The Cowles Commission for Research in Economics was formed at the University of Chicago, and later moved to Yale University. Tjalling Koopmans was the director of research at the Cowles Commission from 1944 to 1955. According to Gerard Debreu, (a former member), a central tenet of the Cowles Commission was a respect for mathematical rigor in economic theory. The Cowles Commission provided weekly staff meetings and seminars were held every two weeks in order to induce the exchange of ideas among mathematical economists. Economist, Karl Brunner joined the Cowles Commission in order to gain a better understanding of econometrics and mathematical application to economic analysis. Among the members of Cowles Commission were Harry Markowitz and L.R. Klien.