Special Physics Careers Seminar by Alumnus Dr. Paul Walker of Goldman Sachs

The Fall 2016 Physics Careers seminar series will present a special seminar on Friday, Sept. 16, 2016 by alumnus Dr. Paul Walker of Goldman Sachs:

Time: 10:30 a.m. on Friday, September 16, 2016 (refreshments served at 10:00 a.m.)

Location: 204 Loomis Laboratory (Interaction Room)

Title:  Career Reflections With Paul Walker

Speaker: Dr. Paul Walker, Goldman Sachs (retired)

Abstract:   Paul Walker will talk about his life in technology and finance, how his physics degree prepared him for it (and how it didn’t), and will host an active Q&A session.

Bio: Paul Walker is a retired Goldman Sachs partner. He holds a BA in physics from Cornell University and a physics PhD from UIUC. Paul’s PhD in numerical general relativity helped us begin understanding the gravitational wave signal from in-spiraling binary black holes. The code he worked on, The Cactus Code, is still used in relativity research around the world. After finishing his PhD in 1998, Paul relocated to New York and began a career in finance. After a short time at another bank, he went to Goldman Sachs. He held several roles at Goldman, including building the firm’s core risk systems, managing securities businesses, and finally co-heading the firm’s technology division. Paul retired from Goldman in early 2016, and is now an advisory director to the firm. Paul is active in science and education philanthropy and is on the board of several charities, including the New York Academy of Sciences. He and his wife spend time thinking about ways to democratize science education, and work on helping socio-economically diverse students overcome the obstacles they face due to a lack of social capital.

You can see the rest of the Fall 2016 Physics Careers Seminar series here: http://physics.illinois.edu/events/seminars.asp?cal=4014