The J.P. Morgan Center for Commodities at the CU Denver Business School is hosting “New Directions in Commodities Research” on August 10-11, 2017. Co-organized by Ajeyo Banerjee, Director of the JPMCC and Graham Davis, Professor of Mineral Economics at the Colorado School of Mines, the international commodities symposium brings together global thought leaders and prominent stakeholders in commodities to discuss critical thinking and new research related to commodities.
Session topics include:
- Commotion, Complexity and Competition: Interesting Times in the Rare Earth Business
- Trends and Problems with Fossil Fuels
- Chinese Commodity Demand
- Commodity Price Dynamics and Growth
- A Practitioner’s Perspective on Commodity Risk Management
- Public Policy Trends and Commodity Market Impacts
- Distributed Ledger Technology and the Future of Financial Markets
- Commodity Market Microstructure
Sessions and papers are from both academic and practitioner communities, focusing on the real-world relevance of commodities research, specifically oriented to the immediate and near-term future. The academic sessions are limited to outstanding research and relevant business topics, and the papers comprise of both solicited and competitively selected subjects. The Technical Committee, consisting of members of the Research Council of the J.P. Morgan Center for Commodities, selected the papers. The conference is sponsored by the CME Group Foundation and Payne Institute for Earth Resources.
Dean Rohan Christie-David also strongly believes in the value of hosting the international symposium. “This international symposium is another example of how the JPMCC is continuing to strengthen its tradition as a leader in commodities education and research,” Christie-David said. “By providing more opportunities for dialogue for both scholars and business professionals in commodity industries, the JPMCC looks to remain the global leader of commodities research.”
The Keynote speakers are Alex King, Critical Materials Institute (CMI) Director, and Lutz Kilian, Professor of Economics.
King will speak on “Commotion, Complexity and Competition: Interesting Times in the Rare Earth Business.” King was born and raised in London and obtained his doctorate from Oxford. He was a visiting fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science in 1996 and a US State Department Jefferson Science Fellow for 2005-2006. He is currently a fellow at the Institute of Mining Minerals and Materials, ASM International, and the Materials Research Society.
Kilian will speak on “Lower Oil Prices and U.S. Economy: Is This Time Different?” He received his doctorate in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania along with his MA in Development Banking from American University. Kilian previously worked for the research department of the Inter-American Development Bank and served as an adviser to the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany. He has also been a research visitor at the Federal Reserve Board, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.
Other presenters include Bluford Putnam, Managing Director and Chief Economist of CME Group; Chris Hansen, Representative for District 6 at the Colorado General Assembly and member of the Transportation and Energy Committee; Garth Leonard, director and co-head of Commodity Tracker at IHS Markit; and Jeffrey Billingham, VP in HIS Markits’ Processing division.
The idea for the conference came from the success of past efforts by the Center’s Research Council. Their Global Commodities Applied Research Digest (GCARD), a bi-annual e-publication sponsored by the CME Group Foundation, was first released in Spring 2016 and proved the demand for relevant commodities education and research. The Council determined an international symposium as an important step forward for continuing dialogue among stakeholders in various commodity disciplines.
The symposium is open to all individuals, academics and practitioners, interested in new research in commodities. All attendees will need to register for the symposium. Registration includes the welcome reception Wednesday night, breakfast, lunch and dinner Thursday and breakfast Friday morning.
Photo by Patrick Campbell/University of Colorado.
