معرفی
Rakesh Sarin is Professor of Decisions, Operations, and Technology Management and holds the Paine Chair in Management at UCLA Anderson School of Management. He has been a member of the UCLA faculty since 1979, promoted to associate professor in 1981, full professor in 1985, and awarded the Paine Chair in 1990. He has also held faculty appointments at the Indian Institute of Management, Purdue University, and Duke University.
Education:
- Ph.D. Operations Management, 1975, UCLA
- MBA, 1971, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
- B.E. Mechanical Engineering, 1969, M.R. Engineering College, Jaipur
Sarin's research spans behavioral decision making, decision analysis, and risk analysis. His theoretical interests include preference theory, decisions under uncertainty, and equity and fairness in decision making. He has developed models applied to project evaluation, new product development, and risk analysis for human health and the environment. Most notably, his decade-long research with Manel Baucells identified the fundamental equation of happiness: Happiness = Reality – Shifting Expectations, published in their book Engineering Happiness.
His publication record shows a clear evolution from foundational decision theory work in the 1970s-80s toward broader applications in social welfare, happiness studies, and behavioral economics in later years. His work bridges mathematical modeling with psychological insights, particularly in how humans perceive risk and make decisions under uncertainty.
Sarin currently serves as editor-in-chief of Decision Analysis, a peer-reviewed journal of INFORMS that bridges theory and practice. He has consulted for numerous private and public organizations and is particularly noted for his teaching in MBA and Executive MBA programs, where he emphasizes the connection between decision quality and personal/social well-being.
His research team has focused extensively on understanding the mathematical foundations of happiness, examining worldwide survey data alongside insights from ancient literature and spiritual traditions. This interdisciplinary work integrates management science, psychology, and economics to offer a novel approach to understanding human well-being.
