Engagement

Humanitarian Disaster Response Working Group

The Humanitarian Supply Chain Lab helps lead the MIT Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Working Group. The MIT Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Working Group seeks to provide a forum in which students and faculty can share their research and insights into the critical field of humanitarian and disaster relief with the aim of fostering interdisciplinary, practical solutions to the problems facing the worlds most vulnerable populations. The goal is to establish a campus organization that represents the community of those interested in the field at MIT on campus and build the presence and reputation of MIT in this field in Boston and throughout the world. The group focuses on exploring research and field research methods as well as building stronger connections with other institutions in the Boston area. Activities include a humanitarian practitioner roundtable series, a guest lecture series and discussions of research works in progress by various members of the working group.

Health and Humanitarian Logistics Conference

The annual Health and Humanitarian Logistics (HHL) Conference brings together an abundance of professionals active in the global health and humanitarian sectors from around the world. The event is chaired annually by the Georgia Tech Center for Health & Humanitarian Systems (CHHS), NCSU, INSEAD Humanitarian Research Group, MIT Humanitarian Supply Chain Lab, and Northeastern University.

The HHL Conference provides an open forum to discuss the challenges and new solutions in disaster preparedness and response, long-term development and humanitarian aid, and global health delivery. The conference specifically includes the perspectives of those working directly in non-governmental organizations, as well as private companies and government agencies involved in the health and humanitarian sectors. The conference platform encourages learning and collaboration within and across institutions; promotes system-wide improvements in organizations and the sector as a whole; identifies important research issues; and establishes priorities for non governmental organizations (NGOs), corporations, and the government in terms of strategies, policies and investments.

Representatives from the humanitarian sector, government, NGOs, foundations and private industry, and academia present diverse perspectives in health and humanitarian challenges through keynote addresses, panel discussions, focused workshops, lunchtime group discussions, and interactive poster sessions covering a broad set of research topics and applications.

Humanitarian Speaker Series

The Humanitarian Speaker Series talks are free and open to the MIT community. Refreshments are provided with support from the Center for International Studies. The series has hosted the following speakers:

Johnson Kagoye, Programme Officer, World Food Programme Zero Food Loss Initiative
Paola Corrado, Head of Logistics for Ethiopia, UN World Food Programme (WFP)
Jeffrey Dorko, Assistant Administrator and Head of Logistics, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Lawrence Wein, Jeffrey S. Skoll Professor of Management Science, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
Rebecca Vince, Cash and Markets Officer, Global Logistics Cluster, UN World Food Programme (WFP)
Rich Serino, Deputy Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
José Holguín-Veras, William H. Hart Professor and Director of the Center for Infrastructure, Transportation, and the Environment, RPI
Ian Heigh, Director, Everywhere Humanitarian Response and Logistics Services
Özlem Ergun, Professor, School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Irina Dolinskaya, Assistant Professor, Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences, Northwestern University
Alex Markowski, Director of Logistics, New York City Office of Emergency Management
Jason Phillips, Deputy Vice President, Field Operations, International Rescue Committee
Martijn Blansjaar, Head of Logistics and Supply, International Division Oxfam Great Britain
Bernard Chomilier, Head of Logistics Development Unit, UN World Food Progamme (WFP)
Pablo Suarez, Red Cross / Red Crescent Climate Centre and Boston University Dept. of Geography and Environment
Dr. Hilarie Cranmer, Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Dr. Peter Walker, Director of the Feinstein Center for International Studies, Tufts University
Mike Byrne, FEMA Director of Operations during 9/11 and Chief Program Executive, Louisiana Road Home Program
Kristian Olson, Massachusetts General Hospital
Col. William C. Summers, Chief of the European Deployment and Distribution Operations Center (EDDOC), US Air Force