2021 COHORT
Zach Palank received his BS in Mathematics from the University of Oklahoma, and a MS in Biostatistics from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Drawn to more of the creativity and complexity of applying mathematics in a modeling setting, he started to take on finance course work. Working with mathematical models has fascinated him since he took a mathematical modeling course his junior year that focused on bifurcation with ODE and PDE. He came into Michigan with a strong stats background, having experience in multivariate Regression, logistic regression, Bayesian analysis, frequency analysis, and Principle component analysis. He’s coming into the quant program with experience in R and Matlab. He was drawn to Michigan’s quant program because of its strong focus in mathematics. In the spring of 2021, he won first place in a financial modeling competition that involved valuing a company of his choice and creating an interactive Pro Forma model. His other distinctions include: University of Oklahoma Academic Scholar, Advanced Placement Scholar with Distinction, and being an alumnus of Kappa Kappa Psi the Honorary band service fraternity. Outside of academics, he spends his time visiting National Parks, performing music, investigating hidden gems, and trying new food.