Michael J. Rivera, Ph.D.
Researching how people, AI, and real-time feedback shape better work — and building the tools that put it into practice.
A career at the intersection of academia, industry, and applied analytics and AI.
Michael Rivera is an Assistant Professor in the Decision and Technology Analytics department at Lehigh University's College of Business, where he also directs the Center for AI and Business Transformation (CAIBT). His research and teaching sit at the intersection of artificial intelligence, real-time feedback, and how organizations use data to develop people.
Before Lehigh, he spent a decade at Temple University's Fox School of Business, where he was named Faculty Member of the Year five times across executive and graduate programs. Alongside his academic work, he has co-founded three technology companies — most recently SentinelPrompt, focused on AI safety and adversarial testing — and consulted for organizations including Amazon, Microsoft, Pfizer, Lockheed Martin, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
He holds a Ph.D. from Purdue, an M.S. in Artificial Intelligence from Northwestern, and additional graduate degrees from Indiana University and Taylor University. His goal is simple: research that informs practice, and practice that sharpens research.
Six threads, one through-line — feedback at the speed of work.
Peer-reviewed work in the field's leading journals.
- 2026
How Generative AI Transforms Questioning Behavior on Q&A Platforms: Evidence from a Natural Experiment with Pilot Usage of ChatGPT
MIS QuarterlyUTD 24FT50AJG 4*Forthcoming - 2026
Digital Nudges and Social Norms in Real-Time Employee Feedback: Evidence from a Field Experiment
POM JournalUTD 24FT50AJG 4Forthcoming - 2026
The Mind and the Machine: How Does Generative AI Usage Affect the Coding Performance of Developers?
Journal of Management Information SystemsFT50AJG 4Published - 2026
Stimulating Feedback Contributions Using Digital Nudges: A Field Experiment on the Real-Time Mobile Feedback Platform
MIS QuarterlyUTD 24FT50AJG 4*Published - 2024
Seek and Ye Shall Find: An Empirical Examination of Seeking Feedback on Employee Performance Ratings
Information Systems ResearchUTD 24FT50AJG 4Published - 2022
How Network Embeddedness Affects Real-Time Performance Feedback: An Empirical Investigation
Information Systems ResearchUTD 24FT50AJG 4Published - 2021
Are Traditional Performance Reviews Outdated? An Empirical Analysis on Continuous Real-Time Mobile Feedback in the Workplace
Information Systems ResearchUTD 24FT50AJG 4Published
Courses on AI strategy and predictive analytics — for the next generation of leaders.
Predictive Analytics for Business
An introduction to predictive modeling and machine learning applications in business.
AI Strategy & Management
A framework for identifying, evaluating, and managing AI initiatives across the enterprise.
AI Creative Problem Solving
Hands-on exploration of generative AI tools to accelerate and enhance business problem solving.
Three ventures co-founded. Fortune 500s served.
- SentinelPromptCo-Founder · AI safety & adversarial testing2025—
- ThinaerCo-Founder & EVP, Analytics & Data Science2020—24
- DevelapMeCo-Founder & Chief Analytics & Information Officer2015—20
Honored for research, teaching, and translating both into impact.
Awards
- John B. Ochs Faculty AwardLehigh Office of Entrepreneurship · 2026
- Lehigh United Nations Faculty FellowLehigh University · 2026
- Undergraduate Teaching AwardLehigh College of Business · 2025
- Graduate Teaching AwardLehigh MSBA · 2025
- Faculty Member of the Year (5×)Temple Fox · 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Grants
- Marcon Institute Fellow Award$10,000 · 2026
- Lehigh Internal AI Grant$13,800 · 2026
- NSF STRP-IG Grant$100,000 · 2025
- Temple CIBER Research Award$5,000 · Co-PI · 2017
Patents
- SentinelPrompt — real-time input risk detection for generative AIProvisional Patent · 2025
- Data acquisition management systemU.S. Patent No. 12,235,860 · 2025
- Communication management with hierarchical data selectionU.S. Patent No. 10,419,576 · 2019
