Richard C. Larson

Brief Biography

Richard Larson was the forty-second president of the Operations Research Society of America (ORSA) and eleventh president of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). Larson received all three of his degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joined the MIT faculty after receiving his PhD in 1969 and has remained with the university since.

Larson’s research has largely focused on the application of operations research to urban emergency systems. One of his first papers was co-authored with Alfred Blumstein and dealt with models of a total criminal justice system. Three years later, Larson published Urban Police Patrol Analysis (1972). The book described the application of operations research methods to the problems of planning and operating police patrols. The techniques in the publication were lauded for being applicable to a variety of other emergency services. It stands out in its successful attempts to address the communities of police administration and operations research analysis. Larson was awarded the Frederick W. Lanchester Prize that year, making his one of the youngest individuals to ever receive the honor.

In 1981, he and fellow MIT professor Amedeo R. Odoni co-authored a book on urban operations research. The primary purpose of the text was to provide methods in assisting decision making in urban services. The book incorporates methods in queueing theory and network applications. 

From 1995 to 2003, Larson served as Director of the Center for Advanced Educational Services at MIT. As director, he focused on bringing technology-enable learning to students living on the traditional campus and to those living and working far from the university. Early in his tenure, he expanded the center’s research and development capabilities and established a number of global partnerships, including the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology.

In addition to his presidencies, Larson has held a number of other positions with ORSA and INFORMS. He served as Chair of the Philip M. Morse Lectureship Selection Committee (an honor which he himself received 1997), the Public Information Committee, and the Lanchester Prize Committees, as well as being an Area Editor for Operations Research and Interfaces and member of the INFORMS Board of Directors. As the second-to-last president of ORSA, Larson oversaw the approval by the OR/MS Board of the merger of his organization with The Institute of Management Sciences. In 2002 he was awarded the George E. Kimball Medal for dedicated service to OR societies and was named an inaugural Fellow of INFORMS. The following year, he was awarded the INFORMS President’s Award for his excellence in research, teaching innovation, and the practical application of operations research,

As an educator, consultant, and administration, Larson has been an eloquent and respected spokesperson for operations research. He is often quoted by the national press and his work has been the subject of major network TV news. Larson continues to play a significant role in spreading the message of operations research across the globe via the media and his outreach activities on the behalf of INFORMS. 

Other Biographies

INFORMS. Miser-Harris Presidential Gallery: Richard C. Larson. Accessed May 10, 2015. (link) 

INFORMS Connect with People. Speakers Program: Richard C. Larson. Accessed May 10, 2015. (link) 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Education Groups: Dr. Richard C. Larson. Accessed May 10, 2015. (link) 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Engineering Systems Division. ESD Faculty & Teaching Staff: Richard Larson. Accessed May 10, 2015. (link) 

Dick Larson (2016). Interview by Ed Kaplan, November 14, 2016, Nashville, Tennessee.

Dick Larson Interview

NOTE: The video chapter transcripts are searchable, with search results displayed as marks on the time bar above the search box.  Click a mark to jump to the search word or phrase in the video and transcript, or click on any word in the transcript to jump to that point in the video.

Richard Larson (2010) Interview by Lawrence Gallagher, September 2010. The MIT 150 Infinite Oral History Project. (video)