Kevin Ross



Research Interests

Applied Probability
Stochastic analysis
Stochastic control theory
Stochastic networks
Numerical methods
Mathematical finance

Education

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.
Ph.D.(2006), Statistics.
Thesis Advisor: Amarjit Budhiraja.

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.
M.S.(2005), Statistics.
Thesis Advisor: Amarjit Budhiraja.

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.
B.S.(1997), Mathematical Sciences (Actuarial Science Option).

Research Experience

NSF VIGRE Postdoctoral Fellow. Fall 2006 - present.
Statistics Department, Stanford University.

Research Assistant for Prof. Amarjit Budhiraja. Fall 2004.
Applications of Stochastic Processes. Statistics Department, UNC-CH.

Research Assistant for Prof. M. Ross Leadbetter. Fall 2003.
Stochastic Modeling of Stem Cell Growth and Conversion. Statistics Department, UNC-CH.

Teaching Experience

Instructor (with full course responsibility).
Spring 2008: Continuous Time Stochastic Control. Stanford University.
Fall 2007: Stochastic Processes. Stanford University.
Winter 2007: Introduction to Stochastic Processes. Stanford University.
Fall 2006: Stochastic Processes. Stanford University.
Spring 2005, Summer 2004, Spring 2004, Summer 2003, Spring 2003:
Introduction to Statistics. Statistics Department, UNC-CH

Teaching Assistant (Graduate Course). Fall 2004.
Introduction to Stochastic Processes. Statistics Department, UNC-CH.

Teaching Assistant (Undergraduate Course). Fall 2002.
Introduction to Statistics. Statistics Department, UNC-CH.

Other Experience

Actuarial Specialist. Towers Perrin, Philadelphia, PA. July 1997 - June 2001.
Worked in valuation, design, accounting, and compliance of employer sponsored defined benefit pension, postretirement medical and life insurance, and long term disability plans.
Taught employee training programs.
Attained Associate Designation in Society of Actuaries.

Publications

"Existence of optimal controls for singular control problems with state constraints" (with Amarjit Budhiraja). Annals of Applied Probability, (2006), Vol. 16, No. 4, 2235-2255.

"Convergent numerical scheme for singular stochastic control with state constraints in a portfolio selection problem" (with A. Budhiraja). SIAM Journal of Control and Optimization, (2007), Vol. 45, No. 6, 2169-2206.

"Optimal stopping and free boundary characterizations for some Brownian control problems" (with A. Budhiraja). To appear in Annals of Applied Probability.

"Surface patterning: Tool to modulate stem cell differentiation in an adipose system" (with A. Chaubey, M. R. Leadbetter, and K. J. L. Burg). Journal of Biomedical Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials, (2007), Vol. 84B, No. 1, 70-78.

Conference and Workshop Presentations

University of Californina at San Diego, Probability Seminar.
San Diego, CA. April 2008. Invited talk.

University of Michigan, Department of Statistics Seminar joint with AIM.
Ann Arbor, MI. March 2008. Invited talk.

Rutgers University, Department of Statistics Seminar.
Piscataway, NJ. October 2007. Invited talk.

32nd Conference on Stochastic Processes and their Applications.
Urbana, IL. August 2007. Contributed session.

Tenth Meeting of New Researchers in Statistics and Probability.
Salt Lake City, UT. July 2007. Contributed session.

Stanford Probability Seminar.
Stanford, CA. April 2007. Invited talk.

SAMSI Workshop on Financial Mathematics, Statistics and Econometrics.
Research Triangle Park, NC. September 2005. Poster presentation.

Joint Statistical Meeting.
Minneapolis, MN. August 2005. Contributed session.

SIAM Conference on Control and its Applications.
New Orleans, LA. July 2005. Contributed session.

Southeast Workshop on Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials.
Clemson, SC. January 2004. Contributed session.

Awards

Thomas S. and Caroline H. Royster, Jr. Fellowship (2001-2006).
Five years of guaranteed funding including two non-service years (Graduate School, UNC-CH).

Excellence in Teaching Award (2004).
For excellence in teaching undergraduates (Department of Statistics & Operations Research, UNC-CH).

Wassily Hoeffding Fellowship (2002).
For best performance in the first year of the Ph.D. program (Statistics Department, UNC-CH).

Graduate Courses

Advanced Probability
Applied Statistics
Brownian Motion & Stochastic Calculus
Computational Finance
Empirical Methods in Financial Econometrics
Generalized Linear Models
Long Range Dependence
Markov Processes
Measure and Integration
Monte Carlo Methods
Point Processes
Regression
Stable Processes
Statistical Consulting
Statistical Theory (I,II)
Stochastic Models in Operations Research
Stochastic Models for Optimization of Service Systems
Stochastic Processes
Time Series Analysis
Wavelets
Weak Convergence of Probability Measures

Professional Society Memberships

Institute of Mathematical Statistics.

Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

American Statistical Association.

Associate, Society of Actuaries.