John D. Sterman

John Sterman has won the System Dynamics Society Outstanding Service Award. This award recognizes individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the society over an extended period of time, on a volunteer basis, in a way that benefits the development and advancement of system dynamics, helps the society achieve its goals, and sets a standard to inspire others.  Professor Peter Milling, chair of the award committee, noted that awardees are “individuals who besides having exhibited the highest standards of service excellence, dedication, and accomplishment … also have taken initiatives to move the society forward and created positive results for society members and the larger community of people interested in System Dynamics.” He highlighted Sterman’s service in leadership roles on the society’s policy council, as conference program chair, as editor of the System Dynamics Review, and as creator of numerous society initiatives.

John Sterman has been elected as a Fellow of the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science). AAAS Fellows are elected by their peers in recognition of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science. Sterman in particular was recognized for his “distinguished contributions to improving decision-making in complex systems, including corporate strategy and operations, energy policy, public health, environmental sustainability, and climate change.” The 2017 AAAS Fellows were formally announced recently in the AAAS News and Notes section of Science and will be honored at a ceremony in February 2018 at the AAAS Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas.

John Sterman has received the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability (ARCS) Conference People’s Choice Award for high-impact work at the 9th Annual ARCS Research conference held in June at the Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands. This award is based on a vote of conference attendees for the best paper at the conference. Sterman’s winning paper, co-authored with Juliette Rooney-Varga (UMass Lowell), Eduardo Fracassi (Instituto Tecnologico de Buenos Aires), Travis Franck (Climate Interactive), Florian Kapmeier (ESB Business School, Reutlingen University, Germany), Victoria Kurker (UMass Lowell), Ellie Johnston (Climate Interactive), Andrew Jones (Climate Interactive), and Kenneth Rath (SageFox Consulting Group), is entitled “Can role-play with interactive models enhance climate knowledge, affect and intent to act?”

John Sterman has won the 2016 Samuel E. Seegal Faculty Prize, in recognition of his having inspired students in pursuing and achieving excellence. The prize is awarded to a faculty member for “pursuing excellence” at either MIT Sloan or the MIT School of Engineering every other year.