Dimitri Bertsekas, A Luminary in Optimization and Artificial Intelligence, Passes Away at 83
Dimitri Bertsekas, the Jerry McAfee Emeritus Professor in Engineering at MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), a pivotal figure in the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS), and the Fulton Professor of Computational Decision Making at Arizona State University, passed away on June 3 at his home in Belmont, Massachusetts. He was 83 years old. His passing marks the end of a distinguished career that profoundly shaped the fields of optimization, control, large-scale computation, reinforcement learning, and artificial intelligence, leaving an indelible legacy through his prolific writings, influential mentorship, and groundbreaking research.
Bertsekas’s intellectual journey began in Athens, Greece, where he earned his undergraduate degree from the National Technical University of Athens. He further honed his academic prowess in the United States, obtaining his MS in electrical engineering from George Washington University in 1969 and his PhD in system science from MIT in 1971. His academic career commenced at Stanford University, where he spent three years before moving to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for a five-year tenure. In 1979, Bertsekas returned to MIT, a pivotal decision that would see him become a central figure in the EECS department for four decades. He remained a full-time faculty member at MIT until 2019, at which point he transitioned to Arizona State University in Tempe, continuing his active engagement in academia until his passing. Throughout his career, Bertsekas was a dedicated educator, shaping the minds of countless students who would go on to become leaders in their respective fields, many of whom would later become his esteemed colleagues at the very institutions he served.
A Prolific Scholar and Innovator
Bertsekas’s impact on the academic and industrial landscapes is perhaps most visibly measured by his extensive body of written work. He authored and co-authored over 20 highly influential books, monographs, and textbooks that have become foundational texts in numerous academic disciplines. These works, characterized by their exceptional clarity, mathematical rigor, and profound conceptual insights, have guided generations of students and researchers. Beyond his academic contributions, Bertsekas was an active participant in the broader scientific community. He served as a consultant to various private companies, lent his expertise as an editor for several prestigious scientific journals, and founded Athena Scientific, a publishing company dedicated to disseminating high-quality research and educational materials. He also held the position of chief scientific advisor at Bayforest Technologies, a London-based quantitative investment company, underscoring the practical applications and broad reach of his theoretical work.
Mentorship and the Art of Teaching
The profound influence of Dimitri Bertsekas extended far beyond his written works; it was deeply woven into the fabric of his mentorship. Former students and colleagues consistently recall his remarkable ability to illuminate complex subjects with an elegance and clarity that made them accessible and deeply understood.
Asu Ozdaglar, head of MIT’s EECS department, articulated the defining role Bertsekas played in her academic trajectory. "Dimitri played a defining role in my career," Ozdaglar stated. "I decided to change my research focus after taking his nonlinear optimization class. The conceptual clarity and the mathematical rigor he has brought to every topic, combined with his ability to connect theory to important problems established a foundation that has continued to inform my scholarly work in the years to follow." This sentiment of profound impact is echoed by Jinane Abounadi, a former MIT student and now executive director of the MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund Program. Abounadi fondly remembers Bertsekas’s tutelage as a highlight of her academic journey. "I feel so fortunate to have had Dimitri as my professor and advisor," she shared. "I had the opportunity to learn about optimization, dynamic programming, and neuro-dynamic programming from a true master."
Steven E. Shreve, a former student at the University of Illinois and now Orion Hoch University Professor Emeritus at Carnegie Mellon University, recounted a pivotal experience that exemplifies Bertsekas’s unique approach to mentorship. Initially impressed by Bertsekas’s course on nonlinear optimization, Shreve inquired about becoming his PhD advisor. Instead of a direct answer, Bertsekas provided Shreve with a preliminary draft of his manuscript that would later become the seminal book, "Dynamic Programming and Stochastic Control." Shreve was tasked with proofreading the manuscript, a process that, as he described, "I learned the theory of dynamic programming and mastered many important special cases. Talking with Dimitri as I read, I received one-on-one instruction." Bertsekas’s characteristic humility was evident in his acknowledgement, as Shreve recalled, "When the book finally appeared, Dimitri generously acknowledged my participation, as if I had done him a favor, rather than the other way around." This initial collaboration paved the way for a subsequent research fellowship arranged by Bertsekas, challenging Shreve to solve a fundamental question in dynamic programming, which ultimately led to their co-authored book, "Stochastic Optimal Control: The Discrete Time Case." Shreve further emphasized the pedagogical value of this collaboration, stating, "Working with Dimitri on [that book] is how I learned to write. I learned from Dimitri that if you want to be recognized for your research, you must present it so others want to read it, and I learned how to do that."
Robert Gallager, professor emeritus of electrical engineering at MIT and co-author of the 1987 book "Data Networks" with Bertsekas, highlighted Bertsekas’s talent for organizing and explaining complex subjects. "Everyone recognized Dimitri’s great talents as a writer, but he went far beyond that, organizing entire subjects into something that was understandable and a well-organized totality," Gallager remarked. He further elaborated on their collaboration during a period of rapid advancement in data networking: "The field was changing rapidly then, with a factor-of-two decrease every two years in computation costs, and with optical fiber on the horizon for transmission. Dimitri and I each understood only parts of this field, with the rest a fast-moving learning experience. Dimitri was the ideal partner in this, able to quickly translate hard concepts into simple but accurate explanations and able to combine my knowledge with his into an understandable whole."
Munther Dahleh, a close colleague of Bertsekas in LIDS, observed the personal connection Bertsekas fostered through his writing. "What always struck me was that, through his writing, one could almost hear Dimitri speaking directly to the reader. His intuition, clarity of thought, and distinctive perspective come through beautifully in his books," Dahleh said. "They reflect not only his profound technical contributions, but also his passion for teaching and his desire to help others understand the subject at a deep level. In particular, his joint book with John Tsitsiklis on neuro-dynamic programming is a tour de force. It anticipated and helped define many of the ideas that later became central to reinforcement learning and approximate dynamic programming."
