UC Berkeley IEOR Honors Alum Tony Xu during Community Celebration Event

On Wednesday, April 30, the UC Berkeley Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (Berkeley IEOR) hosted its 2025 Community Celebration & Alumni Achievement Ceremony, bringing together alumni, faculty, students, and friends for an evening of recognition and reflection at the Cal Alumni House.

The event featured the inaugural presentation of the department’s Alumni Achievement Award, which was presented to Tony Xu, a Berkeley IEOR alumnus and CEO and Co-Founder of DoorDash. Xu was recognized for his visionary leadership in building one of the world’s largest logistics platforms, as well as for his impactful philanthropy and commitment to driving positive societal change.

Tony Xu was selected for the honor by a committee led by the UC Berkeley IEOR Advisory Board, a voluntary group of distinguished alumni and industry leaders who offer strategic guidance on the department’s long-term vision. The Community Celebration was held in conjunction with the annual Advisory Board meeting, which also marked the introduction of Carolyn Yee as the new board chair.

The 2025 Community Celebration and Alumni Achievement Award Ceremony began on the Cal Alumni patio with a student poster session, showcasing projects by current IEOR students. Topics ranged from modeling wildfire risk in California, analyzing tipping behavior in New York City taxis, innovations in supply chain systems for medical monitoring, and more. The session provided guests an opportunity to engage directly with students and explore how IEOR tools are being applied to solve real-world problems.

The formal program continued in the Cal Alumni House Toll Room, where IEOR Department Chair and Professor Alper Atamturk served as master of ceremonies. He introduced Professor Emeritus Phil Kaminsky, who delivered a keynote presentation on the impact of IEOR methods on Amazon’s logistics infrastructure. Kaminsky highlighted how optimization and modeling have enabled Amazon’s middle-mile operations to handle more than 200 million packages per week, over 50,000 daily truckloads, and more than 5 billion miles of annual travel.

Berkeley Engineering Dean Tsu-Jae King Liu took the stage to honor Tony Xu, highlighting both his remarkable entrepreneurial achievements and his recent philanthropic contributions to the university. Xu, along with his spouse Patti through their 10x Better Foundation, provided the generous naming gift for the newly renovated Grimes Engineering Center Plaza, which is now officially known as the 10x Better Plaza. Dean Liu also commended Xu’s commitment to empowering small businesses and his pivotal role in transforming how people access goods and services.

Professor Atamturk, who taught Xu in an optimization course during his undergraduate studies, recalled awarding him a rare A+. “It was clear from the start that Tony would go on to do extraordinary things,” Atamturk noted.

The program also featured remarks from sophomore IEOR student Jake Lee, who shared a personal tribute to Xu’s journey and the inspiration it has provided to students. “Your story made me think more deeply about my own path,” Lee said, reflecting on his passion for transportation systems and logistics. Quoting Xu’s advice to his younger self—“There’s no better way to be the expert than just to do the work”—Lee emphasized the value of persistence and impact-driven thinking in the field of IEOR.

Tony Xu took the podium to express his gratitude for the honor and reflect on the experience of returning to campus. He spoke about the enduring influence of his Berkeley IEOR education, describing how it shaped his thinking and approach to complex challenges. He emphasized the value of viewing problems—whether in work, school, or life—as opportunities to optimize within given constraints, a mindset he has carried throughout his career. Xu also expressed appreciation for the strong and evolving community that continues to define the IEOR department.

The celebration concluded with a musical performance by Artists in Resonance (AiR), UC Berkeley’s premier, independent & all-inclusive a cappella group, who delivered renditions of songs by Alicia Keys and Fleetwood Mac.

The 2025 Community Celebration & Alumni Achievement Ceremony not only recognized the remarkable achievements of Tony Xu but also underscored the department’s commitment to impactful innovation and education, as well as community-building across generations.