Ricardo Valerdi

Ricardo Valerdi is a Professor and Head of the Department of Systems & Industrial Engineering at the University of Arizona. He is also the UA's Faculty Athletics Representative to the Big 12 Conference. His research focuses on cost estimation, sports analytics, and decision making. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Army, Navy, Air Force, BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. He is the founder of Science of Sport, a non-profit dedicated to STEM education through sports. He has developed STEM education programs for NFL, MLB, NBA, and MLS teams. He received a Ph.D. in Industrial & Systems Engineering from the University of Southern California.