Dear Colleagues, We are pleased to announce the seminar by *Jim Gatheral (Baruch College CUNY)* at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. *When: *Wednesday, 25 March at 1:00 pm *Where:* University of Rome Tor Vergata, Department of Economics and Finance (Via Columbia 2, Roma) *Room:* Building B, 2nd Floor, Sala del Consiglio *Title: *From Bachelier to Rough Volatility: The Complex Dynamics of Financial Prices *Abstract: *The dynamics of financial prices emerge from the interaction of thousands of trading algorithms operating across multiple time scales. From an options trader’s perspective, option prices act as experimental probes of this complex system. Starting with Bachelier and Black-Scholes, we show why constant-volatility models fail to explain empirical features such as volatility clustering, leverage, and the persistent shape of implied volatility surfaces. Stochastic volatility models capture many of these features; rough volatility is then motivated by power-law scaling in volatility dynamics. The talk concludes with quadratic rough Heston fits to SPX and VIX smiles, illustrating how rough volatility provides a coherent framework for pricing and risk management. Everyone is welcome to attend. Best regards, -- Davide Pirino. Department of Economics and Finance, Tor Vergata University of Rome. Via Columbia 2, 00133 Roma. website: https://economia.uniroma2.it/faculty/374/pirino-davide-erminio