DAYTON — George Hanley is chairman of Infinium Capital Management and president of the Chicago-based Hanley Group.

But the 1977 University of Dayton graduate wants to do more than tap into growing markets.

"I want to be about investing and growing people's futures," Hanley said Thursday, May 15.

On Thursday, UD unveiled the Hanley Group Derivatives Trading Center. There's no room quite like it at UD — or at most other colleges, university officials say.

"Derivative" is a name for all forms of trading products — including stock options, stock indexes, options on indexes and currency valuations, Hanley said.

As far as Peter Lung, a UD associate professor of finance, is concerned, the new center is a professional environment. Each student station has at least one set of dual monitors — powered by TradeStation software — needed to watch an array of data.

And as in some trading houses, one wall of the room consists wholly of glass. Students are expected to say focused, no matter what's going on outside.

The room was made possible by a $520,000 gift from Hanley, 52. Hanley said his success has been based "totally" on derivatives, in particular on agricultural options.

"There are so many different markets now, thus the name 'derivatives,'" Hanley said.

Hanley also plans to fund a scholarship for a student who will specialize in derivatives.

The trading business is one of the fastest growing industries in the country, shifting from a business centered on people shouting on trade floors to the use of software and high-speed lines, Hanley said.

Students need to be strong in math and computer modeling, he said. It's about a "melding" of programming expertise, engineering and market "know-how," he added.

Investing in derivatives is not betting, Lung stressed. The risks are greater, but then, the rewards can be, as well, he said.