Professor Yongbo Xiao serves at Tsinghua University's School of Economics and Management, Department of Management Science and Engineering. His academic journey includes a BEng in Management Information Systems (2000), Master/PhD in Management Science and Engineering (2006), and postdoctoral research in applied economics at Tsinghua University. 2000: BEng in Management Information Systems 2006: Master/PhD in Management Science and Engineering 2006-2008: Postdoctoral Fellow in Applied Economics His research spans revenue management, pricing strategies, operations/supply chain management, and service systems. Recent work explores live-streaming e-commerce dynamics, supply chain resilience, and platform co-opetition models. Articles appear in top journals including Operations Research , Production and Operations Management , and Naval Research Logistics . Notable awards include National Natural Science Foundation Outstanding Young Scholars Fund, Changjiang Scholar Young Scholars recognition, and multiple Tsinghua University teaching/research honors. He serves as Associate Editor-in-Chief for Naval Research Logistics and Executive Editor for Journal of Systems Science and Systems Engineering . 2024: China Aviation Association Second Prize 2023: Huawei Collaborative Innovation Award 2022-2024: Tsinghua EMBA/Executive Education Teaching Excellence Professor Xiao teaches undergraduate Operations Research, Master's-level Operations Research & Optimization, and MBA courses including Data Models & Decisions, Operations Management, and ESG Frontier Exploration. His work bridges theoretical operations research with practical applications in digital commerce and supply chain innovation.
Ian Ball is the Gary Loveman Career Development Assistant Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , specializing in economic theory , mechanism design , and information design . He is affiliated with the Department of Economics and contributes to theoretical advancements in strategic decision-making frameworks. Contact: ianball@mit.edu His research focuses on mechanism design , where he explores probabilistic verification and contingent payment systems, and information design , emphasizing dynamic provision and content filtering. Key themes include incentive compatibility, strategic agent behavior, and robustness in economic models. The articles highlight his work on probabilistic verification, dynamic information provision, and bias in delegation mechanisms, spanning journals like Econometrica , Journal of Economic Theory , and American Economic Journal: Microeconomics . Topics include reputation systems, optimization, and multi-period contracts. Scientific Awards: Review of Economic Studies Tour (2020) China Star Tour (2020) Contact details include his office location E52-556 and assistant Ruth Levitsky at phone number 617-253-3399 .
Sudha Ram is the Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of MIS, Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the Eller College of Management, University of Arizona. She holds joint faculty appointments as Professor of Computer Science and is a member of the BIO5 Institute and the Institute for the Environment. She is also the Director of INSITE: Center for Business Intelligence and Analytics, a leading research center in data-driven decision-making. Her research focuses on Big Data Analytics , Business Intelligence , Large Scale Network Science , and Machine Learning , with applications in healthcare, smart cities, environmental policy, and social media. She has pioneered methods in explainable AI, conceptual modeling, and multimodal data fusion, integrating statistical, ontological, and machine learning approaches. Recent publications demonstrate a strong trend in healthcare analytics (e.g., asthma, diabetes, fracture prediction), explainable AI (ROLEX, argumentation-based models), and urban/smart systems (mobility, wearables, environmental impact). Her work consistently appears in top-tier journals and conferences, reflecting sustained scholarly impact. AIS Fellow (2018) INFORMS ISS Distinguished Fellow IBM Faculty Award Peter Chen Award Best Paper Award, IEEE Smart Cities (2016) Best Paper Award, ACM Digital Health (2016) Woman of Impact Award, University of Arizona (2023) Dr. Ram has secured over $70 million in research funding from agencies like NSF, NASA, CIA, and corporations including IBM, Intel, and SAP. She has mentored numerous students and leads a multidisciplinary research team at INSITE. She has held editorial leadership roles in Information Systems Research , Journal of AIS , and is founding co-editor of the Journal of Business Analytics . She directs the INSITE Center, which fosters collaboration across business, computer science, and health domains, enabling large-scale data synthesis and knowledge discovery. The center supports projects in healthcare innovation, smart cities, and environmental policy analytics.
