PhD
System Dynamics
MIT Sloan’s System Dynamics PhD group, established by Professor Jay W. Forrester in 1956, equips students with the theoretical, methodological, and philosophical tools to analyze system behaviors across various fields, including management, environmental change, politics, economics, medicine, and engineering. The group integrates organization studies, behavioral decision theory, and engineering to understand and influence dynamic changes over time. Students engage in comprehensive studies of system principles, economic and industrial dynamics, and policy analysis, supplemented by coursework in economics, information systems, statistics, and political science. Faculty members like Hazhir Rahmandad, who explores complex organizational dynamics and public health issues; John Sterman, known for his work on system dynamics modeling and sustainability; and Vicky Chuqiao Yang, who studies collective human behavior and decision-making, provide invaluable guidance and expertise.
Research from System Dynamics Faculty
Translating Energy Research into Energy Policy
CPC post-doc Juan Senga, is all about energy research, especially research that leads to policy that makes energy more renewable and affordable.
How ‘learnrights’ would compensate creators for AI model training
Learnright laws would give copyright holders the exclusive right to license their content for artificial intelligence model training.
From Operator to Innovator: How the MIT EMBA Transforms Careers
Kosta Ligris, EMBA ’18, shares how the MIT Executive MBA challenged him to rethink his industry, embrace innovation, and ultimately transform his career. From leading a highly successful real estate law practice to co-founding a fintech company, Ligris reflects on how the program’s systems thinking,...
When Growth ≠ Prosperity: A New Calculus for Growth Markets
What happens when economies grow, but people still struggle to prosper? In this reflection emerging from the 2026 MIT Kuo Sharper Center Conference, Shamil Ibragimov explores why traditional models of economic growth are no longer enough and why a new, more inclusive calculus for prosperity must be...
Select System Dynamics Faculty
Full-Time Faculty
Johan Chu
Hear name pronounced.Sarofim Family Career Development Assistant Professor
Johan Chu is the Sarofim Family Career Development Assistant Professor and an Assistant Professor of System Dynamics at the MIT Sloan School of Management Johan's research examines power. Recently-developed technologies–including generative AI–allow…
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Nelson P. Repenning
School of Management Distinguished Professor of System Dynamics and Organization Studies
Nelson P. Repenning is the Faculty Director of the MIT Leadership Center, and the School of Management Distinguished Professor of System Dynamics and Organization Studies at the MIT Sloan School of Management. His early work focused on understanding…
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Example PhD Thesis Topics
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Jose Lopez (2024)
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James Paine (2023)
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Tianyi Li (2021)
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Tse Yang Lim (2021)
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Jad Sassine (2021)