Welcome to MBA Professor Profiles, in which we spotlight two standout professors from each of the M7 business schools, exploring their research, careers, and the ideas that define their work.
In this article, we’re taking a look at two professors from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania: Katy Milkman and Adam Grant.
Katy Milkman
Katy Milkman, James G. Dinan Professor at Pennsylvania Wharton, teaches in the department of Operations, Information and Decisions. She also holds positions in UPenn’s Perelman School of Medicine and School of Arts and Sciences.
The achievements of her academic career compile a lengthy list — one that encompasses positions such as the former president of the Society for Judgment and Decision Making; accomplishments such as giving a TED talk or hosting Charles Schwab’s popular behavioral economics podcast, Choiceology; and appointments such as that of APS Fellow. Her expertise on behavior change has led her to advise household names such as the White House, Google, and Walmart. She holds an undergraduate degree in Operations Research and American Studies and a PhD in Computer Science and Business from Harvard.
Her research, which is widely published across academic journals and regularly covered in major media outlets, examines the extent to which behavior can be altered by the insights that we gain from economics and psychology. She looks at, for example, savings, exercise, student achievement, vaccination and discrimination, and considers how these might be used to change for good. Her initiative at Wharton, Behavior Change for Good, investigates this further.
In the early 2020s, she was named amongst Thinkers50’s top 50 management thinkers and the world’s top strategy thinker, and her book, “How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be,” was described as one of the eight best books for healthy living by The New York Times. In both 2015 and 2016, Wharton awarded Milkman with the excellence in teaching award. Plus, students voted to name her “Iron Prof” and selected her as a finalist for Wharton’s 2014 Anvil Award, “most outstanding teacher.”
Katy Milkman can be found on LinkedIn and Google Scholar.
Adam Grant
Wharton Professor Adam Grant teaches MBA and undergraduate courses on leadership, teamwork, organizational behavior, and negotiation. These include courses such as:
- Organizational Behavior
- Synchrony at Work
- Found of Teamwrk & Ldrsh
Adam Grant holds a BA from Harvard and a PhD from Michigan. His academic achievement has won him awards from the Academy of Management, the American Psychological Association, and the National Science Foundation. Fortune named him one of its 40 under 40, and experts widely regard him as one of the most influential researchers in business and economics.
Grant’s expertise lies in uncovering motivation and meaning. His work in organizational psychology considers how we can rethink assumptions, and live more generous and creative lives. Readers repeatedly buy millions of copies of his publications on the subject, name them among the best of the year, and share them widely; his New York Times article on languishing became the most-saved article of 2021. Grant’s books include:
- “Hidden Potential”
- “Think Again”
- “Give and Take”
Grant has served on the Defense Innovation Board at the Pentagon and has appeared on “Billions.” The World Economic Forum honored him as a Young Global Leader.
He hosts the TED podcasts Re:Thinking and WorkLife, which explore languishing, original thinkers, and givers and takers. Listeners have downloaded the podcast over 90 million times, and audiences regularly give his talks standing ovations, earning him recognition as the favorite speaker at The Nantucket Project.
When teaching, Grant leans heavily on experiential methods of learning. Students have consistently rated him as Wharton’s top professor for seven consecutive years, demonstrating the effectiveness of his method.
A fun fact about Adam Grant? He used to be a magician — and a Junior Olympic springboard diver.
You can find Adam Grant on LinkedIn or Google Scholar.
