Crossroads connects you with experts from MIT for a day of discovery and learning in supply chain management and logistics. MIT is recognized as the world’s foremost center for technological innovation. The MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL) is regarded as the global leader in supply chain education and research. This one-day annual event is designed to bring the latest innovations in scm to you.

Crossroads changes every year to respond to the changing needs of the Supply Chain Community. CTL Supply Chain Exchange partners, the MIT community and alumni join for free. Learn more about becoming a Supply Chain Exchange Partner.

Following is a selection of topics shared during previous years.

Crossroads 2020 - Understanding Uncertain Futures

The year 2020 was less than a month old when the coronavirus outbreak erupted in China. The crisis provides a stark reminder of the uncertainties that supply chains face today – and throughout the new decade. The Crossroads 2020 one-day conference explored these uncertainties, as well as measures that companies can take to prepare for them.

  • Prof. Yasheng Huang, MIT Sloan School of Management | China and the global economy
  • Prof. Tim Swager, MIT Department of Chemistry | Sensor Innovations
  • Prof. Muriel Médard, MIT Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science | The Future of 5G
  • Dr. Alexis Bateman, MIT CTL; Dr. Donna Palumbo-Miele, Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals | Sustainable Supply Chains Research Briefing
  • Prof. Wojciech Matusik, MIT Computer Science and AI Laboratory (CSAIL) | Advances in Additive Manufacturing
  • Prof. Yossi Sheffi and CTL Research Team, MIT CTL | Uncertainty & Resilience: Responding to Coronavirus and Other Disruptions

Crossroads 2019 - Enabling New Supply Chain Designs

Discovering how emerging innovations intersect with supply chain management. Topics: Digital Disruption, New Materials, Artificial Intelligence, Visual Analytics.

  • Dr. Stephanie Woerner – CISR | Digital Disruption
  • Michael Schrage – MIT Center for Digital Business | Innovationx
  • Dr. Kalyan Veeramachaneni – MIT Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS) | Machine Learning
  • Prof. Cem Tasan – MIT Department of Material Science and Engineering
  • Dr. Matthias Winkenbach – MIT CTL |  Visual Analytics
  • Dave Anderson – Supply Chain Ventures
  • Tony Grichnik – Brunel University
  • Luis Nava – Converse
  • Jason Schenker – The Futurist Institute

Crossroads 2018 - Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence

New advances in artificial intelligence, the impact of self-drive vehicle technology and its evolution over the coming years, the policy and legal ramifications of autonomous vehicles, and the implications conversational commerce has on business operations are some of the developments that supply chain professionals will learn about at Crossroads 2018.

  • Artificial Intelligence and How Technology Will Evolve - Adam Fisch, MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
  • The Road Ahead for Autonomous Vehicles - Prof. John Leonard, MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab
  • Time to Talk About Conversational Commerce - Prof. Brian Subirana, MIT Auto-ID Laboratory
  • What About the Legal and Policy Implications of Vehicle Autonomy - Prof. Daniel Weitzner, MIT Internet Policy Research Initiative, CSAIL

Crossroads 2017 - Digital Disruptions and Future Potentials

The six presenters at the 2017 CTL Crossroads conference came from markedly different parts of MIT – studying business, economics, computer science, chemistry, and civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering – but their talks shared common themes connected to supply chains. 

  • Turning Digital Disruption into Competitive Advantage - Dr. Jeanne Ross, Principal Research Scientist, MIT Sloan School of Management
  • Additive Manufacturing: Current Status and Future Potential - John Hart, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT
  • Visual Analytics: The Answer to Data Overload? - Dr. Matthias Winkenbach, Director Megacities Logistics Lab at MIT

Crossroads 2016 - Globalization, Autonomy, and Education

The impact of autonomous vehicles on logistics operations, new research on the security of food supply chains, and latest developments from the cutting edge of online education are some of the topics that will be covered at Crossroads 2016.

  • A new generation of autonomous vehicles - Sertac Karaman, Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT  
  • Global food supply chains risk priorities - Retsef Levi, Professor of Management, Professor of Operations Management, MIT
  • Transforming Professional Education: An Update from the Front Line - Dr. Chris Caplice, Executive Director MIT CTL

To receive early invitations and full reports from Crossroads learn about becoming an MIT CTL partner.