About

Dr. Michael J. Cooper is a Professor and Chair in the Department of Finance at the David Eccles School of Business, University of Utah, holding the A. Blaine Huntsman Presidential Endowed Chair. His primary research and teaching interests are in investments, with a focus on equity returns predictability, related data-snooping issues, and the behavior of mutual fund investors. His research has been published in leading academic journals such as The Journal of Finance, The Journal of Financial Economics, The Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, and the Review of Finance. Dr. Cooper's work has received multiple awards, including first place in the 2021 Washington University Olin Award for Research That Transforms Business, the 2000 Barclays Global Investors Award from the European Finance Association, the 2006 Fama/DFA Second Prize for Capital Markets and Asset Pricing, and third prize in the 2007 Q-Group Rodger F. Murray Prize Competition. His research has been widely cited in the popular press, including outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, Financial Times, CNBC, Reuters, and NPR.

Research topics

• Economics
• Finance
• Financial economics
• Econometrics
• Monetary economics
• Business
• Mathematics

Selected publications

• Long-run post-event returns in global stock markets

  Journal of International Business Studies · 2025-10-23

  article
  PublisherDOI

• The (Large) Effect of Return Horizon on Fund Alpha

  Critical Finance Review · 2025-01-01 · 3 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Development of CCDs for the AXIS astrophysics probe concept

  2025-08-01

  article

  The Advanced Imaging X-Ray Satellite (AXIS) concept was one of two missions selected for Astrophysics Probe Explorers Studies in October 2024. AXIS will achieve high spatial and spectral resolution across the soft X-ray band using silicon charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensors operating more than an order of magnitude faster than those used on Chandra. The focal plane of AXIS features four 2 MPixel CCDs with 24 µm pixels. Each CCD has 16 high-speed p-channel junction field-effect transistor outputs to meet the required frame rates for this observatory. Rather than employing the traditional frontside fabrication processes used to build silicon CCDs, which use three overlapping films of patterned polysilicon to define the pixel phases, these detectors are built in a new single-polysilicon process where precision lithography is used instead to define the pixel phases. The backside processing of these detectors includes wafer-scale direct bonding and growth of an ultra-thin entrance window by molecular-beam epitaxy to enable high quantum efficiency for soft (200 eV) X-rays. In this presentation, we describe design, fabrication, and analysis of prototype flight detectors for AXIS.

  PublisherDOI

• ESG Everywhere

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Complex Pathways: Simultaneous Enrollment in Postsecondary Education (Poster 19)

  2025-01-01

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Directions for advancement of MIT-LL CCDs for x-ray astrophysics applications

  2024-08-27

  article

  Charge coupled devices remain the scientific tool of choice for x-ray imaging spectrometers for astrophysics applications due to their deep depletion depths, low noise, and uniform Gaussian energy response. These qualities provide advantages over both monolithic and hybridized CMOS sensors in this application space, but relative to these alternatives come most significantly at the cost of frame rate. This work at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory in collaboration with MIT’s Kavli Institute and Stanford’s KIPAC presents current directions of pursuit in design, fabrication, and architecture towards the end of improved CCD performance at elevated data rates. Advanced sense nodes designed for low noise, high speed operation requires pushing towards high conversion gain and high transconductance sense transistors both through enhancement of current generation JFETs and refinement of design for future generation SiSeRO nodes [single electron sensitive readout]. Larger devices require lower capacitance parallel gates to support charge transfer towards output nodes at the requisite pixel rates. Transition from triple-poly to single poly gate structures reduces this capacitance while maintaining high charge transfer efficiency to high transfer rates across many cm² devices. Architecturally, enhanced parallelization with increased port counts and densities supports elevated data rates for any given pixel rate. Close integration to support ASICs handles this elevated data rate without undue multiplication of support electronics.

  PublisherDOI

• Soft x-ray resolution and scientific performance of CCD sensors for future x-ray missions

  2024-08-27

  article

  Future mega-pixel imaging x-ray detectors will require excellent spectral response at soft (E<1keV) x-ray energies while operating at fast frame-rates. We have characterized the sub-keV spectral resolution of two low-noise MIT Lincoln Laboratory CCDs in detail. These devices are identical in format but differ in gate structure and output stage design. We report measurements of the shape of the spectral redistribution function as a function of energy for each of these sensor types and compare our measurements with theoretical expectations. We also assess the implications of the observed response functions for scientific performance in deep x-ray imaging and high-resolution spectroscopy applications.

