Dr. Richard Larson and Liz Murray: Bridging the Gap Between Innovation and Impact

As the world faces growing disparities in education, where access is uneven, systems are outdated, and many students are left behind, one truth becomes clear: innovation alone is not enough. What we need are minds that can not only imagine a better future but also build it, thoughtfully and inclusively.

That’s where Dr. Richard Larson and Mary Elizabeth Murray, fondly known as “Liz,” step in.

Dr. Larson, a respected professor at MIT, has spent decades at the intersection of technology and learning. Known for his systems-thinking approach, he doesn’t just look at what’s broken; he reimagines how it can work better. His research has helped shape smarter, scalable educational models that respond to the real needs of today’s learners.

Alongside him, Liz brings a grounded, human-centered approach. With a deep background in education leadership, her work focuses on ensuring that change doesn’t stay on paper; it reaches classrooms, communities, and the students who need it most. She has an eye for designing practical solutions that create lasting impact, especially for underrepresented learners.

Together, Dr. Larson and Liz are more than just collaborators; they are change-makers. Their partnership is built on a shared mission: to make education not only smarter but also more compassionate. In their hands, technology becomes a bridge, not a barrier. In a time when the world is still figuring out how to educate for tomorrow, their work offers something rare: clarity, connection, and hope.

Roots of Curiosity and Partnership

Richard “Dick” Larson’s journey began in Bayside, Queens, in 1943, but his childhood, marked by moves through Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, shaped a mind wired for curiosity and independence. A son of an engineer father and inspired by early autonomy, he developed a deep love for scientific inquiry that led him to MIT straight out of Needham High School. At MIT, he studied electrical engineering and went on to earn his MS and PhD, delving into operations research under the mentorship of Alvin W. Drake.

But Richard’s story is not just about him. His late wife, Mary Elizabeth “Liz” Murray, was his intellectual anchor and lifelong collaborator. Their 43-year partnership spanned from co-presenting at global conferences to jointly championing innovations in education and technology. More than a life partner, Liz was his sounding board, offering emotional support and professional insight that strengthened every project Richard took on. Together, they forged a shared mission: education as transformative and deeply human.

What this really means is that Richard’s work, whether in queueing theory, urban systems, or ed-tech, was always rooted in personal passion and shared purpose. Liz’s presence in his story reminds us that innovation rarely happens in isolation. It grows from partnership, trust, and shared dreams. In many ways, Liz was the quiet hero behind the scenes, fueling Richard’s bold ventures and infusing them with warmth and empathy. Their story begins with curiosity and blossoms through unity, a powerful foundation.

“Doctor Queue” and the Power of Operations Research

At MIT, Richard became known as “Doctor Queue,” a nod to his pathbreaking work in queueing theory, a cornerstone of operations research. But what is queueing theory? It’s more than math. It’s about understanding delays, optimizing systems, and saving lives. Richard’s team applied this science to real-world systems: emergency services, urban transportation, and healthcare operations.

Take his work on New York City’s 911 call system. By applying models that predicted signal times and dispatcher workloads, Richard improved response times and resource allocation, directly impacting public safety. His contributions weren’t academic abstractions. They were life-saving systems improvements. This fieldwork reflected his belief that OR should “get boots muddy,” not be confined to theoretical journals.

This blend of mathematical rigor and real-world relevance became the hallmark of his career. He co-founded firms like Public Systems Evaluation and QED, building bridges between MIT’s ivory towers and city streets. These ventures demonstrated his conviction that research is not complete until it lives in practice, serving communities and solving pressing problems.

But Richard’s impact didn’t stop with numbers. He shaped a generation of thinkers, preaching that theory must always align with human systems. He inspired students to apply models to messy real-world cases, training them to think deeply and act meaningfully. His legacy lives not just in citations, but in countless systems that hum more efficiently because of his work.

Teaching by Discovery — A Human-Centered Approach

There’s a reason his students call him a mentor first and a researcher second. Richard’s teaching went far beyond lecturing on equations. He pioneered a “discovery learning” method where students engaged actively, questioning, solving, and connecting classroom lessons with real-world problems.

In his Applied Probability and Urban Operations courses, he paused to ask questions, mixed high-performers with quieter voices, and sparked classroom dialogues informed by real data and cases. As he put it, involving students at all levels, from A+ to C+, makes learning stick. His root philosophy: “Tell me, I forget. Teach me, I remember. Involve me, and I learn.”

That mindset carried into his graduate mentoring. Dozens of doctoral students went on to influential careers, emboldened by their mentor’s insistence on integrity, critical thinking, and curiosity. For Richard, advising was a deeper joy than lecturing. It was a partnership where student questions became extensions of his own inquiry.

His teaching style remains consistent across decades: practical, student-centered, and purposeful. Content may evolve, with new data sets, technologies, and case studies, but the heart of his approach hasn’t wavered. He didn’t train students to memorize. He trained them to think. That ripple effect, students who lead, innovate, and ask bold questions, is easily seen in his academic family tree.

Innovating Education Through Technology

In the mid-1990s, Richard pivoted to technology-driven education through MIT’s Center for Advanced Educational Services. His belief was simple: digital tools can democratize access to quality education, turning passive learning into global collaboration.

He launched two major initiatives that reshaped global pedagogy. First, the Learning International Networks Consortium, or LINC, brought together universities, policymakers, and practitioners to scale education using ICT. More impactful still was MIT BLOSSOMS, free video modules blending teacher-led classroom instruction with global lessons in math and science.

After a trip to rural China, he realized lessons should inspire teachers, not replace them. BLOSSOMS was meant to complement, not supplant, local instruction. Today, it’s adopted globally, empowering teachers and inspiring students in underserved regions.

Richard saw technology not as a gimmick, but as a task, to make connections across cultures, contexts, and constraints. Together with Liz, he joined conferences and championed trust before tech. Humans must stay at the center. Their work combined compassion with clarity, global scale, and local relevance.

Even beyond MIT, he chaired initiatives to bring education to underserved communities, Cristo Rey schools, workforce development, and hybrid learning. His mission was to build systems that uplift society, one student, one teacher, and one classroom at a time.

Model Thinking, Legacy, and the Next Chapter

Now retired from teaching, Larson is not slowing down. His current focus is capturing decades of insight into a book, Model Thinking for Everyday Life. His goal is to give everyone, not just scholars, clear tools to navigate complexity.

The book distills his lifelong mission: use models, queues, systems, and probability not just to analyze but to understand and improve day-to-day decisions. It’s the intellectual thread that ties his work in operations research, education, and public systems.

Richard’s legacy is woven from curiosity, compassion, and real-world impact. His awards, the Lanchester Prize, INFORMS leadership, National Academy of Engineering membership, and the 2025 Marquis Lifetime Achievement award, aren’t just honors. They’re testaments to decades of influence across sectors.

Above all, he’s left a profound human legacy, with students who lead, public systems that serve better, and educational platforms that empower millions. Liz’s influence lives on, too, through every classroom she touched, every trust she modeled, and every fiber of their shared mission.

Their story demonstrates something simple. Great innovation is not born of ego. It’s built on shared values, partnership, and persistent inquiry. Richard Larson today stands as a living example that passion can evolve into systems that outlive us. His next chapter? Watching community after community benefit from model thinking, the same clarity and humanity he and Liz brought to every mission.