Christopher Mejía Argueta is a Senior Research Scientist at the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics with 20 years of experience turning complex supply chain challenges into practical solutions across 20+ countries. His work helps companies and governments improve efficiency, resilience, market access, and competitiveness, particularly in emerging markets.

At MIT’s Emerging Market Economies Logistics Lab (EMeL), Dr. Mejía leads applied research with organizations across industries, translating data and operational challenges into actionable logistics and supply chain strategies. His work spans last-mile and retail operations, agrifood supply chains, first-mile mapping and optimization for minerals, energy and fibers, and global transportation.

His research connects markets, customers, infrastructure, and logistics. He develops route-to-market strategies that respond to changing purchasing patterns, optimizes distribution and last-mile operations, and designs transportation networks that connect producers and businesses in the Global South with global markets. A key focus is creating competitive advantage while addressing persistent challenges such as food waste, malnutrition, income disparity, and limited market access through scalable business models, logistics solutions, and sustainable policies.

Dr. Mejía is Director of the MIT Global Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence (SCALE) Network, spanning centers in the U.S., Spain, Colombia, the U.K., and China. He also leads the MIT SCALE Network for Latin America and the Caribbean, bringing together 50+ academic and corporate partners to develop high-impact research and education initiatives with companies, governments, universities, and communities. He is also Director of MIT’s Graduate Certificate in Logistics & Supply Chain Management (GCLOG), an executive program serving outstanding professionals from emerging market economies.

He holds an M.Sc. and PhD in Industrial Engineering from Monterrey Tech, Mexico, both earned summa cum laude and among the top 1% of students. He is author and editor of three books on supply chains and logistics in emerging markets, including Reaching 50 Million Nanostores: Retail Distribution in Emerging Megacities, which pioneered the documentation of logistics and distribution strategies for micro- and informal retailers in emerging economies.

Dr. Mejía serves as Associate Editor of Socio-Economic Planning Sciences (Elsevier), sits on the INFORMS steering committee for Contemporary Operations for Developing Economies (CODE), and served as President of the POMS Latin America and Caribbean chapter (2022–2024). His work combines research rigor with real-world impact, helping organizations make better decisions where supply chains are most complex, and where better logistics can make the greatest difference.

Miguel Rodríguez García, PhD, is a Research Scientist at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics. He is the Co-founder and Director of the Supply Chain Cybersecurity Lab, and he also leads the Warehouse of the Future Initiative within the Omnichannel Supply Chain Lab.

His main research focuses on how to defend global supply chains against the cybersecurity risks associated with the deployment of new technologies. Miguel currently studies how large software networks, AI agents, robotics, cloud platforms, and complex third-party ecosystems, expand the attack surface and redefine supply chain cybersecurity risks across manufacturing, warehousing, and transportation.

Over his career as a researcher, he has collaborated with multiple global industry partners on supply chain cybersecurity, logistics automation and technology, e-commerce logistics, and warehousing and fulfillment operations. He is also a frequent presenter at international conferences, and his work has been published in some of the most prominent scientific journals in supply chain management.

Beyond his research, he played a pivotal role in advancing digital learning at MIT, leading Supply Chain Fundamentals, the largest online course within the MITx MicroMasters® Program in Supply Chain Management, for 4 years. The course served over 25,000 students annually during Miguel’s leadership. He now teaches in MIT’s graduate degree and executive education programs, equipping future leaders with the knowledge to drive innovation in supply chain management. He’s the main instructor for SCM.292 Logistics Automation & Technology, and a co-instructor in SCM.289 Omnichannel Fulfillment Strategies.

Dr. Sreedevi Rajagopalan is a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Transportation and Logistics, affiliated with both the Low-Income Firms Transformation (LIFT) Lab and the Sustainable Supply Chain Lab. Her research with the LIFT Lab focuses on transforming business and supply chain practices among small and micro firms in emerging markets through the application of AI and technology, with the goal of improving their productivity and survival. 

As part of the Sustainable Supply Chain Lab, she collaborates with large corporations to measure and manage Scope 3 emissions and promote sustainable sourcing practices. Her work supports organizations in developing data-driven strategies to reduce environmental impact and achieve sustainability goals across their supply chains.

Dr. Rajagopalan brings over 15 years of combined experience in industry, academia, and research. Prior to joining MIT, she was on the faculty at the S P Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai, where she taught courses in Operations Management, Procurement & Strategic Sourcing, Behavioral Operations, and Quantitative Methods. 

She earned her Ph.D. in Production and Operations Management from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, with a dissertation focused on supply chain risk management. Her doctoral research was recognized as a finalist for the Emerging Economies Doctoral Student Award at the 27th Annual Conference of the Production and Operations Management Society (POMS) in Orlando, USA. Dr. Sreedevi is actively engaged in academic service and professional organizations and is committed to advancing inclusive and sustainable practices in global supply chains.

