Executive Director, MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics

Silver Family Research Fellow

Sr. Lecturer

Dr. Caplice serves as the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Transportation & Logistics (CTL) where he is responsible for the planning and management of the research, education, and corporate outreach programs for the center. He created and currently serves as Director of the MITx MicroMaster’s Program in Supply Chain Management – the very first MicroMasters credential ever offered.  In the first three years more than 200,000 students from 196 different countries have participated in these online courses and more than 20,000 Verified Certificates have been awarded.

Dr. Caplice was selected as the first Silver Family Research Fellow in 2016 in recognition of his contribution to supply chain education and research.  Also in 2016, he received the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) Distinguished Service Award. 

He is also the founder of the MIT FreightLab – a research initiative that focuses on improving the way freight transportation is designed, procured, and managed. His primary research is in all aspects of freight transportation to include combinatorial procurement auctions, robust planning, portfolio management, performance metrics, and infrastructure design.

In addition to his work at MIT, Dr. Caplice is currently the Chief Scientist for Chainalytics, the leading analytical supply chain consulting firm. In this role, he pioneered the Chainalytics Freight Market Intelligence Consortium (FMIC) that is used by shippers and 3PLs comprising more than $20 billion in annual transportation spend.

Prior to joining MIT, Dr. Caplice held senior management positions in supply chain consulting, product development, and professional services at several companies to include Logistics.com, SABRE, and PTCG.  As part of PTCG/SABRE, he led the team that pioneered the concept and use of optimization-based procurement throughout the transportation industry.

Chris received a Ph.D. from MIT in 1996 in Transportation and Logistics Systems. His dissertation on Optimization Based Bidding for Transportation was selected as the winner of the Council of Logistics Management (CLM) Doctoral Dissertation Award and received an Honorable Mention in the 1996 Dissertation Award sponsored by the Transportation Science Section of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS).

Prior to receiving his PhD, Dr. Caplice taught at the Virginia Military Institute for two years and served five years in the Army Corps of Engineers, achieving the rank of Captain. His writing has appeared in numerous academic and business journals and publications.  In addition to his PhD, he earned a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI).