Operations · AI · Causal Inference
Seyed Morteza Emadi
Associate Professor of Operations
UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Associate Professor of Operations
Kenan-Flagler Business School
About
Seyed Emadi is an Associate Professor of Operations at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. He holds a Ph.D. from Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern) and B.Sc./M.Sc. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology.
His research spans operations research for AI systems, theoretical foundations of machine learning and artificial intelligence, econometric methodology and causal inference, and empirical operations management with a focus on consumer decision-making in service and retail contexts. His work appears in Management Science, Operations Research, and Production & Operations Management, and at ICML and NeurIPS.
A winner of the 2025 Weatherspoon Award for Excellence in MBA Teaching and consistent Teaching All-Star (2018–2023), Seyed teaches courses in analytics, machine learning, and AI across EMBA, MBA, undergraduate, and Ph.D. programs.
Before academia, he was CEO of a high-voltage device research company and an electrical engineer.
Research
From service operations to the foundations of AI
Work spans operations research for AI systems, theoretical machine learning, econometric methodology, and empirical operations management, with applications in pricing, call centers, retail, and platform markets.
Operations research for AI systems
Theoretical foundations of machine learning and artificial intelligence
Econometric methodology and causal inference
Empirical operations management with focus on consumer decision-making in service and retail contexts
Education
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
- Ph.D., Operations Management, 2013
- M.Sc., Operations Management, 2011
Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
- M.Sc., Electrical Engineering, 2004
- B.Sc., Electrical Engineering, 2001
Selected honors
- Weatherspoon Award for Excellence in MBA Teaching, 2025
- Teaching All-Star, Kenan-Flagler MBA students, 2018–2023
- MSOM Meritorious Service Award, 2020
- Management Science Meritorious Service Award, 2017, 2019, 2023
Publications
Research output
Published articles, papers under review, and working drafts. See the CV for invited talks and additional details.
Published articles
The Causal Description Gap: Information-Theoretic Separations Across Pearl's Hierarchy
S. M. Emadi
Accepted at NeurIPS 2026
Rank-Aware Spectral Bounds on Attention Logits for Stable Low-Precision Training
S. M. Emadi
Accepted at ICML 2026
Diamonds in the Rough: Leveraging Click Data to Spotlight Underrated Products
S. Modaresi, S. M. Emadi, V. Deshpande
Production & Operations Management, Vol. 35, No. 2, 2025
Finalist, MSOM 2020 Data-Driven Challenge (JD.com)
Intertemporal Pricing with Resellers: An Empirical Study of Product Drops
D. Steele, S. M. Emadi, S. Kesavan
Management Science, Vol. 71, No. 9, 2025
Personalized Priority Policies in Call Centers Using Past Customer Interaction Information
B. Hathaway, S. M. Emadi, V. Deshpande
Management Science, Vol. 68, No. 4, 2022
Don't Call Us, We'll Call You: An Empirical Study of Caller Behavior Under a Callback Option
B. Hathaway, S. M. Emadi, V. Deshpande
Management Science, Vol. 67, No. 3, 2021
A Structural Estimation Approach to Study Agent Attrition
S. M. Emadi, B. Staats
Management Science, Vol. 66, No. 9, 2020
Customer Learning in Call Centers from Previous Waiting Experiences
S. M. Emadi, J. Swaminathan
Operations Research, Vol. 66, No. 5, 2018
Impact of Delay Announcements in Call Centers: An Empirical Approach
Z. Aksin, B. Ata, S. M. Emadi, C. Su
Operations Research, Vol. 65, No. 1, 2017
Structural Estimation of Callers' Delay Sensitivity in Call Centers
Z. Aksin, B. Ata, S. M. Emadi, C. Su
Management Science, Vol. 59, No. 12, 2013
Finalist, 2015 MSOM Service Management SIG Prize
Under review & revision
A Copula-Based Methodology for Testing Instrument Exogeneity in Linear Regression Models: Applications in Pricing, Education, and Peer Effects
S. M. Emadi, Rajdeep Grewal
Major revision at Management Science
The Critical Horizon: Inspection Design Principles for Multi-Stage Operations and Deep Reasoning
S. M. Emadi
Under review at Operations Research
Identification and Efficient Estimation of Latent Consideration Sets via Partial Observation
S. M. Emadi, Adam Mersereau
Under review at Operations Research
When Predictive Accuracy Misleads Operations: Decision-Aware Statistical Testing
S. M. Emadi, Vinayak Deshpande
Under review at Management Science
When Does a Scaling Result Justify a Different Allocation? A Critical Review of Resource-Allocation Evidence for AI Systems
S. M. Emadi
Under review at Artificial Intelligence Review
Tipping's Hidden Cost: The Role of Tips in Driver Relocation and Implications for Service Equity
Li Ding, S. M. Emadi, Basak Kalkanci
Major revision at Production & Operations Management
Working papers
The Capacity–Adoption Paradox: Why Expanding Training Can Destabilize Labor Markets
S. M. Emadi
Draft in preparation for submission to Management Science
Exact Attention Sensitivity and the Geometry of Transformer Stability
S. M. Emadi
Working paper, 2026
Targetable Intelligence: Strategic Narratives, AI Monoculture, and Systemic Supply-Chain Risk
S. M. Emadi
Working paper, 2026
Teaching
Data and AI for decision-makers
Courses equip leaders to make better decisions with data and AI, connecting statistical thinking, machine learning, and AI-driven tools to real managerial problems across MBA, EMBA, undergraduate, and doctoral programs.
- Decision Making with Data and AI (MBA 715)
- Analytics & Machine Learning for Managerial Decisions (MBA 716A)
- Data Analytics: Tools and Opportunities (MBA 706)
- Business Analytics (BUSI 410)
- Special Topics on Empirical Research in Operations (BUSI 899)
Contact
Get in touch
For research collaborations, speaking invitations, or doctoral advising inquiries, email is best.
Email: Seyed_Emadi@kenan-flagler.unc.edu
Office: McColl 4707, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Phone: +1 224-425-1043
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/seyed-morteza-emadi
Podcast
Business Research Talk
Conversations with business researchers about how their work actually gets made.
Focused conversations with researchers in business schools and industry about their projects, the questions that drove them, and what they learned along the way. Each episode goes beyond the polished talk to explore what surprised them, what did not make it into the paper, and what comes next.
Visit businessresearchtalk.comMusic
Tisapeh
Creative life alongside academic research.
Tisapeh is where Seyed's work in music lives alongside his research and teaching. Original recordings spanning voice, guitar, bass, drums, and keys. A creative outlet that has run in parallel with his academic career, from opera lessons as a child to the studio today.
Visit tisapeh.band