UC Berkeley professor Lee Fleming receives 2026 Dan and Mary Lou Schendel Best Paper Prize

Lee Fleming

The Strategic Management Society recognized Fleming and co-author Olav Sorenson for influential research showing how scientific knowledge can guide inventors through complex technological problems. Lee Fleming, a professor in UC Berkeley’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (Berkeley IEOR) who also holds an appointment at the Haas School of Business, has received the 2026…

Read More

BeSMART Recap: Teaching students how AI works

Profesosr Phillip Kerger with a student

As artificial intelligence becomes capable of increasingly complex analytical and decision-making tasks, UC Berkeley is preparing young learners to do more than simply use the technology. This summer, the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (Berkeley IEOR) welcomed high school students to campus for the inaugural Berkeley Engineering Summer Machine-learning & AI Research Training,…

Read More

$20M NSF Renewal Supports New Frontiers in AI and Optimization

MAIML banner 1024x585

As artificial intelligence takes on increasingly complex decisions, UC Berkeley researchers are helping rethink the mathematical foundations that make those systems possible. The National Science Foundation has awarded $20 million to renew the National Science Foundation Artificial Intelligence Institute for Advances in Optimization, or AI4OPT, for five years through 2031. Under the cooperative agreement, researchers…

Read More

Welcome, New and Returning UC Berkeley IEOR Students

Fall 2026 MS and PhD Orientation

UC Berkeley IEOR opened the 2026-27 academic year by bringing students together across programs to build connections, exchange ideas and discover the opportunities available within the department and across Berkeley. This fall, 74 new undergraduate students and 211 new graduate students join the IEOR community. Their arrival marks the beginning of a year shaped not…

Read More

UC Berkeley IEOR Heads to INFORMS 2026 in San Francisco

SF bridge 3

The 2026 INFORMS Annual Meeting is coming to San Francisco this fall, bringing together more than 6,000 scholars, students, practitioners and industry leaders from Nov. 1-4. The annual gathering will showcase the latest research, methods and applications in operations research, artificial intelligence, analytics and data science in support of INFORMS’ mission to fuel “Smarter Decisions…

Read More

UC Berkeley IEOR celebrates Class of 2026 at commencement reception

A large group of UC Berkeley graduates in blue and gold caps and gowns pose together on outdoor campus steps in front of a tall stone tower, surrounded by trees on a sunny day.

UC Berkeley’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research celebrated the Class of 2026 on Monday, May 18, during its commencement reception and awards ceremony at the Campanile Esplanade. The event honored 315 students who earned degrees across the department’s graduate and undergraduate programs. Graduates gathered with family, friends, faculty and staff to mark the…

Read More

Berkeley IEOR Advisory Board convenes for annual meeting, followed by alumni mixer

20260429 IEOR AVL 0415

Members of the UC Berkeley Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research Advisory Board gathered on April 29 at the Grimes Engineering Center for a full-day meeting focused on departmental priorities, artificial intelligence, industry engagement and goals for the year ahead. The meeting brought together faculty, board members, students and campus leaders for presentations and…

Read More

The art of grasping: Ken Goldberg featured in Berkeley Engineer magazine

20260219 Goldberg AVL 0771 edit2 1920x1280

UC Berkeley industrial engineering and operations research professor Ken Goldberg appears on the cover of the summer edition of Berkeley Engineer magazine in a feature exploring the evolving future of robotics, artificial intelligence and human creativity. Drawing on decades of pioneering research, Goldberg reflects on how advances in robotics will depend not only on AI,…

Read More

Op-Ed: Engineering in the Era of Vibe Coding

Untitled design (73)

Part of a new op-ed series featuring IEOR student voices, this piece is a collaboration between Alberto Gennaro (5th Year PhD), Grace He (3rd Year PhD), Ricky Huang (3rd Year PhD), and Jessica Zhao (1st Year PhD). “Vibe coding,” the process of relying on generative AI tools for code-writing, has become the buzz phrase related…

Read More