Katherine Milkman

Katherine L. Milkman (Katy) is the James G. Dinan Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, with secondary appointments in Penn's Perelman School of Medicine and School of Arts & Sciences. She co-founded and co-directs the Behavior Change for Good Initiative, a research center dedicated to advancing the science of lasting behavior change. Her work integrates economics and psychology to address challenges like savings, exercise adherence, vaccination rates, and discrimination through large-scale field experiments.

Education:
PhD in Computer Science and Business from Harvard University; Bachelor's degree (summa cum laude) in Operations Research and Financial Engineering from Princeton University.

Research Focus:
Milkman's research leverages big data and behavioral science to understand decision-making failures (e.g., self-control, discrimination) and design scalable interventions. Her recent work emphasizes:

• Nudge-based strategies for education, health, and finance
• Diversity enhancement in organizational settings
• Habit formation through incentive structures

Publication Trends:
Her 15 most recent articles (2022-2025) primarily involve megastudies testing behavioral interventions. Key themes include: leveraging email/reminders to improve math education and vaccination rates; addressing loan delinquency through nudges; and using stereotyping dynamics to increase diversity in hiring. Over 80% employ field experiments across healthcare, finance, and education sectors.

Awards & Honors:

• Thinkers50 Top Management Thinker (2021, 2023)
• Schmidt Futures Innovation Fellow (2022)
• Fellow, Association for Psychological Science (2020)
• Multiple teaching awards from Wharton (2015, 2016)
• William F. O’Dell Award for impactful research (2017)

Advisory & Grants:
Milkman has advised major organizations including The White House, Google, Walmart, and the U.S. Department of Defense. Her Behavior Change for Good Initiative secures funding for large-scale social impact research. She hosts Schwab's behavioral economics podcast Choiceology and contributes to policy through op-eds in The New York Times and Scientific American.

Labs & Teams:
Co-directs the Behavior Change for Good Initiative, collaborating with interdisciplinary researchers (e.g., Angela Duckworth, Sendhil Mullainathan) on longitudinal studies. The initiative designs and tests interventions across health, education, and savings domains.