9/2/2025 Ashley Sims
ISE Professor David Lariviere has received the 2025 STAC Fellowship Award—the Strategic Technology Analysis Center’s highest honor—for his outstanding contributions to financial systems engineering. The recognition celebrates his leadership in high-performance computing and fintech, as well as his mentorship in the Master of Science in Financial Engineering (MSFE) program.
Written by Ashley Sims
Professor David Lariviere of the Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering (ISE) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has received the 2025 STAC Fellowship Award by the Strategic Technology Analysis Center (STAC), earning the organization’s highest individual honor: the “STAC White Lab Coat”.
Each year, STAC recognizes one expert from its global community who works at the intersection of finance, trading, and computing performance. The award honors sustained technical contributions that advance the field of financial technology and market systems. Professor Lariviere was chosen for his key participation, connections and energy that have helped grow the STAC ecosystem, particularly through its Special Interest Groups (SIGs), working groups and the Chicago financial tech community.
Lariviere joins an exclusive group of past fellows, many of whom are senior leaders in high-performance computing, trading architecture and quantitative analysis. “This was probably the most important acknowledgement of my career so far (at least in my extremely niche area of expertise),” Lariviere said. “I was completely surprised and deeply humbled to be included among such a distinguished group. These individuals possess decades of technical experience, with many nearing or already enjoying retirement. To be named alongside them is truly an honor.”
The STAC Fellowship "white lab coat" award represents more than symbolic recognition, it reflects a researcher’s cumulative impact on the broader field. As a Fellow, Lariviere also serves as an advisor, helping shape STAC’s priorities and technical direction. The distinction affirms his contributions to the community, which relies on rigorous benchmarks and innovation to push the boundaries of financial systems.
At Illinois, Lariviere teaches in the Master of Science in Financial Engineering (MSFE) program, where he mentors graduate students preparing for careers in trading, fintech and systems engineering. His students are renowned for their exceptional technical skills and profound interest in addressing real-world challenges.
Before joining Illinois, Lariviere taught in the Computer Science and Electrical Engineering departments at Columbia University, focusing on FPGA development for direct memory access (DMA) and high-frequency trading (HFT). He also served as Head of Advanced Technologies at GTS, leading software and hardware optimization teams and managing trading infrastructure for CME futures. Later, he became lead consultant for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), where he oversaw the rollout of the Market Segment Gateway (MSGW) and authored the widely cited “latency tricks” patent.
The STAC White Lab Coat symbolizes the technical rigor, research intensity and collaborative spirit that define STAC Fellows. Professor Lariviere’s recognition underscores the department’s ongoing commitment to applied research and preparing engineers to solve real-world challenges in finance, technology and beyond.
David Lariviere is a Clinical Professor from the Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering, in the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is affiliated with the Master of Science in Financial Engineering (MSFE) Program under both the Grainger College of Engineering and the Gies College of Business via the Finance Department.