He is one of the best students of life, in life, for life. He is constantly pursuing knowledge to solve the most pressing issues of humanity practically by advancing his core areas of interest, including operations research, educational technology, queueing theory, and model thinking for everyday life.
A Groundbreaking Beginning in Urban Operations Research
His first book, Urban Police Patrol Analysis (MIT Press, 1972), was awarded the Lanchester Prize by the Operations Research Society of America (ORSA). He is the co-author, with Amedeo Odoni, of Urban Operations Research, Prentice Hall, 1981 (republished in 2007). He served as President of ORSA (1993-4) and INFORMS (2005). He has served as a consultant to the World Bank, United Nations, Rand Corp., Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science, Hibernia College in Ireland, Hong Kong University, the U.S. Department of Justice, American Airlines and various other corporations.
The Rise of ‘Dr. Queue’
His research on queues has not only resulted in new computational techniques (e.g., the Queue Inference Engine and the Hypercube Queueing Model) but has also been covered in national media (e.g., ABC TV’s 20/20, NPR, CNN.com, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times). In fact, his tremendous contribution to queueing theory earned him the nickname of “Dr. Queue.”
Global Consultant, National Leader
He served as Co-Director of the MIT Operations Research Center (over 15 years in that post). He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and an INFORMS Founding Fellow. He has been honored with the INFORMS President’s Award and the Kimball Medal.
Most recently (2025), he received the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award for “..Marquis Biographees who have achieved career longevity and demonstrated unwavering excellence in their chosen fields.”
He is Richard Charles Larson, an internationally celebrated distinguished Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Falling into Teaching—and Falling in Love with It
Although today, the world recognizes Professor Larson’s teaching and industry-academic leadership prowess, according to him, at the beginning of his journey, he fell into education by accident. As an MIT undergraduate, Larson majored in Electrical Engineering, following in his father’s footsteps. His father’s name, Gilbert C. Larson, “And he is the person I admire most in my life. He was a superlative electrical engineer, working for companies such as Hazeltine, Westinghouse, and Raytheon. Plus, he was an accomplished carpenter and general renaissance man!” says Professor Larson.
As a graduate student at MIT, Professor Larson served as a TA (Teaching Assistant) for an undergraduate Applied Probability course. “I fell in love with teaching there, as I witnessed my students’ eyes light up, moving from disinterest, confusion, and lack of understanding to full comprehension and their deep interest, all in a manner of minutes. This, to me, was Heaven on Earth!” he recalls.
Thus, inspired by the profession, his journey evolved. He was a good TA. He loved the teaching and became known for being a good teacher.
He shares, “My faculty advisor, Professor Alvin W. Drake, asked me a few months before getting my PhD this question: “Dick, why don’t you stay on here at MIT as an assistant professor for a couple of years before you go off and make your millions?” (That’s an accurate quote.) I was shocked. In thinking of MIT faculty positions, I guess I had the “Groucho Marx syndrome”: “I’d never respect a club that would have me as a member!” It was astonishing to me that Prof. Drake offered such an opportunity. I grabbed it!” As time moved on, Larson was promoted to associate professor, then associate professor with tenure, then full professor and then (now) A Chaired Professor (MIT Mitsui Professor).
A Free Spirit at MIT: The Professor Without Borders
In his professional journey, Professor Larson has worked across multiple disciplines and streams. This vast experience shaped his journey. In his own words, for as long as he can remember, he has been a sort of Libertarian free spirit. “MIT graciously allowed me to flourish as a free spirit who has had five different academic departments as home. My home department changed as my research and teaching interests changed. These ranged from Electrical Engineering to Urban Studies and Planning to Civil Engineering, and so on, finally landing in the interdepartmental and inter-disciplinary MIT IDSS, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society. I like the name of IDSS, with the words “Data, Systems, and Society” reflecting exactly what I do!”
However, Professor Larson doesn’t think his fundamental “professorship style” has changed as a result of all these movements. What has changed is the content of what he does in teaching, research and mentoring.
This teaching style stands out in the highly competitive educational industry. Because he ardently believes that good teaching requires committed and enthusiastic engagement from the students in the class. The subjects that he has taught (applied probability, Markov processes, urban operations research) all have an applied nature. And in teaching, he’d almost always bring in the real world and present to the class, usually interactively (asking questions along the way), “The real-world applications of what we are now introducing. That seemed to perk up their interest and got them committed to learning the material,” he states.
