Time:
17:00 – 17:30 Refreshments served for attendees
17:30 – 19:00: Lecture
Ticketing This event is free and open to all. Registration is required. Please register via Eventbrite for this event. (external link)
Venue: Imperial College London, Chemical Engineering Lecture Theatre 1, Ace Extension. Campus map availible here.
Our Data Science Insights in partnership with Thomson Reuters is our flagship events series. It is an in-depth series with invited speakers sharing their knowledge and real examples of the impact that data can have.
Data and surge pricing at Uber
Contrary to conventional wisdom, Uber does not surge prices to make money; indeed, Uber would prefer to not have to surge at all. Uber surges prices because it is the only way to create the service customers around the world know and love. In this talk Professor Van Ryzin will explain the fundamental rationale behind Uber’s celebrated – yet often maligned – surge pricing practice, and explore how data has the potential to change pricing strategies in other industries.
Garrett van Ryzin
Paul M. Montrone Professor, Columbia University
Head of Dynamic Pricing Research, Uber Technologies
Garrett van Ryzin is the Paul M. Montrone Professor of Decision, Risk, and Operations at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business and Chair of the Decision, Risk, and Operations Division of the School. His research interests include analytical pricing, stochastic modeling, and operations management. He is coauthor of the book The Theory and Practice of Revenue Management, which won the 2005 Lanchester prize for best published work in operations research. His research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and major corporations, and he has served as a consultant to many leading companies. He was Editor in Chief of M&SOM, currently serves as Area Editor for Operations Research, and is an INFORMS and MSOM Fellow. He received the B.S.E.E. degree from Columbia University, and the degrees of S.M. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Ph.D. in Operations Research from MIT.