2025 Best 40-Under-40 MBA Professors: Şafak Yücel, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University

Şafak Yücel
McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University

“This is a nomination based on a unique class, Business of Sustainable Energy and Technology. This course investigates how an established company or a startup can elevate its profitability by investing in the context of sustainable energy and technology. That is, instead of focusing on the moral or ethical case, we focus on the business case for sustainability. We investigate most recent challenges and opportunities in solar and wind energy, energy efficiency, electric vehicles, energy storage, carbon offsets, and carbon removal methodologies such as direct-air capture, enhanced rock weathering, and ocean alkalinity.” – Self nomination

Şafak Yücel, 37, is an associate professor of Operations Management at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. He is also the associate director of the Business of Sustainability Initiative.

His main research interests are in sustainable operations, with a focus on renewable energy. He is also interested in the economic and environmental implications of new business models.

Yücel’s research has appeared in leading journals, including Management Science and Manufacturing and Service Operations Management. He currently serves as an associate editor at Manufacturing and Service Operations Management. He worked at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, prior to receiving his Ph.D. in Operations Management from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Yücel’s research has received numerous awards, including the 2021 Management Science Best Paper Award in Operations Management, which is given to the paper published in Management Science in the previous three years (2018-2020) that is deemed most deserving for its contribution to the theory and practice of Operations Management. In addition, Yücel’s papers have received the Best Publication Award in Environment and Sustainability from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences Section on Energy, Natural Resources and the Environment in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

BACKGROUND

At current institution since what year? 2016

Education: PhD in Operations Management from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business

List of MBA courses you currently teach: Business of Sustainable Energy and Technology across Flex, Daytime, and Executive MBA programs

TELL US ABOUT LIFE AS A BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR

I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when… I was in high school!

What are you currently researching and what is the most significant discovery you’ve made from it? These days, I am mostly focused on the business of carbon—seeing carbon, or rather emissions reduction, as a product that can be sold and bought between companies to reach decarbonization goals, such as net-zero emissions by a certain date. In a recent paper, we focus on carbon offsets, which represent one unit of reduction in emissions achieved by a project developer through investments in, say, forestry or renewable energy. The paper makes significant discoveries on ensuring that such emissions reduction is accurately measured and verified by third-party registries, highlighting important insights for corporate buyers to reach their decarbonization goals.

If I weren’t a business school professor… I would be a tour guide!

What do you think makes you stand out as a professor? I strive to create a classroom environment in which everyone feels included and welcome to contribute. This unique environment, I hope, makes me stand out.

One word that describes my first time teaching: Fun!

Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: This is difficult to answer because my advisors and mentors have actually prepped me very well for this job!

Professor I most admire and why: I really admire my advisors: Gurhan Kok and Kevin Shang. I have learned so much from both of them! They have been instrumental in building my career through their continued support, endless encouragement, and ambition to discover new research questions. They both are true scholars! I also very much admire my colleague, friend, and mentor, Vishal Agrawal. We have worked together on so many papers and his clear mind has been a true inspiration!

TEACHING MBA STUDENTS

What do you enjoy most about teaching business students? Our students are future business leaders, and it is joyful to witness their career growth.

What is most challenging? 8 a.m. classes!

In one word, describe your favorite type of student: Engaged

In one word, describe your least favorite type of student: Indifferent

When it comes to grading, I think students would describe me as… Fair

LIFE OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM

What are your hobbies? I enjoy reading, both fiction and non-fiction. I am also a woodworker.

How will you spend your summer? Traveling for conferences and for fun, finishing up a few projects that are already overdue.

Favorite place(s) to vacation: South of Spain

Favorite book(s): One Hundred Years of Solitude by Marquez

What is currently your favorite movie and/or show and what is it about the film or program that you enjoy so much? I recently watched The Brutalist and really enjoyed the depth of the main character and themes of belonging, immigration, and patronage.

What is your favorite type of music or artist(s) and why? I like classical music, and Turkish composer and pianist Fazil Say is a favorite due to his deep understanding of the East as well as the West.