Saurabh Amin is a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he also serves as the Edmund K. Turner Professor and Undergraduate Officer. He is a Principal Investigator at the Laboratory of Information and Decision Systems and holds affiliations with the Operations Research Center and the Center for Computational Science and Engineering. His educational background includes: B.Tech. 2002, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee M.S. 2004, University of Texas (UT) Austin Ph.D. 2011, University of California (UC) Berkeley Saurabh Amin's research focuses on the design and control of infrastructure systems using game theory and optimization in networks. His work spans three main areas: resilient network control, information systems and incentive design, and optimal resource allocation in large-scale infrastructure systems. By concentrating on critical infrastructure domains including highway transportation, electric power distribution, and urban water networks, his research develops innovative theory and tools to enhance system performance against both stochastic and adversarial disruptions. His approach involves modeling cyber-physical interactions in infrastructures to assess vulnerabilities, developing detection and response tools for failures at various scales, and designing economic incentive schemes that improve aggregate public good while accounting for dependencies and private information among strategic entities. Amin's work bridges mathematical systems theory with practical civil engineering applications, creating a rigorous theoretical foundation for infrastructure resilience that addresses diverse failure mechanisms from natural disasters to deliberate malicious actions. His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on decarbonization of energy systems, resilient infrastructure planning under climate uncertainty, optimization methods for complex networked systems, and game-theoretic approaches to sustainable infrastructure management. His work increasingly integrates artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques with traditional control theory to address contemporary challenges in infrastructure resilience and sustainability. The research shows a clear trajectory toward addressing climate change impacts on infrastructure systems while maintaining economic efficiency and operational reliability. Professor Amin has received numerous prestigious awards and honors: Common Ground Excellence in Teaching Award, 2025 HSCC Test-of-Time Award, 2024 MIT CEE, Distinguished Service and Leadership Award, 2023 Samuel M. Seegal Prize (SoE) – inspiring students in pursuing and achieving excellence, 2022 Earll M. Murman for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising, 2022 C3.ai Digital Transformation Institute Research Award, 2020 MIT, Ole Madsen Mentoring Award, 2020 MIT, Energy Initiative Research Award, 2020 National Academy of Engineering, China-America Frontiers of Engineering Symposium speaker, 2019 MIT, Robert N. Noyce Career Development Professor, 2015-2018 Google Faculty Research Award, 2015 National Science Foundation CAREER Award, 2015 Siebel Energy Institute Research Award, 2015 MIT, Solomon Buchsbaum AT&T Research Fund Award, 2012 Professor Amin has been actively involved in significant research projects including the C3.ai DTI project on Causal Reasoning for Real-Time Attack Identification in Cyber-Physical Systems and another on Learning in Routing Games for Sustainable Electromobility. He serves as the chief scientist on multi-institutional NSF grants, including the $9 million Foundations of Resilient Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) project. His teaching portfolio includes courses such as 1.008 Engineering for a Sustainable World, 1.104 Sensing and Intelligent Systems, 1.020 Engineering Sustainability: Analysis and Design, and 1.208 Resilient Networks. As Undergraduate Officer, he plays a key role in shaping the educational experience for civil and environmental engineering students at MIT. Professor Amin leads the Resilient Infrastructure Networks Lab at MIT, where his team develops theoretical foundations and practical tools for infrastructure resilience. The lab focuses on the intersection of control theory, game theory, and optimization applied to cyber-physical infrastructure systems. Current research directions include pandemic-resilient urban mobility and hurricane-resilient smart grid operations, reflecting the lab's commitment to addressing pressing societal challenges through rigorous systems engineering approaches.
