The Society of Columbia Graduates has named Professor Hardeep Venkataramani Johar, Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (IEOR) at Columbia University, as one of the recipients of the 2025 Great Teacher Award (GTA).
Established in 1949, the Great Teacher Award is presented annually to faculty members from Columbia College and the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS). The Society’s Board of Directors selects recipients based on nominations from the Offices of the Deans. The award recognizes faculty members who excel in stimulating and inspiring undergraduate students, demonstrate consistent interest in their students’ academic and personal development, and maintain recognized standing within their academic disciplines.
“Hardeep is a caring teacher and mentor and ably directs our MS programs in business analytics and management science,” said Professor Jay Sethuraman, Chair of the IEOR Department. “This honor, awarded by the Society of Columbia Graduates, recognizes his contributions to undergraduate teaching and advising, and the influence he has had on our undergraduate student body during the last decade.”
Professor Johar has previously been recognized for his dedication to students. In 2023, he received the Edward and Carole Kim Faculty Involvement Award, which honors faculty with outstanding commitment to student engagement and mentorship. His teaching and research focus on the applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning in business, and he regularly teaches courses on data analytics, machine learning, AI, and big data analytics on distributed environments.
Johar joins a distinguished group of IEOR faculty who have received the Great Teacher Award in prior years, including Professors Cliff Stein (2023), Adam Elmachtoub (2021), Jay Sethuraman (2017), David Yao (2012), Perwez Shahabuddin (2004), Donald Goldfarb (1999), Seymour Melman (1980), Lawrence Cohen (1972), and Sebastian Littauer (1968).