Teaching That Transforms: Engaging the Mind Through Real-World Relevance
Further walking us through the core teaching and research methodologies adopted by him over time, Professor Larson says he is lucky as an operations research professor. “That’s because Operations Research is, and I know this sounds weird, “Research on Operations.” It pertains to the real world, not some fictional simplicity that can be understood from one’s comfortable office. The Operations we study may be small, like queueing at traffic lights, to quite large, like operating American Airlines.”
Operations Research: A Discipline Built on Reality
So, in his teaching, Professor Larson almost always related the “theory” to real-world examples. The students enjoyed that, and it got them to remember the results more easily.
His research, too, has been applied. “Yes, I’ve derived some new theories and models (e.g., the Hypercube Queueing Model), but all motivated by framing, formulating and then solving a real problem,” he insists.
The Pencil and Paper Revolution: Learning by Doing
When asked about whether he incorporates advanced tech and digital tools in his teaching, Professor Larson says no. With regard to modern fads in learning, he is old-fashioned. He believes in computers being turned off and the students interacting with the material with many sharpened pencils and blank sheets of paper at hand. Recent educational research has validated this approach, as the mechanical movement of your hand, writing out key results, is a best-in-class pathway to parts of your brain that will store and remember the results. So, for Professor Larson, a student’s “immersive learning experience” is with pencil and paper!
“Let’s not confuse a Google search for an answer as real learning. I like to say, “The Answer is NOT the answer; the Process is the answer.”
Sustainability in Learning: Teaching That Stays With You
Sustainability is gaining traction in the modern era. When asked how he promotes it among his students, Professor Larson says that sustainability is defined as “the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level.” “So, I guess the question aims at getting the students not only to learn all the new results and concepts but to remember them. Benjamin Franklin famously said: “TELL ME and I FORGET; TEACH ME, and I REMEMBER; INVOLVE ME and I LEARN.” The method then is interactive teaching and learning with the students. Involve them at a fundamental level.”
The Power of Involvement: From Passive Listening to Discovery Learning
He furthers that his teaching philosophy involves the students, as discussed earlier. One can involve students performing at all different levels, from A+ level to C+. How to involve them? Stop the lecture and pose a related question to the class. First you call on students with raised hands and later you call on those with hands not raised. “This gets us in the class close to what I call “Discovery Learning,” that is, discovering together the approaches and answers to various topics and questions.”
Motivating Students to Visualize Their Future
This way, Professor Larson guides his students through their academic journey from a practical point of view. He adds, “I try to motivate them to envisage their future after a successful graduation. For them to think of all the wonderful things, they would be qualified to do and careers to start. This would include starting their own companies!”
From Theorem-Proof to Problem-Solving
Moreover, he takes special care to balance educational excellence with long-term innovation in an industry often focused on theoretical methods. Accepting the fact, he says that the Operations Research teaching was once focused on theoretical methods. Always before the class: “Theorem, Proof.” Like a branch of applied mathematics. But no longer, it is much more applied and motivated by the need to frame, formulate, and solve real problems. He adds that he is lucky to be an Operations-Research person and not one constrained to “Theorem, Proof.”
A Defining Failure, A Lasting Promise
Sharing some of the challenges he faced and overcame early on, Professor Larson shares a very honest example: “In class, by unpleasant life-memorable experiences, I learned that I must know the material I am presenting deeply, with ability to communicate it clearly and intuitively to C-level students. Early in my career, I failed at this, and the results were devastating.”
This incident was a defining moment for him. As he further details it. Early on, as a TA, a student in the class asked him to explain intuitively an equation (on Applied Probability) that Professor Larson had just written on the blackboard. “The equation was correct, but I was unable to explain it intuitively. This was a life-changing moment, in which I promised myself to know deeply all the materials I presented publicly, in class or other venues. I believe I have kept that promise to myself.”
Balancing Hats: The Professor and the Family Man
At home, he learned to take off his “MIT Hat” and put on his “Husband-and-Father Hat” when he opened the kitchen door at the end of the day.
Advice for a New Generation: Don’t Follow the Crowd
For both aspiring teachers looking to build a career in academia and students on their path to becoming professionals in their respective fields, Professor Larson’s advice is the same: “Look into the mirror and find your deep intellectual passions, interests that you can cultivate and harvest for your entire life! Don’t do things because “The Crowd” is doing them. That is, don’t Follow the Crowd, but chart your own pathways for others to follow!”
The Next Chapter: Spreading the Gospel of Model Thinking
Finally, Professor Larson shares his plans for the future: “I am now retired and focusing on “getting the word out” about MODEL THINKING.”
His recent book, MODEL THINKING For Everyday Life, is his major accomplishment in this area.