Welcome to the Chao-Hon Chen Institute for Global Real Estate Finance at the NYU Stern School of Business. Drawing on faculty from across Stern, partnerships with urban and real estate research centers university-wide, and deep engagement with leaders in industry and policymakers, the Chen Institute advances our understanding of real estate and the built environment through groundbreaking scholarship, applied research, and teaching. Home to the Center for Real Estate Finance, as well as initiatives addressing issues ranging from data science to real estate in emerging economies to the critical challenge of climate change and the built environment, the Institute and its affiliated faculty work to address the most significant questions facing the industry today and into the future.
Our Faculty
Drawn from academic departments across the Stern School of Business, the Chen Institute faculy are leaders in their respective fields, from real estate finance to investment management to technology-driven disruption.
Institute Leadership
Sam Chandan, PhD
Founding Director
NYU Stern Chen Institute
Stern Faculty
Viral Acharya, PhD
C.V. Starr Professor of Economics
Department of Finance
Director, Doctoral Programs
Harry Chernoff, PhD
Clinical Professor of Real Estate and Operations Management
Technology, Operations, and Statistics Department
Daniel Greenwald, PhD
Assistant Professor of Finance
Finance Department
Shan Ge, PhD
Assistant Professor of Finance
Finance Department
Arpit Gupta, PhD
Associate Professor of Finance
Finance Department
Theresa Kuchler, PhD
Associate Professor of Finance and
John L. Vogelstein Faculty Fellow
Finance Department
Johannes Stroebel, PhD
David S. Loeb Professor of Finance and
Director, Climate Finance Initiative
Finance Department
Lawrence J. White, PhD
Robert Kavesh Professor of Economics
Economics Department
Stern Emeritus Faculty
Richard Berner, PhD
Co-Director, Volatilty and Risk Institute
Professor of Practice and Clinical Professor Emeritus of Finance
Robert F. Engle, PhD
Co-Director, Volatility and Risk Institute
Professor Emeritus of Finance
Stern Adjunct Faculty
Vineet Bedi
Adjunct Professor of Finance and Real Estate
Finance Department
Mark Bhasin
Adjunct Associate Professor of Finance and Real Estate
Finance Department
Linda Lindman, Esq
Adjunct Professor of Real Estate
Business and Society Program
John Lippman
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Finance and Real Estate
Finance Department
Centers and Initiatives
The Chen Institute is home to a set of research centers and thematic initiatives that address foundational and emerging areas in real estate. The Center for Real Estate Finance, established in 2012, anchors the Institute’s scholarly and policy work on residential and commercial real estate markets. In addition, the Institute spearheads three major initiatives.
The Initiative in Real Estate Innovation (Innovation Initiative) examines how technological innovation is transforming the structure and function of real estate markets, as well as our relationship to the built environment. Areas of inquiry include the innovation ecosystem; pricing, valuation, and risk management; smart building systems; and the application of AI and machine learning in decision-making. Student engagement is facilitated through the Real Estate Data Science and Artificial Intelligence course, the first of its kind among leading business schools. The Initiative is also home to the Institute's incubation and acceleration programs, which advance technologies and applications that hold unusually high promise in disrupting the industry.
The Initiative for Climate and the Built Environment (Climate Initiative) explores the real estate sector’s contributions to climate change and its vulnerability to environmental risks. Research areas include climate risk modeling, property insurance markets, building decarbonization strategies, green finance, and climate migration and housing. A central component of this initiative is the Laboratory for Urban Epidemiology and Public Health in the Built Environment, which investigates how the design and operation of buildings and cities influence public health outcomes, with a focus on pandemic preparedness and the intersection of climate and health across urban populations.
The Initiative in Real Estate in Global and Emerging Markets (Global Initiative) focuses on the institutionalization and globalization of real estate markets in both mature and rapidly developing economies. Drawing on NYU’s international presence, the initiative examines capital flow regulation, governance and legal frameworks, market transparency, and the role of real estate in sustainable urban growth and economic development.
About the Institute
The Chen Institute at NYU Stern is a global leader in real estate research, teaching, and industry and policy engagement.
Through faculty research, applied scholarship, curricular innovation, and sustained dialogue with the private and public sectors, the Institute addresses complex challenges at the intersection of real estate finance and the built environment.
About Chao-Hon and Charles Chen and the Chen Family
The impetus for this gift is to honor my father, who is a strong believer in the power of education and was the first in our family to attend a major university. He has also been instrumental in building our family business and in driving our family's philanthropy. In his name, I am delighted to partner with the School to endow an enduring hub of thought leadership—Charles Chen (MBA '91)