IUCRC Phase I RPI: Center for Research toward Advancing Financial Technologies (CRAFT)

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This project establishes the Center for Research toward Advancing Financial Technologies (CRAFT) devoted to research on fintech, the conjunction of finance and technology. The fintech industry is growing as a result of advances in computer science coupled with practical advances in computing hardware, and it affects almost all other industries in the broader economy. The vision of CRAFT is to bring together industry partners, academic researchers, federal agencies, and students to conduct and advance interdisciplinary fintech research, innovation, and workforce training in support of new products, services and ventures.CRAFT @Rensselaer brings a range of complementary capabilities combining Rensselaer’s well-established strengths in computer science, data sciences, and quantitative finance, and focusing on specific methodological thrusts in machine learning, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, distributed ledger technologies, and network analytics. The center will support innovations in core financial services, such as, trading, investing, payments, lending, and insurance, and develop innovations in important segments of the real economy, such as, health care, supply chains, sustainability & green finance. CRAFT @Rensselaer will also conduct research on developing and evaluating financial technologies innovations and their applications to support policy and regulatory needs.CRAFT will have a broad impact on the economy by helping to better understand the benefits and risks of potentially disruptive technologies. The research projects will allow policy makers and industry participants to better understand and manage risks, thus reducing the possibility of unintended consequences and disruptions. Since new technologies are often associated with innovation and growth, CRAFT may contribute to a more vibrant economy. With respect to education, the projects will lead to technologies and processes that can be used in education and training. The proposed workshops for high school students will broaden participation in all disciplines.The center repository will be hosted at Stevens library. The data, code, and the results of projects will be well organized and maintained on the CRAFT server according to the Center data management policy for at least ten years or longer. After the training modules and software packages are documented and tested, they will be released and made available through popular public code hosting services such as GitHub.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.