Kuang Xu

kuang xu
Associate Professor, Operations, Information & Technology

Kuang Xu

Associate Professor of Operations, Information & Technology

Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering (by courtesy), School of Engineering
R. Michael Shanahan Faculty Scholar for 2023–2024

Research Statement

Professor Xu is an expert in operations research, data science, innovation, marketplace and data-driven decision making. His research focuses on fundamental design and managerial principles of decision-making under uncertainty, with wide-ranging applications in marketplace platforms, data science experimentation, transportation and supply chains. Professor Xu has received numerous prestigious academic awards for his research, including a First Place in the INFORMS George Nicholson Paper Competition, a Best Paper Award as well as Outstanding Student Paper Award at ACM Sigmetrics, the premier venue for data-driven performance evaluation and modeling, and the ACM Sigmetrics Rising Star Research Award. His research has been published in leading journals, including Management Science, Operations Research, and Manufacturing & Service Operations Management (MSOM). His research and op-eds have been featured in media outlets including NPR, PBS, USA Today, NBC News and Business Insider. 

Research Interests

  • Operations Research
  • AI and Data Science Strategy
  • Experimentation and Causal Inference
  • AI Innovation in Logistics and Supply Chains
  • Machine Learning

Teaching Statement

Professor Xu teaches MBA, MSx, PhD, and executive education programs at the Stanford GSB. He developed the Business Analytics course for the GSB MSx program which enables students to use data science and optimization to structure next generation data-powered businesses, improve operational efficiency and drive growth. Professor Xu has also led workshops for executives on innovation, data science, and strategic decision-making in operations, supply chains and logistics. 

Bio

Professor Kuang Xu (Chinese: 许匡) is an Associate Professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is an expert in Operations Research, AI and Data Science innovation, supply chains and logistics, and data-driven decision-making. He is the co-creator of AI Strategy, the first course at Stanford that focuses on the strategy, management and entrepreneurship principles of AI and Data Science. 

The core of Professor Kuang Xu’s research focuses on decision-making under uncertainty, leveraging tools from operations research, statistics and machine learning. His work has been published in leading academic journals including Operations Research and Management Science, and has received a number of prestigious awards, including the George E. Nicholson Prize from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), the Best Paper Award as well as Outstanding Student Paper Award from the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)Special Interest Group on Measurement and Evaluation (SIGMETRICS), and an ACM SIGMETRICS Rising Star Research Award. He serves as an Associate Editor for Management Science and Operations Research in Data Science and Stochastic Modeling. His research and writing have been featured in a variety of media outlets including NPRPBSNBC and USA Today.

Professor Kuang Xu advises companies and investment funds on how to build up core AI and Data Science capabilities and strategic moats. He has served as the Chief Data Science Advisor for Shipt Inc., Senior Advisor to Uber Inc., and scientific advisors to a number of startups as well as venture capital and private equity funds. 

Professor Kuang Xu received his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT (2019), and the Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2009).  

Academic Degrees

  • PhD, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2014
  • SM, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011
  • BS, Electrical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009

Awards and Honors

  • Botha-Chan Faculty Scholar, 2022–23
  • Botha-Chan Faculty Scholar, 2021–22
  • Business School Trust Faculty Scholar, 2019–20
  • Business School Trust Faculty Scholar, 2018–19
  • Jin Au Kong Award for Best PhD Thesis in Electrical Engineering, MIT, 2014
  • Dimitris N. Chorafas Foundation award for outstanding PhD research, 2014
  • Best Paper Award, as well as a Kenneth C. Sevcik Outstanding Student Paper Award, from ACM SIGMETRICS, 2013
  • First-place winner of the INFORMS George E. Nicholson Student Paper Competition, 2011
  • Ernst A. Guillemin Thesis Award for Best SM Thesis in Electrical Engineering, MIT, 2011

Publications

Journal Articles

Kuang Xu, Stefan Wager
Management Science
December 2023
Jiaming Xu, Kuang Xu, Dana Yang
IEEE Transactions on Information Theory
September 2022 Vol. 69 Issue 1 Pages 528–547
Stefan Wager, Kuang Xu
Management Science
November 2021 Vol. 67 Issue 11 Pages 6694–6715
John N. Tsitsiklis, Kuang Xu, Zhi Xu
Operations Research
September 2021 Vol. 69 Issue 5 Pages 1575–1590
Ruiyang Song, Kuang Xu
Probability in the Engineering and Informational Sciences
July 2021 Vol. 36 Issue 4 Pages 999–1026
Kuang Xu, Yuan Zhong
Operations Research
November 2020 Vol. 68 Issue 6 Pages 1698–1715
Kuang Xu, Se-Young Yun
Mathematics of Operations Research
November 2020 Vol. 45 Issue 4 Pages 1258–1288
Kathy Leung, Joseph T. Wu, Kuang Xu, Lawrence M. Wein
American Journal of Public Health
August 2020 Vol. 110 Issue 8 Pages 1169–1170
John N. Tsitsiklis, Kuang Xu
Operations Research
March 2018 Vol. 66 Issue 2 Pages 587-596
Laurent Massoulié, Kuang Xu
Operations Research
March 2018 Vol. 66 Issue 2 Pages 568-586
John N. Tsitsiklis, Kuang Xu
Operations Research
July 21, 2017
Kuang Xu, Carri Chan
Manufacturing & Service Operations Management (MSOM)
2016 Vol. 18 Issue 3 Pages 314-333
Kuang Xu
Operations Research
September 2015 Vol. 63 Issue 5 Pages 1213 - 1226
Joel Spencer, Madhu Sudan, Kuang Xu
Annals of Applied Probability
2014 Vol. 24 Issue 5 Pages 2091-2142
John N. Tsitsiklis, Kuang Xu
Stochastic Systems
2012 Vol. 2 Issue 1

Working Papers

Stefan Wager, Kuang Xu June 10, 2021

Academic Publications

Kuang Xu, Barchi Gillai
Value Chain Innovation Initiative
February 2023
John Tsitsiklis, Kuang Xu, Zhi Xu
Proceedings of Conference on Learning Theory (COLT)
July 2018 Vol. 75
Kuang Xu, Se-Young Yun
Proceedings of ACM SIGMETRICS
July 2018

Stanford University Affiliations

Service to the Profession

Associate Editor

  • Management Science, Operations Research

Insights by Stanford Business

February 07, 2024
If we focus on the jobs rather than the emotions, then AI can be a powerful decision-making tool.
January 17, 2024
Five lessons in five minutes: Associate Professor Kuang Xu shares how to harness new technology to solve business problems.
December 12, 2023
’Tis the season for personal and professional growth.
October 25, 2023
Expert advice on how to move fast — without breaking stuff.
June 30, 2021
Researchers propose a method to balance the power of genomic searches with privacy concerns.
October 11, 2016
Anticipating ER traffic jams before they begin can save lives.

School News

January 18, 2024
If/Then aims to help business leaders address modern problems
October 06, 2015
New faculty and lecturers offer unique perspectives and experience to augment program offerings.