When disaster strikes, getting food, medicine, fuel and shelter to the people who need them can become a life-or-death challenge. At the 2026 Gore Lecture, MIT researcher Jarrod Goentzel will explore how management science can help build supply systems that respond more effectively when communities face crisis.

Goentzel, founder and director of the MIT Humanitarian Supply Chain Lab and principal research scientist in the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics, will present “Shaping supply systems to meet human needs” from 6-8 p.m. Oct. 15 in FinTech 501. A reception will follow in the fifth-floor lobby.

Humanitarian efforts to save lives, alleviate suffering and restore livelihoods depend on complex supply chains that deliver essential goods where and when they are needed. Disruptions such as those during the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the challenges of coordinating these global systems.

Drawing on research from the MIT Humanitarian Supply Chain Lab, Goentzel will discuss how management science can help create more resilient supply systems during crises. Case studies spanning international aid and domestic emergency management will examine health, food, fuel and housing systems during preparedness and response.

Goentzel will also share emerging research on the role local communities can play in shaping supply systems and how management science can work across disciplines to better meet human needs.

Goentzel’s research focuses on resilient supply chains and cooperation across the public, private and nonprofit sectors.

Register for the 2026 Gore Lecture at https://GoreLecture2026.eventbrite.com