Yael Grushka-Cockayne

As we end our third season, Yael and Mike reflect on the disruptive technologies explored over the last year. It was an interesting mix of good, bad, and no disruption calls. Do they feel the same now about disruptive potential that they did when each episode first aired? What’s coming in 2026?

A new paper by Ed Freeman, Yael Grushka-Cockayne and Prem Menghwar outlines the six principles of Stakeholder Theory that can guide projects toward creating value for all stakeholders, including marginalized stakeholders.

Large language models (LLMs) offer powerful opportunities for automation, creativity and knowledge access. With 800 million people using ChatGPT alone, LLMs are drastically changing the way we interact and operate as a society. No question, this is one of the biggest disruptions of our lifetime; but is it a good one?

In this episode of the Good Disruption podcast, Mike Lenox and Yael Grushka-Cockayne talk with Mark Hahn (MBA ’20) a career Naval Aviator and previous operations lead for drone start-up company Zipline about the UAV landscape and the pros and cons of using this technology.

In this episode of the Good Disruption podcast, Mike Lenox and Yael Grushka-Cockayne talk with Dr. Sandhya Chhabra (MBA’17) about the benefits, cautions, and unknowns surrounding GLP-1 medications — the drug that is making headlines and changing lives.

AI requires data, lots of it. Tech companies are rapidly building new data centers to house it, which will require massive amounts of electricity. How do we power them and stay on track with our emission reduction goals? An unlikely candidate is emerging – nuclear energy.

For decades, we have used quantum physics to power MRI machines, solar panels, and lasers. More recently, big tech companies have entered a race to quantum supremacy, where quantum computers surpass silicon-based super computers in speed and complex problem solving. But what is it?

Computer simulations have been used for decades to predict outcomes. Now digital twins create virtual environments that not only mirror their real-world counterparts but also respond to real-time data to yield more confident decision making.

Hollywood has long portrayed robots as friendly and misunderstood but also a technology to be feared if left in the wrong hands. Today, humanoid robots are being designed not only to carry out simple tasks but also, display a broad range of emotions and react to people in real-time. But just because we can build it, should we?

New research by UVA Darden’s Manel Baucells and Yael Grushka-Cockayne explores how mental accounting affects project management decisions. Their findings show the key lies in balancing rational models with behavioral insights — a strategy that can turn challenges into opportunities for success.