MS&E Newsletter February 2026
Hitting the ground running
It's hard to believe this is our first newsletter of 2026! There's been no shortage of activity on campus and in the department: We have a new chair and a new faculty member, and we’re sharing the latest MS&E research. Plus, find a new section of our website dedicated to telling MS&E's story.
Our lead story: New faces
If you ask our faculty, the people of MS&E are what make it such an enlivening and impactful place to study. Professor Ashish Goel points out that our community, with its broad network of colleagues and industry partners, has a transformative impact on society through the challenges we choose to address.
Professor Goel took over as Fortinet Founders Chair of MS&E in January, succeeding Pamela Hinds, the Rodney H. Adams Professor in the School of Engineering. Professor Goel's vision for the department? To help us realize that capacity for impact. Learn more and watch our video interview with Professor Goel.
We also caught up with our newest faculty member, Tijana Zrnic, as she joined the department in January. Her research develops safeguards to determine when AI systems should seek data input from human experts due to low data quality. Get to know Professor Zrnic.
More stories from our community
- Thank you to those who voted in our photo contest! The winners are in, with photos that showcase innovation and adventure.
- For Valentine's Day, we got in touch with five couples who found their partners during their time in MS&E. Meet some of the MS&E sweethearts. And if you're an MS&E couple who would like to tell your story, contact us here.
- As part of the Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders speaker series hosted by the Stanford Technology Ventures Program in MS&E, Google co-founder and Stanford alum Sergey Brin shared his story, his thoughts on the age of AI, and—briefly—pondered the meaning of "management science and engineering." Watch the talk here.
- Many Stanford students take leaves of absence, or "stop out," during their educational journeys. For MS&E student Nick Thach '25, that flexibility allowed him to pursue his dream internship crunching data and testing roller coasters for a theme park.
MS&E's story
As we marked 25 years since MS&E's formation, we redesigned a section of our website that tells the department's story. There, you'll find new pages featuring oral histories from our faculty and alumni, a timeline of our history, and much more.
MS&E's wasn't the only anniversary celebrated last year—the School of Engineering and Graduate School of Business both celebrated their centennials in 2025. Professor Chuck Eesley and others share how 100 years in, each school retains the pioneer mindset that changed the way the professions were taught.
Alumni Stories & Voices
The Latest in MS&E
- Generative AI tools are unique, in that their value isn't easily defined—users must experiment through trial and error to arrive at useful implementations. Assistant Professor Arvind Karunakaran discusses this distinction and how to get the most value out of AI at work.
- To drive AI adoption, build your team's product management skills, say Associate Professor Melissa Valentine and PhD student Amanda Pratt in HBR.
- At CODE@MIT 2025, Professor Ramesh Johari gave a talk about how to design A/B testing to get the best results.
- Patients at outpatient clinics can experience administrative burden and delays. Two student founders, taught by Professor Chuck Eesley, started an AI company to help.
- Simple text reminders can reduce unnecessary incarceration, according to research by alum Alex Chohlas-Wood (PhD '22) and colleagues.
Awards & Recognition
Faculty & Alums
- Associate Professor Arvind Karunakaran was selected as a 2026 Western Academy of Management Ascendant Scholar. He was also named to the 2026 Thinkers50 Radar for his work studying how AI tools are affecting skill development in the workplace.
- Adjunct Professor Steve Blank received the Strategy Leadership Impact Award, and Henning Piezunka (PhD '14) received the Emerging Scholar Award, both from the Strategic Management Society (SMS).
- Ethan Sperla (MS '24) was named a Schwarzman Scholar.
- Wandé Olabisi (MS '11) was named to GrowthCap's Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investors of 2025.
Students
- PhD student Yingxi Li was named a Stanford Data Science Amazon AI Fellow.
- Master's student Mia Bhuta was named to the 2025 Women's Soccer ACC All-Academic Team.
- Fifth-year senior Anthony Franklin and junior Aidan Flintoft were named to the 2025 All-ACC Academic Football Team.
- Seniors Will Cleary and Liam Doyle were named to the 2025 Men's Soccer ACC All-Academic Team.
- Senior Ella Ganocy was named to the 2025 All-ACC Academic Team for Field Hockey.
- Redshirt junior Ipar Kurt was named to the 2025 Volleyball All-ACC Academic Team.
- Junior David Shamah won the mixed-pairs Sokol Grand Prix, along with Czech gymnast Vanesa Mašová.
- Sophomore Daniel Mnatsakanian was named a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation All-Academic Scholar-Athlete.
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