Paul Gompers is a Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School , holding appointments in both the Finance and Entrepreneurial Management areas. His research focuses on financial issues related to start-up and high-growth companies, private equity funds, and corporate finance. Education: A.B. in Biology (Harvard College, 1987), M.Sc. in Economics (Oxford University), Ph.D. in Business Economics (Harvard University, 1993) Research interests include: Structure, governance, and performance of private equity funds Sources of financing, incentive design, and performance of private firms Long-run performance evaluation of newly public companies General partner-portfolio company relationships Institutional investor-private equity fund manager dynamics Scientific contributions and recognition: Faculty Research Fellow, National Bureau of Economic Research Corporate Finance Program Marshall Fellowship recipient (Oxford University studies) Author of influential working paper "How Do Venture Capitalists Make Decisions?" (2016) Research compiled in "The Venture Capital Cycle" (forthcoming, MIT Press)
Alan Marco is an Associate Professor at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy within Georgia Tech's Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. His research focuses on innovation policy, patent economics, and intellectual property strategy. Previously, he served as Chief Economist at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), where he co-created PatentsView.org and led the Cancer Moonshot Patent Challenge. Research interests span antitrust regulation, patent valuation, technology markets, and empirical legal studies. Marco holds a Ph.D. in economics from UC Berkeley and a B.A. from Skidmore College. Publications demonstrate expertise in patent analytics, with recent work examining strategic citation behaviors, FRAND royalty calculations, and links between antitrust enforcement and innovation. Research methodologies emphasize large-scale data analysis of USPTO records, litigation outcomes, and market transactions.
Professor John Shields is a distinguished academic in Human Resource Management and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney’s Business School. He holds a BA(Hons) from ANU and a PhD from the University of Sydney. As Academic Director International, he oversees global strategies for the Business School’s international partnerships and recruitment. His roles have included Associate Dean (Programs), Deputy Dean, and Chair of the Faculty Board, reflecting his extensive leadership within the institution. In research, Shields focuses on performance management, reward systems, corporate governance, and international education. He co-authored seminal textbooks like *Managing Employee Performance and Reward* and *Human Resource Management: Strategy and Practice*. Current projects explore performance management transformation, pay secrecy disclosure, and gaming’s psychological impacts. His teaching spans undergraduate and postgraduate courses such as Strategic HRM and Global Leadership. Shields has supervised over a dozen PhD students, with topics ranging from Saudi Arabian workplace dynamics to corporate governance in Australian firms. Recognized with the 2008 Wayne Lonergan Teaching Award, he actively contributes to professional bodies like the Australian Human Resources Institute. Publications highlight his influence in HRM theory and practice, including studies on CEO remuneration, board capital, and pandemic-era worker resilience. His interdisciplinary work bridges organizational behavior, economics, and policy, positioning him as a key figure in contemporary HRM research.
Rania Salem is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC). Her research focuses on the sociology of family, gender, and economic sociology of households and labor markets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Research Interests Dr. Salem explores themes such as women’s agency, marriage practices, and the intersection of economic factors with social stratification. Her work often employs empirical methodologies to analyze household dynamics, gender roles, and cultural norms in Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia. Publication Trends Her recent publications (2015–2022) emphasize gendered labor market effects on marriage timing, matrimonial expenditures, kin marriage rationales, and women’s empowerment in rural MENA contexts. These studies integrate qualitative and quantitative approaches to address social inequalities.
Scott Hsu serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Finance at the Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, with his office located in WCOB 475B. His academic role centers on empirical finance research with strong institutional linkages. Dr. Hsu's research critically examines how external institutions and managerial characteristics shape corporate behavior. His primary focus areas include corporate political connections , CEO attributes (notably physical attractiveness), private equity dynamics , and venture capital investment patterns . He investigates causal mechanisms through which bankruptcy laws, political networks, and executive experiences influence firm policies, innovation outcomes, and market competition. Analysis of his 12 publications (2010-2025) reveals consistent methodological rigor in studying institutional finance. Key trends include the supply-chain externalities of political connections, CEO appearance effects on firm valuation, and private equity's employment impacts. His work bridges corporate finance with political economy and innovation studies, frequently employing large-scale empirical datasets to uncover non-market forces in corporate decision-making. The 2025 paper on political connection externalities indicates ongoing active research.
