand interests. Regardless, research remains a terrific way to get involved with the university. Peter Huang, a senior majoring in Canfield BHP, Finance, Math, Economics, and Plan II, is the latter kind of student– one who enjoys putting his eggs in various baskets. 

During his time at UT, Peter has served in an array of research roles alongside numerous professors, business and non-business alike. In the summer after his sophomore year, Peter elected to conduct unique research alongside finance professor Sam Kruger and IC² Institute’s Professor Elsie Echeverri-Carroll.

“Professor Kruger was working on this really interesting research question. He was basically trying to test if people who commit infidelity are also likely to have more instances of professional misconduct in the workplace,” Peter said. “He tested that by looking at Ashley Madison’s data. Ashley Madison is this dating site that advertises itself as a way to have an affair if you’re married. Back in 2015, there was a big data leak led by hackers who released details on people who had created accounts on the website. Professor Kruger and I took those details and tried to identify the places that those people worked at and then identify, on average, if they too have higher rates of misconduct than people who had comparable occupations, but did not have an account on that site.” Continue reading

Sitara Uppalapati

Written by Celesia Smith

Major: Canfield BHP, Computer Science Honors
Internship: Incoming STEP Intern at Google
Topics of Interest: Sustainability, Financial Market Policy, Cooking, Reading

As one of the world’s leading research universities, there are a variety of opportunities for students to explore and discover various disciplines. For Sitara Uppalapati, Canfield BHP and Computer Science Honors sophomore, the disciplines she wanted to learn more about were finance, policy, and technology. As an Undergraduate Research Assistant conducting research at the intersection of financial policy and computer science, she fosters her knowledge in the very areas she’s interested in while developing various skills along the way. 

Sitara found her position while perusing UT’s research database. As an out-of-state student who lives near D.C., Sitara said she always found herself academically engaged in government and policy. 

“Living so close to the nation’s Capitol basically all my life just really allowed me to immerse myself in understanding the government through visiting DC often and going on trips to museums or monuments and just being involved with government things (in high school),” Sitara said. “At the same time, as a computer science student I absolutely love the technical aspects of all things. One thing I’ve just always known I’ve wanted to do is harness technology to create a positive impact on the world around me.”

Sitara’s research is certainly impactful; she said her project has the potential to impact regulations and policies on a grander level. Starting in October 2019, Sitara has researched the level of influence the academic world has on policy.

“At a high level, our research’s goal is to understand the influence that academic research or economic principles have on financial market policies,” Sitara said. “We’re trying to determine – quantitatively – the extent to which academic work actually influences the decisions that are made by federal regulators because there is no current database or solution right now that has the information needed to make that determination.” Continue reading

Amie Nguyen

Written by Celesia Smith

Major: Canfield BHP, Finance  Area of Research: Private Equity
Topics of Interest: Sustainable Fashion, Entrepreneurship, Private Equity

In addition to diving into various classes, organizations, and internships, many Canfield BHP students immerse themselves in a part of academia that truly makes UT a premier university: the research. Such a student is Amie Nguyen, a junior Canfield BHP and Finance double major. Amie conducts research for Dr. Scott W. Bauguess, her former finance professor and the Director of the Salem Center program in Financial Markets Regulation. 

“I’m basically looking at the data for private offering filings,” Amie said. “Whenever a company raises money through a private offering, whether that’s debt or equity or something else, they have to file with the SEC, so I’m looking at the SEC data and trying to determine what kind of companies are looking for these private offerings. (I’m looking at) the type of companies, the number of offerings they’re offering, and a lot of different things about private offerings in general.” 

After enjoying Dr. Bauguess’s class, Amie got the opportunity to conduct research for him over the summer. Amie’s interest in private equity as a career led her to research private offerings specifically, giving her more insight into how the offerings function. 

“This summer I’ll actually be interning at McQuarry, which is an infrastructure private equity firm. When I interned with them last summer, I saw how they negotiate and what sort of investments they put their money into and how they think about choosing what to put their money into,” Amie said. “But you never really see the actual transactions and what needs to happen, so this research is just filling in that missing information that I wouldn’t otherwise have gotten.” Continue reading