Thomas Lubik came to the Richmond Fed by way of the classroom. After finishing his own studies, Lubik spent seven years on the faculty of Johns Hopkins University, teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in macroeconomics, mathematical methods and international monetary economics. He joined the Fed in 2006 and the focus of his research has remained in those areas.

"It's just an incredibly open, engaging environment," he says of the Bank's Research department. "In the work I do, the free exchange of ideas is important and it's great to have that kind of dialogue with colleagues who are serious about economic research." Lubik has concentrated his research in applied macroeconomics in three areas — international macroeconomics, labor markets and the effects of monetary policy on the economy.

Lubik says his first exposure to economics came "almost by accident" when he was a student at Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen in his native Germany. And that interest developed after he changed his course of study to economics and political science from plans to major in classical archaeology. "What I always knew was I wanted to pursue an academic career," he says. "I was fascinated by economics — the rigor of thinking about problems, reducing complexities to a few assumptions and running with it."

Lubik found his way to the United States for graduate school at the suggestion of an academic advisor at the University of Birmingham in England, where Lubik spent his third year of college and found his interest in economics deepening. Lubik completed his master's and doctoral degree work at Yale.