Leveraging Big Data to Manage Extreme Weather Risks?

Leveraging Big Data to Manage Extreme Weather Risks? is part of the ongoing CFM-PER Data Initiative. Find more information about the CFM-PER Data Initiative here.

Extreme weather episodes such as Hurricane Sandy of 2012 and California Wildfires of 2018 led to significant human displacement and billions of dollars of economic damage spread across utility, real estate and other commercial sectors. Scientists predict that climate change will lead to more frequent and extreme weather risks.  This evening panel is the first in a series of events on the economic and financial applications of alternative data sponsored by Capital Fund Management (CFM) and Columbia University’s Program for Economic Research (PER).  A number of distinguished speakers and panelists will explore whether we can leverage big data from satellite images and machine learning algorithms to manage these risks in real time?  The evening will consist of talks on recent improvements in remote sensing, the use of machine learning algorithms and applications for insurance and asset management.

Program

5:00PM Welcome Remarks, Miguel Urquiola (Columbia)
5:05PM CFM-PER Data Initiative, Harrison Hong (Columbia)
5:10PM Introduction, Charles-Albert LeHalle (CFM)
5:15PM Christopher Small (Columbia), “Advances in Remote Sensing”
5:35PM Francesc Ortega (CUNY), “Impact of Hurricane Sandy on NYC Property Prices”
5:55PM Joséphine Gantois (Columbia), “Applications of Remote Sensing for Studying Socio-Economic Outcomes”
6:15PM Panel Discussion
James Lucier (Capital Alpha Partners, LLC), Kévin Sin Ronia (CFM), Bobby Shackelton (Bloomberg LP) (presentation), José Scheinkman, Moderator (Columbia)
6:45PM Closing Remarks
7:00PM Reception

Speakers

Joséphine Gantois, Sustainable Development Graduate Student, Columbia University
Joséphine Gantois is a 5th year Ph.D. student in Sustainable Development, working across environmental economics and ecology. She studies human-ecosystem interactions, with a specific interest in land use impacts on ecosystem health and resilience, and in the economic costs of loss of resilience and biodiversity.

Harrison Hong, John R. Eckel Jr. Professor of Financial Economics, Columbia University
Harrison Hong has contributed to a number of topics in financial economics, including disagreement in asset markets, speculative bubbles, frictions and arbitrage, strategic bias among professional forecasters, scale and performance in asset management, social networks and investments, compensation and bank risk-taking, and corporate sustainability and climate change risks.

Charles-Albert Lehalle, Head of Data Analytics, Capital Fund Management
Charles-Albert Lehalle is a leading expert in market microstructure and optimal trading. Formerly Global Head of Quantitative Research at CA Cheuvreux, and Head of Quantitative Research on Market Microstructure in the Equity Brokerage and Derivative Department of Crédit Agricole CIB, he studied intensively the market microstructure evolution since the financial crisis and regulatory changes in Europe and in the U.S.

James Lucier, Managing Director, Capital Alpha
James Lucier leads the energy, environmental, and tax practices at Capital Alpha. Lucier provides predictive, insightful analysis of trends in Washington energy and climate policy for an array of clients including asset managers, private equity investors, commodity traders, and investment bankers.

Francesc Ortega, Dina Axelrad Perry Professor in Economics, Queens College CUNY
Francesc Ortega is a Professor in Economics at Queens College, CUNY. His research focuses on migration, combining methods and theories from labor and international economics.

Kévin Sin Ronia, Vice President Research Directional Alpha, Capital Fund Management
Kévin Sin Ronia is the Vice President of Research Directional Alpha at Capital Fund Management. He was previously a data scientist at Ekimetrics and received his Ph.D.  in Theoretical Physics from the Université Paris Diderot.

José Scheinkman, Charles and Lynn Zhang Professor of Economics, Columbia University
José Scheinkman is the Charles and Lynn Zhang Professor of Economics at Columbia University and the Theodore A. Wells ’29 Professor of Economics Emeritus at Princeton University. His recent research has focused increasingly on finance, both applied and mathematical.  He was a founder and partner of the hedge fund Axiom Investments.

Bobby Shackelton, Head of Geospatial, Bloomberg LP
Bobby Shackelton is the Head of Geospatial at Bloomberg LP, where he delivers alternative and geospatial data, insights, and terminal mapping applications to Bloomberg customers.  Bobby has nearly 20 years of experience in geographic data, radar systems, and financial markets.

Christopher Small, Lamont Research Professor, Columbia University
Christopher Small is a research professor of geophysics at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and an adjustment professor in Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University.  His research concerns geophysics, land surface processes, remote sensing, and population and environment.

Miguel Urquiola, Professor and Chair, Department of Economics, Columbia University
Miguel Urquiola is professor and chair of the Department of Economics.  He is also a member of the faculty of the School of International and Public Affairs, and of the Columbia Committee on the Economics of Education.  His research is on the economics of education, with a focus on the understanding of how schools and universities compete, and how they form reputations for quality.  It covers how students select educational providers, and the consequences such choices have on academic performance and labor market outcomes.