Friday, October 2, 2009

Supply Chain Network Economics and Taking Risks

Yesterday, the Dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Dr. Barbara Grosz, launched the official recognition of the institute's tenth anniversary by delivering the Morning Prayers at Harvard University. In her speech, she quoted Genesis and overviewed the origins of the Radcliffe Institute. She spoke of the increasingly important roles that such institutes play in academia and even how Radcliffe is helping to crack glass ceilings and narrow recognition gaps at the highest levels of academia through its fellowship program, symposia, and other initiatives. As a Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study Fellow '06, I personally benefited from a glorious year there during which I was able to write the book, Supply Chain Network Economics: Dynamics of Prices, Flows, and Profits. Dean Grosz (who, by the way, was Radcliffe's Dean of Science when I was a Fellow) also stated that she hopes that Radcliffe will continue to inspire students, faculty, fellows, staff and institution leaders alike, so that, like Jacob, we have the courage to risk unknown roads and the strength to overcome the obstacles we encounter along the way. And, may our circumstances enable us to realize our dreams.

My Supply Chain Network Economics book is now being cited and used internationally. It is quoted in a recent United Nations report on the social life cycle assessment of products produced by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and has even been discussed in the context of diamond supply chains!

Thank you, Radcliffe, for giving me the time, the community, and the incredible intellectual ambience so that I could write this book!