Jessica Wachter has been named the inaugural recipient of the Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs Professorship in Quantitative Finance, effective July 2020. A member of the Wharton faculty since 2003, Dr. Wachter researches asset pricing models that incorporate rare events and behavioral finance. She serves on the board of the Western Finance Association and as an associate editor of Quantitative Economics. Before coming to Wharton, she was an assistant professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business. Dr. Wachter holds a PhD in business economics and an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Harvard University.

The Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs Professorship in Quantitative Finance was established in 2020 with a generous gift from Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs (G’79, GRW’86) and supports the appointment to Wharton’s finance department of faculty who are experts in quantitative finance (Almanac April 21, 2020).