Dimitris Bertsimas SM ’87, PhD ’88, a prominent personality in operations research, has been honored with the 2025-26 James R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award. This distinction is the highest accolade awarded by the MIT faculty to its own educators.
Bertsimas holds the Boeing Professorship of Operations Research at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he has significantly influenced business strategies across various industries. He has also been an active mentor for graduate students and an innovative leader in academic initiatives, having served as the first faculty director of the Master of Business Analytics (MBAn) program since 2016, associate dean of business analytics since 2019, and vice provost for open learning since 2024.
“Being recognized among the cohort of Killian Award recipients is incredibly humbling,” Bertsimas shares. “I cherish this institution. It has been my home for the past 40 years. We engage in endeavors at MIT not for accolades; we act here because we value their significance. While I am certainly proud, I am equally humbled to stand alongside many of my heroes.”
The citation for the Killian Award declares that Bertsimas, “through his extraordinary intellectual range and achievements, remarkable productivity, and notable contributions to both theory and practice, alongside educational leadership, has made profound and enduring impacts on his field, the Institute, and the global community.” It further highlights that his “academic contributions are both extensive and innovative.”
Bertsimas obtained his BS in electrical engineering and computer science from the National Technical University of Athens in Greece. He arrived at MIT in 1985 to pursue his graduate studies, achieving his MS in operations research and his PhD in applied mathematics and operations research. Following his doctorate in 1988, Bertsimas became part of the MIT faculty and has remained affiliated with the Institute ever since.
A formidable researcher, Bertsimas has addressed a broad spectrum of issues throughout his career. One area of his research has concentrated on optimization, developing mathematical instruments to enhance the efficiency and rationality of business operations. He has also explored machine learning, its integration with optimization, and stochastic systems. Overall, Bertsimas has pioneered the concepts and techniques of “robust optimization,” which empower individuals to make improved decisions amidst uncertainty.
Throughout various phases of his career, Bertsimas has delved into healthcare challenges, investigating how machine learning can facilitate the creation of advanced tools for personalized medical care. Overall, his research has been applied across numerous sectors, including healthcare, finance, energy, and more. His research influences can be seen in financial portfolios, school bus routing, supply chain management, energy consumption, medical data analysis, diabetes care, and beyond.
“My approach has been to tackle significant global challenges and strive for solutions,” Bertsimas comments.
A committed educator, Bertsimas has served as the principal doctoral thesis advisor to 103 MIT PhD candidates as of this spring. Recently, he has been mentoring about five doctoral students annually, an impressive figure.
As such, Bertsimas has been the originator and driving force behind MIT Sloan’s avant-garde MBAn program, investing considerable effort into advancing MIT’s Open Learning initiatives over the past year. He has also established ten data analytics firms during his career and co-authored hundreds of academic papers and eight graduate-level textbooks on data analytics.
The Killian Award was established in 1971 to acknowledge “extraordinary professional achievements by full-time members of the MIT faculty,” as cited in the award. It is named in honor of James R. Killian Jr., who held the position of president of MIT from 1948 to 1959 and served as chair of the MIT Corporation from 1959 to 1971.
Traditionally, Bertsimas will deliver a lecture in spring 2026 regarding his research work.
The Killian Award marks the latest accolade in Bertsimas’ illustrious career. In 2019, he received the prestigious John von Neumann Theory Prize from INFORMS, the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, for his contributions to operational research theory and management sciences. He was also honored with the INFORMS President’s Award in 2019 for his contributions to societal well-being. Bertsimas was elected as a member of the National Academy of Engineering at 43.
Reflecting on his journey thus far, Bertsimas underscores a philosophy grounded in optimism, ambitious goals, and a proactive mindset directed towards creating positive change in the world for others. He commended MIT Sloan and the Operations Research Center as exemplary environments for him to pursue his work, highlighting their interdisciplinary nature, the caliber of the students, and the openness towards launching companies based on pioneering research.
“I have found great satisfaction at Sloan,” Bertsimas states. “It provides me the chance to engage in meaningful work with exceptional students, mainly from the Operations Research Center, and nurtures my entrepreneurial aspirations. Being part of MIT Sloan and the Operations Research Center has made a significant impact on my career and personal life.”