Professor Richard Larson is a distinguished MIT educator and researcher known for his pioneering work in Operations Research. He has taught across five departments at MIT and contributed significantly to public policy, logistics, and STEM education.

At MIT, Richard Larson has taught in multiple departments and served as the Mitsui Professor. He co-directed the Operations Research Center and played a key role in educational initiatives like MIT’s BLOSSOMS program, focusing on global STEM education. His work reflects a deeply interdisciplinary and service-oriented approach.

His interest in OR began unexpectedly when, as a graduate student, he became fascinated by systems behind criminal identification after an incident of grand larceny. His curiosity was encouraged by his advisor, leading to a graduate project that involved deep fieldwork with the Boston police, launching his career in urban policing systems and OR.

His leadership is defined by honesty, intellectual curiosity, leading by example, and staying true to personal values. Richard emphasizes that he never changed his core beliefs to conform to industry trends—he walked away when integrity was at risk. For him, leadership is about alignment, not accommodation.

He views mentorship as one of the most rewarding aspects of his career. Richard has mentored countless students who have gone on to become impactful leaders across various disciplines. He believes recognition comes from seeing mentees create societal change—not from accolades alone.

Developed by Richard in 1990, the QIE was designed to estimate waiting times in queues using incomplete data—something modern AI now does on larger scales. He sees the QIE as a precursor to today’s AI applications in service optimization, showing his work was ahead of its time.