Yanchong (Karen) Zheng

Yanchong (Karen) Zheng is the George M. Bunker Associate Professor of Operations Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. She is the Management Faculty Co-director of the MIT Leaders for Global Operations Program, and the Faculty Director for Research of the MIT Sloan ASEAN Office.

Karen’s research addresses the design and implementation of incentive mechanisms, data-driven solutions, and behavioral interventions to advance efficient and sustainable operations in resource-constrained environments, with a current focus on smallholder value chains in emerging economies. Karen’s work develops theory-driven, field-based research frameworks that are generalizable to diverse local contexts. She collaborates with both public and private partners on the ground to create positive impacts to society. For example, her field research has benefited tens of thousands of smallholder farmers in India and resulted in meaningful reduction of food waste in commercial kitchens in Ghana.

Karen’s research has been recognized by several prestigious awards, including the NSF CAREER Award, Management Science Best Paper Award in OM, MSOM Society Award for Responsible Research in OM, and Winner of the M&SOM Practice-Based Research Competition. Karen holds bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Control Science and Engineering from Tsinghua University, China and a PhD in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University.