Oral Histories
Throughout MS&E's history, the Stanford Historical Society and the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) have published a number of interviews with faculty and alums of the department.
These oral histories offer a unique view into the people, places, and times that shaped MS&E along its storied journey to the present day. Below are links to those interviews, some of which last multiple hours, and all provide rich context to our research and impact.
Faculty
George Dantzig
Professor Dantzig reflects on his career, from the beginnings of Linear Programming to Operations Research at Stanford.
James Adams
Professor Adams, a former chair of Industrial Engineering-Engineering Management, describes his journey to Stanford and his storied career.
Kenneth Arrow
A Nobel laureate and former professor of Operations Research, the Professor Arrow discusses his experience as an early faculty member and chair of Stanford's Faculty Senate.
Ronald Howard
Professor Howard shares stories of his early days as a pioneer of decision analysis, incorporating ethics into his teaching, and turning theory into practice.
Richard Cottle
Professor Cottle reflects on the early days of Operations Research at Stanford, as well as his journey to get there, which went through Bell Labs, among other stories.
Frederick Hillier
Professor Hillier shares stories ranging from his high school days to Stanford, including the development of his and Gerald Lieberman's seminal Operations Research textbook.
William Perry
Professor Perry describes his experiences in international security, arms control, and strategic defense, as well as his journey to Stanford and beyond.
Siegfried Hecker
Professor Hecker describes his early life and education, his research in plutonium science and international nuclear security, and his career at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, including his service as the lab's director from 1986 to 1997.
James Sweeney
Professor Sweeney shares memories of his path to Stanford, the departmental mergers that led to the formation of MS&E, and his research and policy work on energy economics and energy efficiency.
Alumni
James Matheson (PhD '63)
Jim Matheson shares stories from the early days of decision analysis, starting at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI), and later Strategic Decisions Group (SDG), and how the field has since evolved.
Donald Morrison (PhD '65)
Don Morrison shares how sports influenced his Operations Research career, stories of being in the first OR cohort at Stanford, and more.
William Pierskalla (PhD '65, MS '65)
Bill Pierskalla discusses his career in healthcare Operations Research and academia, including his time as a Dean at UCLA.
Sheldon Ross (PhD '68)
Sheldon Ross discusses his experience during the early days of Operations Research at Stanford, along with other stories from his career.
Charles McCallum, Jr (PhD '70)
Chuck McCallum shares stories from his journey from being advised by MS&E Professor Richard Cottle to working at Bell Labs, and much more.
Shmuel Oren (PhD '72, MS '72)
Shmuel Oren discusses his journey to Stanford, where he was advised by David Luenberger, and his career in optimization after graduating.
Photo by UC Berkeley.
Matthew Sobel (PhD '67)
Matthew Sobel, who was advised by Gerald Lieberman at Stanford, shares his storied career journey in this video interview from INFORMS.
Margaret Wright (MS '65, BS '64)
Margaret Wright earned her bachelor of science in Mathematics and her master's in Computer Science at Stanford, before joining the Systems Optimization Lab (SOL), led by George Dantzig. She describes her career in SOL and later Bell Labs, as well as her experience as a woman in STEM during the early days of Operations Research.
Tyler Kim (BS '94)
Tyler Kim describes his journey from growing up in Hawaii to the Industrial Engineering program, his experiences in student government at Stanford, and the challenge of standing out in a place where everyone is exceptional.
John Lillie (MS '64, BS '59)
John Lillie discusses his journey to Stanford and the Industrial Engineering department, as well as his career as a business leader and Stanford trustee.
Pictured: John Lillie (left) and his wife, Daryl Lillie. Photo by Joel Simon | Stanford Alumni Association
Duru Ahanotu (PhD '99, MS '92)
Duru Ahanotu reflects on what led him to Stanford, his involvement with the Black community on campus, and his academic journey.
Jeff Raikes (BS '80)
Jeff Raikes received his degree from the department of Engineering-Economic Systems, which later became MS&E. He shares tales from his storied career, which includes several years as the chair of Stanford's board of trustees.