Eliot Rich

Assistant Professor
Ph.D, University at Albany

A “random walk” taught him how to approach complex problems.

Eliot Rich brings a mix of academic study and professional experience to each lecture. A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., his education includes undergraduate study of economics and computer science at Brooklyn College (B.A., 1979), public policy at Harvard (M.P.P., 1981) and information science at the University at Albany (Ph.D., 2003). In between his studies, he spent 13 years as a consultant in software design and development, first as a principal at American Management Systems, and later as an independent consultant.

The information technology professor says that this somewhat “random walk” taught him to blend technological, organizational and business perspectives when approaching complex problems. “As an undergraduate I learned how to apply analytical models and how to program computers. In graduate school I learned how to write and articulate my ideas.” He began his career at AMS where he developed information systems for the public and private sectors, including project management and decision support tools for Wall Street, financial and operations systems for government, business process reengineering and the first expert system for computerized life insurance underwriting.

When he and his wife started a family, they moved from Boston to Albany, where Rich resumed his education. Rich began teaching, first at the College of Computing and Information and later at the School of Business while he was working on his Ph.D. An early teaching assignment for the School of Business was under the guidance of Associate Professor Peter Duchessi: tTogether they taught information systems analysis and design, a class Rich has now been a part of for almost a decade. Rich has been the recipient of the School of Business’ Harold Cannon undergraduate teaching award (2005) and the Dean Warren Hayes graduate teaching awards (2009).

Dr. Rich’s research lies in the area between information systems and organizational strategy, using simulation models, systems thinking and System Dynamics modeling, skills he learned here at UA. His expertise has taken him into studies of corporate knowledge management, insider threats to information security, oil platform safety in Norway and securing the European power grid. “Organizations become vulnerable when they focus on technical solutions but neglect the social and operational sides of their operations.” A recent grant from the European Union funds Rich’s current work in helping them prepare for power cut crises. He notes that the grid is equipped to manage localized problems, but “international crises are more complex. As power networks are interconnected, problems can cascade across boundaries quickly, and managerial information is scarce.”

Four years ago, Rich learned that he was a match for a four-year-old girl who was born without an immune system and would die without a bone marrow transplant. Rich ’s donation was successful, and “the girl is now a healthy eight-year-old.” The professor worked subsequently with UAlbany Hillel on campus in support of a bone marrow drive that yielded nearly two hundred registrants, one of the most successful drives of the year.

Dr. Rich lives in Slingerlands with his wife Marla Eglowstein, an obstetrician specializing in high risk pregnancies, his daughters Davi, age 15 and Sophie, age 10. His son, Nathan, is enrolled in the Japanese Studies program here at the University at Albany.