Speaker Profile

Sendhil Mullainathan is the Peter de Florez Professor at MIT, splitting his time between the Economics and the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science departments. His current research is at the intersection of algorithms and people, with a focus on building algorithmic tools that change how we do science, understand people and tackle hard problems in society.

He enjoys writing, having recently co-authored Scarcity: Why Having too Little Means so Much as well as having written regularly for the New York Times. 

He is active in application of research insights. He helped co-found a non-profit to apply behavioral science (ideas42), co-founded a center to promote the use of randomized control trials in development (the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab), and most recently co-founded Dandelion Health, a company that provides the healthcare data needed to build breakthrough medical AI.   He also serves on the board of the MacArthur Foundation, and has worked in government in various roles.

He is a recipient of the MacArthur “genius” Award, is a winner of the Infosys Prize, has been designated a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum, labeled a “Top 100 Thinker” by Foreign Policy Magazine, and named to the “Smart List: 50 people who will change the world” by Wired Magazine (UK). 

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