On May 29, 2026, a landmark academic and industry collaboration took center stage in Southwest China’s Chongqing, as the inauguration ceremony for the Robert C. Merton Nobel Laureate Workstation was held at the Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications (CQUPT). The new initiative brings together leading academic expertise, pioneering technical strengths, and industry practice to advance innovation at the intersection of financial theory and digital technology.
Robert C. Merton, the 1997 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences, is a globally respected pioneer whose work reshaped modern financial scholarship. A member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and longtime professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Merton is widely recognized as a foundational figure in modern financial theory, earning the informal title of the “Father of Options Pricing” for his transformative contributions to the field.
Speaking at the inauguration event, Merton shared his excitement for the collaborative project, emphasizing his commitment to bridging advanced research and real-world problem solving. “I’m looking forward to being a part of that and helping to see that happen here in western China, and beyond,” he said, expressing his anticipation of leveraging cutting-edge science and technology to tackle pressing practical challenges in the financial sector.
The workstation is a tripartite partnership between CQUPT, Merton himself, and Chongqing Ant Consumer Finance Co., combining the strengths of academia, world-leading scholarship, and private industry to create a new hub for innovation. For CQUPT, a leading Chinese institution renowned as the birthplace of digital communication in China with more than 70 years of specialized experience in information and communication technology, the collaboration represents a strategic alignment of institutional strengths. The university’s pioneering work in granular computing theory has already earned significant global recognition, laying a solid foundation for integrating digital innovation with financial research.
Li Lin, Party secretary of CQUPT, outlined the institution’s vision for the new workstation at the ceremony. “We will use this workstation as an opportunity to further integrate Professor Merton’s cutting-edge financial theories with our university’s strengths in disciplines like artificial intelligence,” Li stated. He added that the initiative will foster the development of a specialized talent hub for digital finance and an open platform for international academic dialogue, strengthen cross-border scholarly exchange and cooperation, deepen the integration of academic education and industrial practice, and contribute targeted expertise to the development of Chongqing’s ambition as a major financial center in Western China.
Following the official unveiling of the workstation, a formal appointment ceremony was held. Merton was named an Honorary Professor of CQUPT, while Azita Sharif, a key member of Merton’s research team and a bioethics researcher at Harvard Medical School, was appointed as a Visiting Professor at the university.
To coincide with the inauguration, CQUPT also hosted the Symposium on AI-Empowered Western Financial Center Construction, which brought together scholars and industry leaders to explore critical topics at the intersection of AI, finance, and regional development. The symposium featured keynote addresses from leading voices: Merton presented on the journey “From Finance Theory to Financial Innovation Practice”; CQUPT Professor Xia Shuyin shared research on “Granular Ball Computing Theory and Its Driven Merton Economic Theoretical Model”; and Liu Yi, Chief Information Officer of Chongqing Ant Consumer Finance Co., outlined the company’s “Exploration and Practice of AI-Enabled Financial Consumer Protection.”
The launch of the workstation marks a key milestone in advancing digital finance innovation in Western China, creating new pathways for cross-sector collaboration between global academic expertise and domestic technological and industrial capabilities.