Let Art Be Your Superpower!
A journey into the future of artistry, and the artist already waiting inside each of us.

Assistant Professor of Information Systems & Operations Management
University of Washington · Foster School of Business
Bonjour! I am Léonard, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Information Systems and Operations Management at the University of Washington, Foster School of Business, with an adjunct position at the Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering and an affiliation with Harvard's Laboratory for Innovation Science. I earned my Ph.D. in Operations Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
My research combines operations research with artificial intelligence. With my research group, the Human-AI Operations Lab, I work to accelerate problem solving and innovation with Generative AI, and to understand how such technology is reshaping the future of work. I emphasize multimodal frameworks and data-driven, explainable decision tools, especially in healthcare, climate, and sustainability.
I deliver AI education to over 800 students annually and have created new generative AI courses built on novel teaching methodologies. I am fortunate to have been recognized by Poets & Quants' 40 Under 40 Best Business Professors, by INFORMS' Haim Mendelson Teaching Innovation Award, by eight teaching awards at the Foster School of Business, and by three at MIT, including the Goodwin Medal, the institute's highest teaching honor for a graduate instructor. I was also named to the Puget Sound Business Journal's “40 Under 40” for my impact on Seattle's ecosystem. I have contributed to the MIT Universal Artificial Intelligence initiative, which brings state-of-the-art technological insights to wide audiences, and I currently serve on the AI task force at Foster.
















3DWalk the art museumWildlife photography in 3D
TEDxTalksKeynotes, TEDx, and workshopsField experiments on how generative AI changes creativity, evaluation, and ethical judgment.
How AI shapes human decisions, and how pairing it with optimization makes them better and explainable.
Models that fuse images, text, and time series, deployed in hospitals and on wildfires.
Research built with companies, hospitals and museums, put to work in the field and recognized along the way.
Building multimodal intelligence
for wildlife, climate, and the world we share.

On day one, I encourage every student to define a project they want to build, and the rest of the course is reverse-engineered to get them there. They learn how to vibe code, leverage agentic systems, and ship products, tools, and websites at every step. I teach annually to over 800 students and industry professionals, through two flagship graduate courses at UW Foster and numerous tailored workshops and seminars elsewhere. You can find the approach and open-source materials on my GenAI page.
Two short talks on what AI can unlock, for creativity, and for the planet.
A journey into the future of artistry, and the artist already waiting inside each of us.
A collective approach to the UN SDGs, showing how generative AI can drive real-world impact.






























I am a passionate naturalist, birdwatcher, and wildlife photographer.
Discover more