A meeting ground where cross-disciplinary teamwork will bring together the academic and financial communities is how Director Jean-Pierre Fouque sees the basic goal of the new Center for Research in Financial Mathematics and Statistics (CRFMS). The professor of statistics and applied probability said the center’s research focuses on financial markets, asset prices, risk management, and investment strategies.

To get a better idea of how that will work in the world of mathematical modeling, statistical data analysis, and software design, come to the Oct. 16 inauguration of CRFMS in the Intercollegiate Athletics Building auditorium at 2 p.m. Three lectures will be served up by guest speakers from New York University, the University of Texas, Austin, and Morgan Stanley investment bank. See <www.pstat.ucsb.edu/crfms> for details on the speakers.