Sébastien Martin
Assistant Professor of Operations
Sebastien Martin is an Assistant Professor of Operations at Kellogg. He received his Ph.D. in operations research from MIT and an M.Sc. in applied mathematics at Ecole Polytechnique. Before joining Kellogg, he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the ridesharing company Lyft. He is a twice Edelman Award Laureate (2019 and 2023) and has received the George Dantzig and TLS Society dissertation awards.
His research examines the interface between humans and algorithms in public-sector operations and online platforms. It focuses on prescriptive analytics and is motivated by real-world impact. He designed Lyft's dispatch algorithm, which increased drivers' yearly revenue by tens of millions. He also optimized the school transportation systems of Boston and San Francisco, enabling millions of dollars to be reinvested every year in children's education while increasing fairness.
At Kellogg, he teaches Operations Management and explores the use of genAI in education. He created Kai, Kellogg's AI Teaching Assistant, which is used by >10 professors and 1000 students.
- Sebastien Martin joined the faculty of the Operations group at Kellogg in 2020. He received his Ph.D. in operations research from MIT and an MSc in applied mathematics at Ecole Polytechnique. Before joining Kellogg
- he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the ridesharing company Lyft.Sebastien's research is at the interface of optimization
- transportation
- and policy. His work focuses on designing scalable algorithms and decision-making tools in the age of the sharing economy to enable efficient and equitable transportation systems. He is a Franz Edelman Award laureate. His research also directly led to many impactful applications: he partnered with Boston Public Schools to redesign the district bus routes and save millions of dollars. He also partnered with the San Francisco public school district to change the school's start and end times
- leading to more efficient student transportation and improving social equity. He also worked with Lyft
- Inc. to change their online matching algorithm
- savings tens of millions of dollars every year.
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Chair Core Teaching Award for my Operations Management class
Franz Edelman Award Laureate, INFORMS
George Dantzig Best Dissertation Award, INFORMS
TLS Society Best Dissertation Award, INFORMS
Franz Edelman Award Laureate, INFORMS -
Associate Editor, Transportation Science, 2024
Referee, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management (M&SOM), 2019
Referee, European Journal of Operations Research, 2019
Referee, Operations Research, 2019
Referee, Management Science, 2019
Field Study (OPNS-498-5)
Field Studies include those opportunities outside of the regular curriculum in which a student is working with an outside company or non-profit organization to address a real-world business challenge for course credit under the oversight of a faculty member.
Field Study (OPNS-498-0)
Field Studies include those opportunities outside of the regular curriculum in which a student is working with an outside company or non-profit organization to address a real-world business challenge for course credit under the oversight of a faculty member.
MBAi Operations Management (OPNS-435-0)
Operations Management (OPNS-430-0)
1Ys: This course is typically waived through the admissions process or the equivalent course Operations Management (Turbo) (OPNS-438A) was completed during the Summer term. MMMs: This course is equivalent to the MMM core course Designing and Managing Business Processes (OPNS-440) Operations management is the management of business processes--that is, the management of the recurring activities of a firm. This course aims to familiarize students with the problems and issues confronting operations managers, and to provide the language, concepts, insights and tools to deal with these issues to gain competitive advantage through operations. We examine how different business strategies require different business processes and how different operational capabilities allow and support different strategies to gain competitive advantage. A process view of operations is used to analyze different key operational dimensions such as capacity management, cycle time management, supply chain and logistics management, and quality management. Finally, we connect to recent developments such as lean or world-class manufacturing, just-in-time operations, time-based competition and business re-engineering.
Field Study (MBAI-498-0)
Field Studies include those opportunities outside of the regular curriculum in which a student is working with an outside company or non-profit organization to address a real-world business challenge for course credit under the oversight of a faculty member.
AI Foundations for Managers - Lab (AIML-901LAB-5)
This immersive lab course provides Kellogg students with extensive hands-on experience building with generative AI, equipping you with practical skills to immediately apply these technologies in business contexts. No longer a mysterious “black box,†AI becomes approachable through hands-on exploration and practical application. In just five weeks, you’ll begin your journey from AI curious to AI capable, taking your first steps toward building solutions while developing the essential vocabulary and conceptual framework to navigate the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
Course Goals:- Demystify AI & Master the Toolkit — Understand how AI works â€under the hood†while gaining practical experience with cutting-edge tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Midjourney
- Speak & Think AI — Develop fluency in AI concepts and terminology to effectively communicate with technical teams and evaluate AI opportunities
- Build with Confidence — Complete an exciting, personally relevant AI project that demonstrates real business value
- Develop a “Tinkerer’s Mindset†— Cultivate the curiosity, skills, and strategies to experiment with emerging AI technologies and stay ahead of rapid developments
Through project-based learning and weekly hands-on activities, this course will transform your curiosity into tangible, exciting AI-driven innovations. I view this class as the beginning of your AI journey—breaking the ice to help you start tinkering with AI in ways that leverage your unique expertise, business context and Kellogg journey.
