Current PhD Students — Academic Year 2009–2010

Darren Allen

206 Brooks Hall
email

Darren Allen is a 1st year Ph.D. student. Prior to entering the program, Darren obtained his B.S. and M.S. degrees in mathematics at Middle Tennessee State University. After a 12+ year career as a software engineer and contract programming working for such companies as IBM, HP, Bellsouth, AT&T and The Weather Channel, Darren switched careers to teaching college math and computer science at such schools as Kennesaw State University, West Central Technical College and most recently, Georgia Military College, where he spent the last 4 years as an assistant professor of mathematics and computer science.

Leon (Yilin) Chen

206 Brooks Hall
email

Leon (Yilin) Chen is a 5th year RMI Ph.D. student. Leon earned his BBA in finance from Shanghai Jiaotong University. He also obtained his MBA from University of Notre Dame and MSIS from Baylor University. Prior to entering the PhD program, Leon also worked in the banking and financial services industry for more than three years. Leon is currently a member of the American Risk and Insurance Association, and the Southern Risk and Insurance Association.

Marc Ragin

206 Brooks Hall
email

Marc Ragin is a first year Ph.D. student. Marc graduated from the University of Georgia in 2006 with BBA's in Risk Management and Finance. During his undergraduate studies, Marc interned in the Risk Management department at Amazon.com in Seattle. After graduation, Marc worked as an insurance broker for the Atlanta series of Lockton Companies, specializing in executive and professional liability. Marc is a member of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society and holds his RPLU designation.

Jianren Xu

206 Brooks Hall
email

Jianren Xu is a first-year PhD student. Jianren earned his BA in insurance and actuarial science from Wuhan University, and MS in risk management at St. John's University. Before transferring to UGA, he studied in the PhD program in finance for one year at the University of North Carolina. Jianren also worked in the insurance industry for almost three years. He obtained his ARM designation and passed two actuarial exams (P and FM). Jianren was a Spencer Scholar, a PRIMA Scholar, and a member of the Risk and Insurance Management Society.