Anand Kalvit

Anand Kalvit
Program
PhD
Class Year
Areas of Interest
Decision, Risk, and Operations

Since his days as an undergraduate in electrical engineering, Anand always enjoyed solving challenging problems related to real scenarios after discovering his interest in operations research and realizing he wanted to pursue higher education and a career in research. Kalvit knew Columbia Business School’s PhD program in Decision, Risk, and Operations (DRO) was the right move. Finding it to be the perfect blend of theory and application, he says, “The PhD program in DRO at CBS is uniquely placed at the interplay of conventional sciences like optimization, machine learning theory and economics, with highly interdisciplinary and application driven fields like healthcare, matching markets, internet economics, etcetera.”

Having the liberty to take courses from any department at Columbia University has also enriched Kalvit’s academic experience. “The coursework can be tailor-made to one’s research interests by choosing from a breadth of options from other departments,” says Kalvit. A small student-to-faculty ratio and periodic seminars by students, faculty, and guest speakers create the perfect environment for rich intellectual exchanges as well as in keeping abreast with cutting-edge research. Columbia’s location is also an advantage. “Being located in the heart of New York City within an easy commute distance of other noted universities and research institutions in the greater New York City area is certainly a privilege.”

“I intend to continue working in my area of research as an academic. The coursework at Columbia, research discussions with peers, faculty, and visiting speakers, and the enriching experience of being a teaching assistant for PhD as well as MBA courses, is certainly helping me along the way in approaching my career aspirations.”