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Lee Came to Tech for First Job, Never Left

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As a graduate student at the University of Chicago, Suzanne Lee enjoyed being at an institution where people and their research were well known.      

“I wanted to continue to be in a place where research was appreciated,” said the assistant professor of finance in the College of Management. “When I was about to start my career and interviewed at Georgia Tech, I knew that I would enjoy working with the people that I met — who would later become my colleagues.”

And so, Lee came to Georgia Tech for her first job and is still content six years later.

Lee’s research aims to answer questions such as “Why do we sometimes have unusually volatile markets?” and “How does such volatility evolve over time, or can we predict some of them?” Her focus is on creating better data-gathering techniques to answer such questions.

“Sometimes certain information can trigger very big changes in stock values over a short time period, and my most recent research provides a technical tool to help people understand which information leads to the greatest changes,” she added.  

Recently, The Whistle had a chance to learn more about Lee and her time at Tech.

What did you want to be when you were a child?  
I wanted to be a doctor but wasn’t that good at chemistry, and I didn’t pass the entrance exam to the medical school I wanted to attend (in South Korea, where I grew up, students take the exam to enter medical school right after high school). My second choice was statistics, and I was good at it, which led me down the path I’m on.

What is one thing that most people don’t know about your job?       
I deal with data that is collected at every second.    

What do you do to make learning more engaging for students?    
In my investment class, students create virtual investments. They create portfolios — often rebalance them — and follow the portfolios’ performance. The students seem to enjoy the process.

What have you learned from students?
Students make me think about whether my approach to teaching is actually helping them learn.

What piece of technology could you not live without professionally and personally?
My laptop and iPhone.

Which do you prefer: Facebook, Twitter, or a world without all of this social media stuff?
I don’t use Facebook or Twitter, but I still value what social media can do.

What is your favorite spot on campus and why?
The Starbucks in Tech Square, because it sells my favorite drink — a green tea latte.  

Where is your favorite place to grab lunch, and what do you order?
Ray’s Pizza, and I order a Greek salad.

If you could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Albert Einstein. I think his personality would be interesting.

If you were stranded on an island, what is the one book you would want with you?
A cookbook for Japanese food. I like sushi and sashimi, but I’ve never had a chance to learn how to make either.

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  • Workflow Status:Published
  • Created By:Amelia Pavlik
  • Created:10/31/2011
  • Modified By:Fletcher Moore
  • Modified:10/07/2016