For Retsef Levi, the J. Spencer Standish (1945) Professor of Operations Management at MIT, one of the most significant features of the ORC is its intense focus on research—from the very start.

A member of the ORC since 2006, Levi stresses the importance of the unique, hands-on work students are able to do in the Center, often in collaboration with industry partners, like hospitals and government agencies.

“[Industry collaboration] allows me and my students to not only access real data and real problems, but also develop models and inform decisions that matter in the real world,” he explains.

For example, in 2011, Massachusetts General Hospital implemented a dramatic change to its surgical schedules based on modeling and analytics conducted by Levi and his students. The hospital also applied a scheduling algorithm they developed to smooth the utilization of infusion chairs throughout the day; both changes will ultimately lead to better patient care.

Currently, Levi is working with ORC students and faculty to assess and mitigate risks in the global food supply chain. According to him, 40 million food shipments arrive at U.S. borders every year—and the government only has the resources to check a very small number of those.

Through data-driven analytics and state-of-the-art modeling, his team aims to predict which companies are likely to be involved in economically motivated (intentional) adulteration of food for financial advantage.

“At the ORC, our students have the opportunity to potentially inform how companies and regulatory bodies will act upon risk,” says Levi. “That’s an opportunity that very few places could offer to their students.”