The Chronicle

Four University students may be best known for cruising around campus in a white humvee (High Mobility Multi-wheeled Vehicle), but this tank-like military vehicle is only an indication of their recent success.

Designing computer models for trading foreign currencies and futures, Arman Glodjo, a graduate student in finance, Scott Harrington, Engineering '95, Greg Badros, Trinity '95 and engineering junior Nate Bronson constitute the main work force of Transworld Numerics. The company develops models for Transworld Securities, which in turn uses them to guide exchanges and bet on how currency and futures prices will behave during the course of the day. When current financial conditions are plugged into their models, they forecast the market's movement.

"Finance is a game," said Glodjo, Transworld Numerics' president, chairman and CEO. "I like the thrill of us as a company trying to outsmart everyone else."

After hearing one of Glodjo's presentation at a financial convention in Switzerland, representatives from Transworld Securities offered him the opportunity to create Transworld Numerics. Last summer, Glodjo conducted the company's business out of a computer-filled house in Durham, while the company moved its base to Bermuda.

Their proficiency in computer science earned Badros, Bronson and Harrington their place at Transworld Numerics. Because Badros had previously worked with Glodjo by researching and co-authoring articles, Glodjo knew of their talents and recruited them for his newly formed company. He convinced the three, who were planning to spend the summer working for Microsoft, to abandon their plans and join his company.

All four employees utilize their strong math and computer science backgrounds to design the computer models. Glodjo gives the group financial direction, but still works with the others on mathematical and programming problems.

Officially titled "research scientists," Harrington, Bronson, and Badros work with Glodjo to design the programs. "Our role is everything," Bronson said. "We share responsibility across the board."

This type of teamwork resembles work Bronson, Harrington and Badros did together in computer programming contests while at the University. The trio competed twice in the Association for Computing Machinery International Collegiate Programming Contest, finishing first in the nation and third internationally in 1994. Capping off their work as a team, they also won the 1995 Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers competition.

Likening his experiences in contests to his current job, Harrington said, "you have to work very closely and cooperate very well with your teammates in a high speed high output environment."

Such was the case with the Mathematical Contest in Modeling, which both Bronson and Harrington said was particularly helpful in preparing them for their current jobs. In this contest, the participants have a full weekend to work on a complex real-world problem with no correct predetermined answer.

Besides contests, all three have intense computer experience that helped prepare them for their current job. Badros has had his article published five times and spent the summer of his senior year working with Harrington at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington.

Bronson spent three summers working at the Institute for Defense Analysis. "You take a mathematical problem and you get to a certain point where you can't push it any further, and then you take a really big computer and just smash the problem," Bronson said.

Glodjo has devoted most of his time to education. Originally from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Glodjo journeyed to college in Canada when he was 15 where he earned a bachelor's degree in math and physics and a masters in math, applied math and electrical engineering. In 1992, he came to Duke where he got a masters in computer science, and then transferred to Fuqua where he is currently pursuing a doctoral program in finance.

The unexpected opportunity to work at Transworld Numerics has had a disruptive effect on the group's future plans. Besides giving up their summer jobs, Harrington and Badros have put plans for graduate school on hold, while Bronson has postponed completing his electrical engineering, computer science and mathematics triple major at the University.

Glodjo, Harrington and Bronson returned to Durham in mid-December and spent the holidays working and skiing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Although Badros joined them in Jackson Hole, he spent most of his time in Seattle where he works with the others through secured long-distance connections.

Whether or not they will continue their educations remains uncertain, since none of the four knows how long he will stay with the company. For the time being, at least, they seem content with their current employment. "[The job] has been a continuously challenging problem for six months in a row which is something I didn't ever expect would happen," Bronson said.

The decision to join Transworld Numerics seems to be paying off for all of the employees. Their newfound success has let them indulge in luxuries that otherwise would have been unavailable to them. Bronson, an avid biker, recently purchased a new customized mountain bike, while Glodjo bought a humvee. Despite these luxuries, Bronson and the others remain down to earth.

"[Success] hasn't changed who I am, but it may in the future change what I'm able to do," Bronson said. "Making money now is a head start on being able to have a secure family later. Many people have to struggle a lot after they get married.... It's nice to think that maybe things will work out so that it won't be so hard."

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