Close Up Radio Spotlights Operations Researcher Richard Larson

Lexington, MA – Richard Larson has been an operations researcher for over five decades. In addition, he also describes himself as an “MIT Lifer.” In other words, besides being an alumnus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he also is a tenured professor at MIT.

According to Brittanica, operations research (OR) is the “application of scientific methods to the management and administration of organized military, governmental, commercial, and industrial processes.”

“It’s bringing the scientific method to the world in which we live,” corroborates Richard.

With a physicist mindset, Richard offers a model-based thinking approach in how we can improve our daily lives. With his specialty focusing on queueing systems, Richard earned the nickname “Dr. Queue”.

Mpst notable of Richard accomplishments is how he improved the queueing system for 911 in New York City. This resulteid in an improved response time of the corresponding emergency services.

His knowledge and expertise have manifested itself in his most recent book, Model Thinking for Everyday Life. Released in 2023, Richard explains that his book “provides the vehicle to discuss what operations research is, and how it applies to all of us.”

“With operations research, lives can literally be saved,” concludes Richard. “The process is straightforward to describe but implementing it properly and correctly is involved. It requires a lot of attention to detail and a lot of input from various resources. You need to have boots on the ground.”

You may purchase Richard Larson’s most recent book Model Thinking for Everyday Life on Amazon