When
Dr. Dimitri B. Kececioglu Memorial Lecture
Thursday, October 8, 2026
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Arizona time)
Elisabeth Paté-Cornell
The Burt and Deedee McMurtry Professor, School of Engineering
Professor and Founding Chair, Department of Management Science and Engineering
Stanford University
"Resilience, Uncertainties and Artificial Intelligence: A Travel Through a Mined Field!"
AME Building, Room S212
A reception will follow in the AME courtyard.
Abstract
Managing resilience under uncertainties requires a careful analysis of the possible failure risks. Since we are not infinitely rich, a quantitative analysis allows implementation of risk reduction measures in the right order. Artificial Intelligence has changed that landscape in several dimensions, from the identification and quantification of the failure modes to the suggestion of risk management measures. It is not error-free but can be a good alternative to the "stuff happens" philosophy. The design and analysis of a hybrid risk management system involving both a human decision maker and an AI system (a "robot") will be presented and illustrated by a case of cyber security. Furthermore, the guidance of decisions under uncertainties by an AI system requires its careful alignment with the decision maker’s preferences. Several examples of AI decision support and alignment challenges will be presented in four different fields: medical, military, sports and autonomous vehicles.
Biosketch
M. Elisabeth Paté-Cornell is a professor in the Stanford Department of Management Science and Engineering, of which she is the Founding Chair. Also, since 2025, she is a professor by courtesy in the Stanford Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. She was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1995 and to the French Académie des Technologies in 2003. She is a world leader in engineering risk analysis and management, and more generally, the use of Bayesian probability to process incomplete information. Her recent research has centered on the failure risks of cyber systems and artificial intelligence in risk management. She is past president (1995) and fellow of the Society for Risk Analysis, and a fellow of INFORMS. She received the 2021 IEEE Ramo medal for Systems Science and Engineering and the 2022 PICMET Award in Engineering Risk Management.
For more information on the Dr. Dimitri B. Kececioglu Memorial Lecture Series, visit the webpage.