Dr. Inma Borrella is a Research Scientist at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics (MIT CTL). She works as the Academic Lead for in the MITx MicroMasters Program in Supply Chain Management, coordinating Massive Open Online Courses as well as the on-campus MIT Supply Chain Bootcamp program. 

She is interested in exploring how digitalization and new technologies are transforming the way people learn, socialize, and do business. She currently contributes to the MIT Digital Supply Chain Transformation Lab and the MIT Omnichannel in Education Lab.

Inma received her Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the Technical University of Madrid, in which she explored the role of inclusive businesses to create more socially sustainable agri-food supply chains. 

Dr. Yossi Sheffi is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he serves as Director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics (MIT CTL). He is an expert in systems optimization, risk analysis, and supply chain management, which are the subjects he teaches and researches at MIT. He is the author of many scientific publications and nine books:

Urban Transportation Networks: Equilibrium Analysis with Mathematical Programming Methods (Prentice Hall, 1985)

The Resilient Enterprise: Overcoming Vulnerability for Competitive Advantage (MIT Press, 2005)

Logistics Clusters: Delivering Value and Driving Growth (MIT Press, 2012)

The Power of Resilience: How the Best Companies Manage the Unexpected (MIT Press, 2015)

Balancing Green: When to Embrace Sustainability in a Business (and When Not To) (MIT Press, 2018)

The New (Ab)Normal: Reshaping Business and Supply Chain Strategy Beyond Covid-19 (CTL Media, 2020) 

A Shot in the Arm: How Science, Engineering, and Supply Chains Converged to Vaccinate the World (CTL Media, 2021)

Strategic Planning for Dynamic Supply Chains: Preparing for Uncertainty Using Scenarios (Palgrave, 2022) 

The Magic Conveyor Belt: Supply Chains, AI, and the Future of Work (CTL Media, 2023)

Under his leadership, MIT CTL launched many new educational, research, and industry/government outreach programs, leading to substantial growth. He founded the MITx MicroMasters in Supply Chain Management. He is the founder and the Director of MIT’s Master of Supply Chain Management degree. He also led the international expansion of MIT CTL by launching the Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence (SCALE) global network of academic centers of education and research. The network includes centers modeled after MIT CTL in Zaragoza, Spain; Bogota, Colombia; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

From 2007 to 2011 he served as the Director of the MIT Engineering Systems Division, where he set a strategy, revamped the PhD program, and set the division for future growth.

Outside the university Professor Sheffi has consulted with governments and leading manufacturing, retail and transportation enterprises all over the world. He is also an active entrepreneur, having founded and co-founded five successful companies:

Princeton Transportation Consulting Group Inc.

LogiCorp Inc.

e-Chemicals Inc.

Syncra Inc.

Logistics.com Inc.

Dr. Sheffi was recognized in numerous ways in academic and industry forums and was on the cover of Purchasing Magazine and Transportation and Distribution Magazine. In 1997 he won the most prestigious recognition given by the Council of Logistics Management—the Distinguished Service Award. In 2006 he won the Aragón International Prize. In 2010 he became an honorary Doctor (Doctor Honoris Causa) of the University of Zaragoza in Spain and in 2011 he was awarded the Salzberg Medal and Award for “outstanding leadership and innovations in Supply Chain management” by the University of Syracuse. He is also a life fellow of Cambridge University’s Clare Hall College. View a complete list of awards here.

He obtained his B.Sc. from the Technion in Israel in 1975, his S.M. from MIT in 1977, and Ph.D. from MIT in 1978. He now resides in Boston, Massachusetts.

Jim Rice joined the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics in 1995 and was appointed as the Deputy Director of CTL in 2007.  In this capacity he oversees all industrial outreach programs to engage industry practitioners, and serves as the Director of the Supply Chain Exchange, and runs CTL’s Executive Education Programs.    

His primary research has been focused on a broad range of study and contributions on supply chain resilience and risk management related topics.  In addition to studying resilience and risk management, Jim studies supply chain innovation and has helped identify key success factors and methods for pursuing and achieving innovation in the supply chain.

Outside of research and the Supply Chain Exchange, Jim teaches in the graduate degree program (Supply Chain Financial Analysis courses), in the online SC2x course, in CTL’s executive education programs and in the MIT SCALE Network.  His teaching includes case instruction on supply chain design for strategic advantage, supply chain financial analysis, and workshops and simulations focused on strategic alignment, business continuity planning supply chain dynamics and supply chain strategy. 

His written work includes contributions to books, working papers and recently published authored and co-authored articles, a list of which can be furnished on request.  In 2013 Jim was selected as one of DC Velocity’s 2013 Rainmakers.

