Fordham will set up a new fund for the study of artificial intelligence as it applies to finance, economics, and other fields, thanks to a gift from finance executive and investor Peter Zangari, Ph.D., a Fordham alumnus.
The Zangari Family Faculty Research and Innovation Fund will support faculty AI research projects, some of which will involve students as well. The fund is expected to foster more research collaborations with industry, raising Fordham’s profile and helping students gain experience that leads to internship and job opportunities. Zangari also foresees a “multiplier effect” from the research that could influence multiple sectors—from health care to education, business, and more.
“It not only will benefit the faculty, but also the students, and then eventually those who are [impacted by] that research,” he said. Zangari and his wife, Jennifer Zangari, are establishing the fund by donating a total of $1 million to the University over the next few years. The fund is dedicated to interdisciplinary AI research, with an emphasis on finance, economics, asset management, and data science.
Incubating Research That Matters
Zangari’s gift provides important seed funding for Fordham’s planned Transdisciplinary Research Incubator, which will bring experts from different fields together to focus on the most important research questions, in keeping with the University’s strategic plan, said Tania Tetlow, president of Fordham.
“Fordham is investing in research and innovation to meet today’s pressing challenges. It gives us such encouragement to see an alumnus step forward with such generosity,” she said. “We’re honored by Peter’s commitment to Fordham, and we thank him for supporting our faculty and helping our students become the ethical leaders in AI that our world needs.”
‘A Source of Talent’ for Industry Partners
Zangari studied economics at Fordham, graduating in 1989, and at Rutgers University, where he earned his doctorate. He has since held a variety of roles in management, research, investment management, product development, and fintech. He belongs to the Fordham University President’s Council, and is also teaching a class at Fordham on AI and the financial markets this fall. He has made gifts to the economics department and created a graduate research fellowship in economics at Fordham a few years ago.
Zangari is a partner with MDOTM, a financial technology firm specializing in AI-driven investment. He plans to work with the University to connect that and other companies with Fordham faculty and students, fostering collaborations, internships, and networking. He sees the fund helping to ensure that businesses “look to Fordham as a source of talent” in the area of artificial intelligence.
Accelerating Innovation with AI
AI can foster innovation by helping faculty from vastly different fields communicate and work together on problems, in addition to accelerating research in general, Zangari said.
“Maybe now is the time where you really need that speed to get to an action: Rather than waiting five years, 10 years, maybe with the help of AI, you can get there in two years,” he said.
“The bottom line is that [AI] just streamlines so much stuff that you would do otherwise. And this [enables] people to think about solutions—or think about problems even before you get into solutions—in a way that’s much faster and more efficient than it would be in the past.”
