Kenneth Chelst

Rabbi Kenneth R. Chelst is professor of operations research in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He received a B.A. degree from Yeshiva University, an M.S. in operations research from New York University and aPh.D. in operations research from M.I.T.

Chelst received rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) of Yeshiva University where he studied with Rabbi Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik and Rabbi Dr. Aharon Lichtenstein.

He is author of Kaddish: The Unanswered Cry and co-author of Does This Line Ever Move: Real-World Applications of Operations Research. Rabbi Dr. Chelst is an internationally recognized leader in applying operations research to emergency service management and was designated as a 2000 Edelman Prize Laureate for a major project with Ford.

Rabbi Dr. Chelst co-directs Project MINDSET, a multi-million dollar NSF funded project designed to bring real-world contexts to high school mathematics.