Sébastien Martin

I am an associate professor of operations at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. This website showcases my research, teaching, and other activities.

My research is at the interface of algorithms and operations management, and increasingly looks at how AI and people interact. For example, I helped design Lyft’s matching algorithm with reinforcement learning, redesign Boston’s school transportation system, and change San Francisco’s school schedules. These changes save tens of millions of dollars every year and benefit millions of people.

I teach MBA students and executives at Kellogg. I have taught Operations Management and now teach AI Foundations for Managers, a course I created. I was named the David Besanko Outstanding Professor of the Year by the MBA class of 2026. I love to innovate in the classroom: I created Kellogg’s first AI teaching assistant and the first AI-powered case studies, where students learn by talking with AI characters instead of reading a static case.

Beyond Kellogg, I help bring AI into the private sector. I serve on the Board of Directors of ESAB Corporation, where I help shape the company’s AI strategy, and I co-founded NoYes.ai, an AI education startup.