J. Daniel Kim is an Assistant Professor of Management at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches MBA and PhD courses on entrepreneurship and innovation. His research focuses on high-growth entrepreneurship, venture scaling, strategic human capital, mergers and acquisitions, innovation, and labor markets. PhD - MIT Sloan School of Management BA - Dartmouth College His research explores: Startup hiring challenges and firm-driven search strategies Timing and risks of venture scaling Post-acquisition employee retention patterns Founder impact on organizational change Immigrant founder contributions to entrepreneurship Key article trends show: Focus on talent dynamics in high-growth firms Analysis of organizational antecedents in acquisitions Quantitative approaches using population-level data Interdisciplinary connections between entrepreneurship, strategy, and economics Debunking myths about founder demographics Linkage between labor market mechanisms and startup performance Scientific recognition includes: Multiple Teaching Excellence Awards at Wharton (2024-2020) Best Paper Prize from Strategic Management Society (2020) Kauffman Dissertation Fellowship (2017) MIT Sloan Doctoral Thesis Prize (2019) Prof. Kim serves as an economist with the United States Census Bureau and has published in top journals including Strategic Management Journal , Organization Science , and American Economic Review: Insights . His work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal , New York Times , and Financial Times .
Lu Yi is a Professor at the Department of Economics, Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management , holding a CITIC Chair Professor since 2022. He is also Director of multiple research centers , including the Tsinghua University China Economic and Social Data Research Center and the Center for International Economics. A doctoral supervisor , he has guided students across institutions and academic programs. Lu Yi's education includes a BA from Fudan University's School of Life Sciences (1999) , an MA from Fudan University's School of Management (2003) , and a PhD from the University of Hong Kong's Faculty of Business and Economics (2007) . His research focuses on Chinese economy, public finance, and global economic governance , with particular emphasis on trade liberalization, institutional quality, and environmental policy. Key research areas : Trade policy impacts, productivity gains from trade, environmental regulation effects, and labor market responses to technological change Leadership roles : Editorial board member of American Economic Journal: Economic Policy , Co-Editor of China & World Economy , former Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Economic Journal Policy advisory : Expert for National Healthcare Security Administration's DIP payment system, National Council Member for Social and Economic Council His scientific awards span national and provincial levels , including the First Sun Shangqing Young Scholar Award , Pushan World Economics Outstanding Paper Youth Award , and multiple provincial social science achievement awards in Shandong, Liaoning, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Sichuan. His publications in top journals like the Journal of Public Economics , Review of Economics and Statistics , and Nature Climate Change demonstrate his influence in applied economics and policy research.
Tom Stargardt is a Professor of Health Care Management at the Hamburg Center for Health Economics, University of Hamburg. His research focuses on health economics, pharmaceutical policy, and healthcare system efficiency. He holds a Dr. rer. oec. from TU Berlin (2008) and has held academic positions including Junior Professor for Pharmacoepidemiology at the University of Hamburg and a postdoctoral fellowship at LMU Munich and Helmholtz Zentrum München. His work spans cost-effectiveness analyses of treatments, health technology assessment, and pandemic-related behavioral economics. He has been recognized with the 2009 Nachwuchspreis for health economics/politics and a 2007 Merck-funded stipend. Research interests include pharmaceutical market dynamics, telemedicine cost-benefit analyses, and socioeconomic disparities in healthcare access. He has authored over 100 publications on topics like drug pricing regulations, vaccine hesitancy, and pandemic policy responses. His current projects analyze healthcare system efficiency during crises and the impact of digital health interventions. He is affiliated with the Hamburg Center for Health Economics and serves on editorial boards for journals like Pharmacoeconomics and Health Economics. Educations: TU Berlin (PhD 2008, Diplom 2005) Key Awards: Progenerika Early Career Prize (2009), Merck Stipend (2007) Professional Memberships: Verein für Socialpolitik, International Health Economics Association His advisory work includes evaluations of disease management programs and health policy reforms. Recent grants focus on pandemic healthcare economics and biosimilar market dynamics. He leads research teams investigating cost-utility of innovative cancer therapies and digital health solutions for chronic disease management.