  PublisherDOI

• Central and peripheral neuromuscular fatigue following ramp and rapid maximal voluntary isometric contractions

  Frontiers in Physiology · 2024-08-20 · 7 citations

  articleOpen access

  Introduction Maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVICs) as a fatiguing modality have been widely studied, but little attention has been given to the influence of the rate of torque development. Given the established differences in motor command and neuromuscular activation between ramp and rapid MIVCs, it is likely performance fatigue differs as well as the underlying physiological mechanisms. Purpose To compare responses for rapid and maximal torque following ramp and rapid MVICs, and the corresponding neuromuscular and corticospinal alterations. Methods On separate visits, twelve healthy males (22.8 ± 2.5 years) performed fatiguing intermittent MVICs of the knee extensors with either 2 s (RAMP) or explosive (RAPID) ramp-ups until a 50% reduction in peak torque was achieved. Before and after each condition, maximal and rapid torque measures were determined from an MVIC. Additionally, peripheral (twitch parameters) and central (voluntary activation) fatigue, as well as rapid muscle activation, and cortical-evoked twitch and electromyographic responses were recorded. Results Maximal and late-phase rapid torque measures ( p ≤ 0.001; <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="m1"><mml:mrow><mml:msubsup><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">η</mml:mi><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">p</mml:mi><mml:mtext> </mml:mtext></mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:msubsup></mml:mrow></mml:math> = 0.635–0.904) were reduced similarly, but early rapid torque capacity (0–50 ms) ( p = 0.003; d = 1.11 vs. p = 0.054; d = 0.62) and rapid muscle activation ( p = 0.008; d = 1.07 vs. p = 0.875; d = 0.06) decreased more after RAMP. Changes in peripheral fatigue, as indicated by singlet and doublet contractile parameters ( p &amp;lt; 0.001 for all; <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="m2"><mml:mrow><mml:msubsup><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">η</mml:mi><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">p</mml:mi><mml:mtext> </mml:mtext></mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:msubsup></mml:mrow></mml:math> = 0.752–0.859), and nerve-evoked voluntary activation ( p &amp;lt; 0.001; <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="m3"><mml:mrow><mml:msubsup><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">η</mml:mi><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">p</mml:mi><mml:mtext> </mml:mtext></mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:msubsup><mml:mo>=</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:math> 0.660) were similar between conditions. Corticospinal inhibition (via silent period) was only increased after RAPID ( p = 0.007; d = 0.94 vs. p = 0.753; d = 0.09), whereas corticospinal voluntary activation and excitability were unchanged. Conclusion Ramp, fatiguing MVICs impaired early rapid torque capacity more than rapid MVICs, and this was accompanied by decrements in rapid muscle activation. Responses for peripheral and central fatigue (nerve and cortical stimulation) were largely similar between conditions, except that rapid MVICs increased corticospinal inhibition.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• X-ray speed reading with the MCRC: prototype success and next generation upgrades

  2024-08-27

  article

  The Advanced x-ray Imaging Satellite (AXIS) is a NASA probe class mission concept designed to deliver arcsecond resolution with an effective area ten times that of Chandra (at launch). The AXIS focal plane features an MIT Lincoln Laboratory (MIT-LL) x-ray charge-coupled device (CCD) detector working in conjunction with an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), denoted the Multi-Channel Readout Chip (MCRC). While this readout ASIC targets the AXIS mission, it is applicable to a range of potential x-ray missions with comparable readout requirements. Designed by the x-ray astronomy and Observational Cosmology (XOC) group at Stanford University, the MCRC ASIC prototype (MCRC-V1.0) uses a 350nm technology node and provides 8 channels of high speed, low noise, low power consumption readout electronics. Each channel implements a current source to bias the detector output driver, a preamplifier to provide gain, and an output buffer to interface directly to an analog-to-digital (ADC) converter. The MCRC-V1 ASIC exhibits comparable performance to our best discrete electronics implementations, but with ten times less power consumption and a fraction of the footprint area. In a total ionizing dose (TID) test, the chip demonstrated a radiation hardness equal or greater to 25krad, confirming the suitability of the process technology and layout techniques used in its design. The next iteration of the ASIC (MCRC-V2) will expand the channel count and extend the interfaces to external circuits, advancing its readiness as a readout-on-a-chip solution for next generation x-ray CCD-like detectors. This paper summarizes our most recent characterization efforts, including the TID radiation campaign and results from the first operation of the MCRC ASIC in combination with a representative MIT-LL CCD.

  PublisherDOI

• Non-financial motivation in the workplace

  Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · 2023-09-19

  book-chapter

  Non-financial motivations have been found to affect worker responses in experimental labour environments. Theory as well as empirical research have examined social-preference motivations— distribution of pay-offs, competitive preferences, and reciprocity— and when they matter in the workplace. Other non-financial motivators studied are respect, symbolic rewards and the role identity. The studies demonstrate that accounting for non-financial motivation in the workplace can improve performance of the workplace and employees. However, they also show the influence of motivational factors is strongly context dependent.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Huseyin Gulen

  26 shared

• P. Raghavendra Rau

  University of Cambridge

  17 shared

• Alexei V. Ovtchinnikov

  HEC Paris

  8 shared

• Hendrik Bessembinder

  Arizona State University

  8 shared

• G. Prigozhin

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  7 shared

• Andrew Malonis

  7 shared

• Beverly LaMarr

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  7 shared

• Gary A. Patterson

  University of South Florida

  6 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Finance

  University of Utah

  2005

• M.S., Finance

  University of Utah

  2002

• B.S., Finance

  Brigham Young University

  1999

Awards & honors

• 2021 Washington University Olin Award for Research That Tran…
• 2000 Barclays Global Investors Award (European Finance Assoc…
• 2006 Fama/DFA Second Prize for Capital Markets and Asset Pri…
• 2007 Q-Group Rodger F. Murray Prize Competition third prize