Watch the 60‑minute seminar session with Dr. Tong Liu and Dr. Joshua Surya (watch video here with NetID).
OCS invited two Yale‑trained scientists who now build data‑driven investment strategies to illuminate paths from advanced research to quantitative finance and analytics. On January 20, 2025, Tong Liu (Quantitative Researcher, Squarepoint Capital) and Joshua Surya (Quantitative Investment Engineer, Federated Hermes MDT Advisers) shared actionable insights on breaking into—and thriving in—the competitive quant world.
During this session, the speakers explored:
- Breaking into quantitative research: résumé tactics for PhDs, network‑building in the quant community, and acing technical interviews
- Life as a quant: day‑to‑day problem‑solving, model development, and collaboration between research, engineering, and trading teams
- Core skills for success: statistical modeling, programming fluency, market intuition, and rigorous communication
- Career trajectories in and beyond quant roles: from researcher to portfolio manager, or pivots to data science, venture capital, and fintech
- Their personal journeys: applying high‑energy physics and signal‑processing expertise to alpha generation and systematic investing
Tong Liu, PhD. Quantitative researcher at Squarepoint Capital
Originally from Changchun, China, Tong Liu graduated from Yale with a Ph.D. in nuclear physics in 2023, where his thesis was on the Quark-Gluon Plasma and high energy nuclear collisions. After graduating, he joined Squarepoint Capital as a quantitative researcher and is currently working on a new venture capital team in the company.
Joshua Surya, PhD. Quantitative investment researcher at Federated Hermes MDT Advisers
Dr. Joshua Surya earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Yale University in 2021. Previously, Dr. Surya held roles as a quantitative analyst at FS investments. Currently, he serves as a quantitative investment engineer at Federated Hermes MDT Advisers.
This event was co-hosted by Hao Xie and Qi Yan, McDougal Fellows at the Office of Career Strategy.