Prior to joining MIT, Jim managed manufacturing and distribution operations at Procter & Gamble, and served as a sales and market manager at General Electric Company.  Jim earned his MBA in Operations and Finance from the Harvard Business School, and a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.  Jim was recently ordained as a Deacon in the Roman Catholic Church, and is blessed with a very patient wife and 4 children.  

Dr. Milena Janjevic is a Research Scientist at the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics. Her current research focuses on the design of supply chain networks. Her work, performed in collaboration with multiple global organizations, focused on improving decision-making in supply chain design through the use of data-driven optimization and simulation models and their integration into interactive visual tools. In addition, her research focuses specifically on distribution network design in the context of urban logistics and last-mile delivery, urban freight policy, and infrastructure design.

Dr. Janjevic received her Ph.D. and Masters in Engineering with specializations in Logistics at Université libre de Bruxelles in Belgium. During her Ph.D., she was a Visiting Scholar at the Center of Excellence for Sustainable Urban Freight Systems at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. Her doctoral studies focused on the optimal design of urban logistics systems based on multi-tier distribution networks, electric vehicles, and policy measures. Dr. Janjevic’s previous professional work includes working with McKinsey & Company in Belgium and France on various projects in the telecommunication, insurance, and retail sectors.

Dr. Janjevic recently published academic papers in the European Journal of Operational Research, Transportation Research Part A, Transportation Research Part D, Transportation Research Part E, and Environmental Science & Policy. She is also a lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (United States) and an invited lecturer at Mines ParisTech (France), NEOMA Business School (France), and Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium).

Dr. Matthias Winkenbach is a Senior Research Scientist at MIT, where he serves as the Director of Research of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics. In this role, he manages CTL’s research activities and shapes the center’s strategic agenda of creating supply chain and logistics innovation and driving it into practice in collaboration with a global network of industry partners.

Dr. Winkenbach is the founder and director of the MIT Computational Analytics, Visualization, and Education (CAVE) Lab, a research group focused on developing human-centric user interfaces that make advanced supply chain analytics more accessible to decision-makers through interactive visualization and natural language controls. He is also the founder and director of the MIT Intelligent Logistics Systems Lab, which focuses on applications of operations research, artificial intelligence, and machine learning methods to transform logistics systems through intelligent automation, predictive analytics, and algorithmic decision-making.

Dr. Winkenbach received his Ph.D. in Logistics and his Masters in Business with specializations in Finance and Economics from WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management in Germany. He also studied at NYU Stern School of Business in New York City and the École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC) in Montréal. His doctoral dissertation on optimal design of multi-tier urban delivery networks with mixed fleets was closely linked to a research project with the French national postal operator La Poste. His current research explores the intersection of Operations Research, Machine Learning, and Human Decision Making to design and optimize intelligent logistics systems.

Dr. Winkenbach won the Science Award for Supply Chain Management of the German Logistics Association (BVL) in 2014, was a finalist for the 2015 Daniel H. Wagner Prize for Excellence in Operations Research Practice, and received the Transportation Science Meritorious Service Award in 2022. He frequently publishes in high-impact peer-reviewed academic journals as well as practitioner-oriented outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and MIT Sloan Management Review. He serves as an Associate Editor for Transportation Science and as an Editorial Advisory Board Member for Transportation Research Part E.

Elenna Dugundji shapes supply chain futures by bringing expertise in demand forecasting, machine learning and AI to research in mainport logistics, involving network analytics, optimization of operational processes, tactical planning and strategic asset management.

– Network analytics – impact of planned road disruption on feeder highways to airports and maritime ports and evaluation of public works maintenance schemes

– Optimization of operational processes – improvement of import and export processes, involving warehousing, airside and landside transport, via information sharing and collaborative planning

– Tactical planning – evaluation of routing and packaging decisions forcold chain logistics of special air cargo (Pharma, Fresh) in the context of economic and environmental sustainability

– Strategic asset management – strategic decisions in airports and maritime ports related to maintenance of assets and construction of facilities

Thomas Koch is a Postdoctoral Associate at the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL), where he collaborates with the U.S. Department of Transportation on the FLOW project (Freight Logistics Optimization Works). His research focuses on leveraging high-performance computing, real-time data processing, and geospatial analytics to enhance visibility and efficiency in maritime shipping and intermodal logistics.
Thomas holds a Ph.D. from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where his research examined multimodal route choice after the opening of a metro line in Amsterdam. His expertise lies in algorithm development, large-scale data systems, and predictive modeling, applying advanced computational methods to optimize freight movement and supply chain resilience.

By integrating diverse data sources, Thomas develops scalable solutions that support data-driven decision-making in transportation networks. He is passionate about bridging cutting-edge technology with real-world logistics challenges, driving innovation in freight and intermodal transportation.