When I came to MIT for the first time in 1981 as a graduate student, my initial plan was simply to get a master’s degree, visit a bit the U.S., and then go back to France to work as an engineer. Research and academic careers were absolutely not even part of the thought process. Little did I know at the time!

During the first six months, it became clear that I had the research bug, and that operations research was a discipline with exciting methodological research challenges to tackle and tremendous opportunities to impact society.

I went on to pursue my doctoral degree, and was fortunate to have Amedeo Odoni, then a faculty member and soon to be co-director of the ORC, as my faculty advisor and mentor. That period was wonderful—the level of energy, the extremely high aspirations of faculty and fellow students, the caring staff, and, above all, the camaraderie within the ORC made my experience unique.

Thirty-five years later, I continue to be in awe of the ORC, a magical and unique place within MIT, where students and faculty continuously reinvent the field of operations research, developing new methodologies and using them to impact society in so many ways. What a treat to be part of this family at MIT!