Roberto Weber is the UBS Foundation Professor of Economics of Corporate Culture, Business Ethics, and Social Responsibility at the University of Zurich's Department of Economics. He also serves as Director of the Zurich Graduate School of Economics and was previously Vice Chairman of the Department of Economics (2017–2021). His research focuses on behavioral and experimental economics, moral decision-making, and organizational/institutional studies. He holds a Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology (2000) and has held academic appointments at Carnegie Mellon University and Maastricht University. Education: Ph.D. in Social Science, California Institute of Technology (2000) MS in Social Science, California Institute of Technology (1996) BA in Economics, Texas A&M University (1994) Research Interests: His work explores behavioral and experimental economics, decision-making under moral constraints, and organizational dynamics. He investigates how cultural, institutional, and ethical factors shape economic outcomes, with contributions to leadership studies, social responsibility, and experimental methodologies. Awards and Roles: CESifo Research Network Fellow Department Editor for Behavioral Economics and Decision Analysis at Management Science Board of Trustees, Excellence Foundation Zurich (2012–2022) Leadership and Grants: He oversees the Zurich Graduate School of Economics and has directed various research initiatives. His experimental studies often involve collaborations on topics like trust, leadership effectiveness, and ethical decision-making frameworks. Labs and Teams: Associated with experimental economics labs, including the Pittsburgh Experimental Economics Laboratory (PEEL) and the Economic Science Institute (Chapman University), he contributes to interdisciplinary research in behavioral economics.
Dr. Adriana Kugler is a Full Professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy and Economics. She currently serves as Governor of the Federal Reserve Board, on leave from Georgetown since 2023. Previously, she was U.S. Executive Director at the World Bank (2022–2023), Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Labor (2011–2013), and Vice Provost for Faculty at Georgetown (2013–2016). Her research focuses on labor markets, policy evaluation, and development economics, with notable work on unemployment insurance, immigration, and vocational training. She holds a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley (1997) and a BA from McGill University (1991). Education : Ph.D. in Economics, University of California, Berkeley (1997) B.A. in Economics and Political Science (First Class Honors), McGill University (1991) Research Interests : Dr. Kugler examines the impact of public policies on labor markets, including payroll taxes, employment protections, and unemployment insurance. Her work bridges academia and policy, addressing issues like occupational licensing, immigration, and global development. She has published in top journals such as the American Economic Review and the Journal of Labor Economics. Awards : Chase Award (U.S. Treasury, 2023) 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance (Barrons, 2024–2025) John T. Dunlop Outstanding Scholar Award (2007) Global Development Network First Prize (2010) Grants and Service : She secured NSF grants supporting women in STEM and advised Congress on economic policies. She chairs committees at the National Academies of Science and served on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Technical Advisory Committee. Labs/Teams : Founder of the International Summer Institute on Policy Evaluation (2010–2013) and affiliated with multiple research institutes, including NBER and CEPR.
Dr. Linda De Caestecker is a Visiting Professor at the School of Health & Wellbeing, Glasgow Caledonian University. Her work focuses on public health policy, healthcare management, and organizational change within clinical and public sector contexts. She has contributed to studies on smoking cessation interventions during pregnancy, the role of lay-workers in healthcare settings, and systemic organizational dynamics affecting public institutions. Her research spans disciplines including public health, clinical policy, and management theory, with notable contributions to understanding barriers to organizational change and healthcare delivery improvements. Dr. De Caestecker's publications highlight interdisciplinary approaches to complex health challenges, such as balancing economic incentives with health outcomes and addressing paradoxical tensions in institutional reform.