John Tsitsiklis, a frequent collaborator, shared his perspective on the creative process with Bertsekas. "For Dimitri, research was a creative form, combining craftsmanship and the creativity that we usually call art," Tsitsiklis noted. This fascination with art and creativity extended beyond his academic pursuits. Bertsekas explored these themes in his 2025 essay, "Academia, Art, and Life," where he attempted to categorize creative work into the roles of technician, craftsman, and artist. His keen graphic eye was evident not only in the illustrations for his textbooks but also in his artistically inspired photographs captured during his worldwide travels.
David Castañón, a longtime collaborator and friend and professor of electrical and computer engineering at Boston University, described Bertsekas as a "true Renaissance man." Castañón elaborated on Bertsekas’s insatiable curiosity for algorithmic ideas, drawing inspiration from diverse sources such as parallel computing, reinforcement learning, and chess-playing algorithms. "Whenever we met, Dimitri would introduce new concepts of interest; we would work out theoretical details, design and conduct numerical experiments, and generate results," Castañón recalled. "Then, Dimitri’s artistic talents would take over: designing graphics to illustrate concepts, typesetting text and figures for the papers to be completed. He had a rare gift for generating concise explanations of complex concepts. These talents led to his publishing company Athena Scientific, where Dimitri and his coauthors generated elegant pedagogical volumes with broad appeal." Tsitsiklis echoed this sentiment, emphasizing Bertsekas’s drive "about discovering meaning, to uncover the ‘right’ way to view a subject, enrich it, and convey it in a crystal-clear manner through his prolific writings."
A Lasting Academic Footprint
The influence of Bertsekas’s extensive bibliography is undeniable. Many of his books were adopted as essential textbooks at MIT, covering a wide spectrum of critical disciplines including data networks, nonlinear programming, dynamic programming, network optimization, parallel and distributed computation, neuro-dynamic programming, convex analysis and optimization, probability, and reinforcement learning. Stephen Boyd, Samsung Professor in the School of Engineering at Stanford, attested to the far-reaching impact of Bertsekas’s collected works. "Generations of researchers in optimization, control, and many related areas learned these topics from Dimitri’s exquisitely clear and beautifully written text books," Boyd stated. "I was one of them; indeed, I went into these fields in no small part because of Dimitri’s books, and his influence has been with me the whole time."
Recognition and Honors
Bertsekas’s seminal contributions were widely recognized through a multitude of prestigious awards and honors throughout his illustrious career. These include the INFORMS 1997 Prize for Research Excellence in the Interface Between Operations Research and Computer Science for "Neuro-Dynamic Programming," the 2001 ACC John R. Ragazzini Education Award, and the 2009 INFORMS Expository Writing Award. He received the 2014 ACC Richard E. Bellman Control Heritage Award for his "contributions to the foundations of deterministic and stochastic optimization-based methods in systems and control." Further accolades include the 2014 Khachiyan Prize for Life-Time Accomplishments in Optimization, the SIAM/MOS 2015 George B. Dantzig Prize, and the 2022 IEEE Control Systems Award. In a significant joint recognition, he and coauthor John Tsitsiklis were awarded the 2018 INFORMS John von Neumann Theory Prize for their research monographs "Parallel and Distributed Computation" and "Neuro-Dynamic Programming." In 2001, Bertsekas was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering for his "pioneering contributions to fundamental research, practice and education of optimization/control theory."
A Legacy of Warmth and Generosity
Beyond his extraordinary intellectual achievements, Dimitri Bertsekas is remembered with immense warmth and affection by his friends, colleagues, and former students. John Tsitsiklis fondly recalled, "I was most fortunate to be one of his apprentices, and to have lived his warmth and friendship." Angelia Nedich, a former student at MIT who later became Bertsekas’s colleague at Arizona State University, shared a deeply personal remembrance: "Dimitri was an exceptional mind, a gifted soul that shed light for us seekers, but at the same time he was very humble as he enjoyed simple moments of life, a sip of good coffee, a bite of flavorful food, or a glass of spicy margarita on our road trips in Southwest. That is how I love to remember him."
Benjamin Van Roy, a former student and now a professor at Stanford, described the evolution of his relationship with Bertsekas from an authority figure to a cherished friend, often a subject of affectionate teasing. "I recall the intimidating comments of more senior PhD students as I began my own PhD journey in LIDS. Some referred to Dimitri as an ‘immortal’," Van Roy recounted. He also fondly recalled, "Another comment I recall fondly — and often reminded Dimitri about — was: ‘Professor Bertsekas is a very handsome man!’" Their bond endured long after Van Roy’s graduation, leading him to state, "Dimitri was a treasure to humanity: one of the great scholars of our time, a Renaissance man, and a phenomenal role model. I was privileged to be among the many he mentored, and even more privileged to count him as a longtime friend." Yuchao Li, a postdoc mentored by Bertsekas at Arizona State University, viewed his mentor as a "loving father, full of infinite wisdom." Li added, "He seemed to know everything, yet he remained deeply humble and open-minded. He was always eager to help, even at the slightest sign of difficulty in my life. He instilled in me a lasting faith in the very best qualities of human beings, and I will strive to carry that faith forward."
Personal Life and Family
Dimitri Bertsekas was preceded in death by his son, Costas. He is survived by his wife, Joanna Bertsekas (née Palashas); his son, Telis Bertsekas, and his wife, Wendy Bertsekas; and three grandchildren, Melina, Alexandros, and Leonidas. His passing is mourned by a vast community of scholars, students, and friends whose lives were immeasurably enriched by his presence, intellect, and profound humanity.
