Martin Widdicks

Martin Widdicks is a Teaching Associate Professor of Finance and Director of the MSF Program at the Gies College of Business, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He holds the Josef and Margot Lakonishok Faculty Fellow distinction and has been recognized as an outstanding teacher repeatedly since 2011. His academic background includes a PhD in Mathematical Finance (University of Manchester, 2002) and a BSc in Mathematics (Manchester, 1999).

Research interests focus on mathematical finance, particularly derivative pricing methodologies, singular perturbation theory applications, and executive compensation models. He has developed frameworks for multi-asset option valuation and analyzed incentive structures in equity-based compensation. Recent work includes extracting market crash and bankruptcy signals from options data.

Teaching responsibilities span core quantitative finance courses (FIN 502, FIN 503), derivatives (FIN 512), and advanced electives like Complex Derivatives (FIN 514) and Term Structure Models (FIN 516/517). His awards include the Shebik Faculty Fellowship (2021–2022) and Towey Faculty Fellowship (2019–2021).

Notable publications include Journal of Futures Markets, Journal of Corporate Finance, and Mathematical Finance. His work bridges theoretical finance with practical applications in risk management and corporate decision-making.