About me

I am a Postdoctoral Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan. My mentors are Prof. Erhan Bayraktar and Prof. Ibrahim Ekren. Prior to that, I was a PhD student at Illinois Tech, advised by Prof. Sergey Nadtochiy. 

Research Interests

Stochastic Control, Contract Theory, Mean Field Games, Machine Learning, Financial and Actuarial Mathematics.

Research papers and publications:

1. G.A. Alvarez, I. Ekren, L. Huang "Principal-agent problems with adverse selection: A stochastic target problem formulation". Arxiv preprint arXiv:2605.01080 

2. G.A. Alvarez, I. Ekren, L. Huang "Contracting with discretionary bonuses". Submitted for publication. Arxiv preprint arXiv:2511.23424 

3. G. A. Alvarez, E. Bayraktar, I. Ekren "Contracting a crowd of heterogeneous agents". Submitted for publication, ArXiv preprint arXiv:2507.09415  

4. G. A. Alvarez, I. Ekren, A. Krastios, X. Yang. "Neural operators can play dynamic Stackelberg games". Journal of Machine Learning Research, 26(303):1−61, journal version 

5. G. A. Alvarez, E. Bayraktar, I. Ekren, L. Huang "Sequential optimal contracting in continuous time". Frontiers of Mathematical Finance, 2025, 4: 114-139, journal version 

6. G.A. Alvarez, S. Nadtochiy "Optimal contract design via relaxation: application to the problem of brokerage fee for a client with private signal". Finance and Stochastics (2025), journal version 

7. G. A. Alvarez, S. Nadtochiy, and K. Webster “Optimal brokerage contracts in Almgren-Chriss model with multiple clients". SIAM Journal on Financial Mathematics 14 (3), 855-878, journal version

Teaching

Fall 2023, 2024, 2025. MATH 472 - Numerical Analysis with Financial Applications. University of Michigan. 

Winter 2024, 2026. MATH 474 - Introduction to Stochastic Analysis with Financial Applications. University of Michigan.

Winter 2025. MATH 574 - Continuous Time Mathematical Finance. University of Michigan.

Awards

1. Allen Shields Outstanding Postdoctoral Professor Teaching Award in Mathematics. University of Michigan, 2025.

2. Best PhD thesis in Applied Mathematics. Illinois Tech, 2023.

3. College of Computing Excellence in Teaching Assistance Award. Illinois Tech, 2023.

Recent Talks:

1. Bachelier World Congress, Bologna, July 2026

2. Byrne Conference, University of Michigan, June 2026

3. Seminar on Mathematical Economics, CUDE, Bielefeld University, February 2026

4. Seminar on Finance, CREST, ENSAE, January 2026

5. Seminar on Financial Engineering, HEC Montréal, January 2026

6. Seminar on Mathematical Finance and Stochastics, Illinois Tech, November 2025.