Honorary Doctor of Science
Citation delivered by Professor Chris Cook, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences at the University of Wollongong on the occasion of the admission of Carl Chiarella as a Doctor of Science (honoris causa) on 23 July 2015.
Deputy Chancellor, I present Professor Carl Chiarella.
In 1969, a paper titled ‘Equivalence relation based on an improved rational approximation’ was published in the Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology by a bright young man and his mentor, the late Professor Austin Keane, both from the Wollongong University College. At the time the Wollongong University College was a part of the University of New South Wales and not yet an autonomous institution. This year the University of Wollongong celebrates its 40th anniversary of independence and we can reflect on the journey taken by the University and that bright young man, now esteemed Professor Carl Chiarella.
Born in Sydney, Carl completed his Bachelor of Science (Honours) in 1965 and Master of Science in 1967 at the University of Sydney – both courses in applied mathematics. Working as a Teaching Fellow in Mathematics at the Wollongong University College, Carl completed his first PhD in nuclear reactor physics in 1969. His was the very first PhD supervised by the late Professor Keane and the first PhD from the Mathematics Department at Wollongong.
Spending the next two years in France working as a Research Fellow at the Université de Nancy, Carl started to develop an interest in languages that would see him study French, Italian, Spanish and Chinese over the course of his life. Returning to Australia, Carl joined the School of Mathematical Sciences in the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) – the institution at which he has spent his subsequent career.
Completing a Master of Commerce (Honours) in 1977 and his second PhD in Economics at UNSW in 1988, he was appointed as a Professor in the School of Finance and Economics at UTS in 1989. Since that time, Carl has pioneered research into nonlinear economic dynamics, financial market modelling and quantitative finance and made a huge impact in his field. In the words of the Dean of the UTS Business School, Carl “has been a beacon for staff, students and the wider international research community” and has “influenced thinking and inspired a generation of researchers that followed in his footsteps.”
Professor Chiarella has authored over 190 research articles in national and international journals and is the author or co-author of 19 books. He has served on the board of several journals, including the European Journal of Finance and Computational Economics, and in editorial roles on journals such as the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization and the prestigious A* Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control. He has received many National Competitive Research Grants; evidence of his reputation as an authority in mathematical finance research. He has also demonstrated his leadership capacity in a number of professional associations and on committees. Carl was made an Emeritus Professor of UTS in 2004 and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from UTS in 2013.
Professor Chiarella’s quest for knowledge and excellence has led to him holding visiting appointments at universities in Japan, including the University of Kyoto, Hitotsubashi University and Tokyo Metropolitan University; at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore; in the University of Bielefeld in Germany and the University of Urbino in Italy, which he has visited frequently and was the location for collaborations that he now regards as one of the high points of his career. Professor Chiarella has also maintained strong connections with the University of Wollongong; delivering educational seminars and collaborating on curriculum development.
Carl has supervised, mentored and influenced a great number of students and researchers. To illustrate the high regard in which he is held, in 2014 a book was published entitled Nonlinear economic dynamics and financial modelling: Essays in honour of Carl Chiarella. This collection of essays was written by colleagues of Carl, in honour of his 70th birthday. While there are many people that credit Carl for his inspirational guidance and passion, Carl himself credits his wife Lyn with his success, noting that without her support none of his achievements would have been possible.
Professor Chiarella has only recently retired from his role as Professor of Quantitative Finance at UTS after establishing himself as an internationally renowned expert in the areas of financial mathematics and economics and much loved mentor and colleague. I hope that the graduates here today can see in themselves some of the same enthusiasm and yearning for knowledge that was coursing through Carl’s mind fifty years ago, when he first graduated and that has marked his subsequent career. This University is delighted that it has been a part of Carl’s journey.
Deputy Chancellor, for his outstanding academic scholarship and leadership, and his significant contribution to research in economics and mathematics, it is my privilege to present Carl Chiarella for a Doctor of Science, honoris causa.