Dan Iancu

Research Statement

Professor Iancu's research lies at the interface of operations, finance and risk management. His work has two main threads: (i) developing new tools for dynamic optimization under uncertainty and prescriptive analytics, and (ii) applying these to operational and contracting problems arising in complex value chains. An area of particular focus in recent years has been the design of better procurement, payment and financing solutions in global supply chains, where the choice of material and financial flows carries both immediate and long-term impact on the lives of millions of people, and on the environment.

Research Interests

• Problems at the interface of operations, finance and risk management
• Optimization (dynamic optimization, robust convex optimization, combinatorial optimization)
• Value chain management: sourcing, pricing, financing, risk
• Fairness and shared value, social and environmental responsibility

Teaching Statement

Prof. Iancu teaches both MBA and PhD classes, and his courses are closely aligned with his research expertise. His classes are aimed at showcasing how quantitative modeling and analytics can improve decision-making in various settings, and also on pushing the research envelope by covering the latest theoretical and methodological developments.

Bio

Dan Iancu is an Associate Professor of Operations, Information and Technology at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. A native of Romania, Prof. Iancu holds a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Yale University, an S.M. in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in Operations Research from MIT. Prior to joining Stanford, he spent one year as a Goldstine Fellow in the Risk Analytics Group at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center.

Prof. Iancu’s research interests lie at the interface of operations, finance, and risk management. His work develops new tools for dynamic optimization under uncertainty and prescriptive analytics, and applies them to study operational and contracting problems in complex value chains. An area of particular focus in his recent work has been the design of better procurement, payment, and financing solutions in global supply chains, where material and financial flows carry both immediate and long-term impact on the lives of millions of people, and on the environment. His research has been published in Management Science, Operations Research, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, and Mathematics of Operations Research, and he serves in the editorial board of several of these journals. He was the recipient of several best paper awards (INFORMS Optimization Society 2009, INFORMS JFIG 2013), and of teaching prizes at Harvard and MIT Sloan.

Academic Degrees

• PhD in Operations Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010
• SM in Engineering Sciences, Harvard University, 2006
• BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science,Yale University, 2004

Academic Appointments

• Visiting Associate Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions, The Wharton School - University of Pennsylvania, 2016-2017

Professional Experience

• Goldstine Fellow, Business Analytics and Math Sciences, IBM, 2010-2011
• Quantitative Summer Associate, Barclays Capital, 2008
• Summer Associate, Riversource Investments LLC, 2007

Awards and Honors

• Fletcher Jones Faculty Scholar for 2015-2016
• Finalist for the INFORMS Pierskalla Best Paper Award (2014)
• Louise & Claude N. Rosenberg Jr. Faculty Scholar, Stanford GSB, 2013-2014
• INFORMS JFIG Best Paper Award, 2013
• Herman Goldstine Fellowship, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, 2010
• Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, MIT Sloan, 2010
• INFORMS Optimization Society Best Student Paper, 2009
• Winner - SAWIT Global, USAID & Indonesia Business Council for Sustainable Development