2018
SC&IS Department welcomes new faculty members
The SC&IS Department welcomes three new members to its faculty this academic year.
Rashmi Sharma, clinical assistant professor and managing director of Laboratory for Economics, Management and Auctions (LEMA)
Doctorate: Penn State University
Master’s: Indira Ghandi National Open University (India) and Penn State University
Bachelor’s: University of Rajasthan (India)
Mostafa Sabbaghi, visiting assistant professor
Doctorate: University at Buffalo
Master’s: Khajeh Nasir Toosi University of Technology (Iran)
Bachelor’s: Iran University of Science and Technology (Iran)
Hossein Fateh, visiting assistant professor
Doctorate: George Mason University and West Virginia University
Master’s: George Washington University
Bachelor’s: Isfahan University (Iran)
Russell Barton Receives IEOM Distinguished Educator Award
Congratulations to Russell Barton on receiving the IEOM (Industrial Engineering and Operations Management) Distinguished Educator Award. The award recognizes Barton’s exceptional contributions to the field of industrial engineering and operations management. The award will be given on September 28, 2018, at the IEOM 3rd North American Conference Awards Dinner in Washington, DC. Barton will also be a keynote speaker at the conference.
The IEOM Society Third North American International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management 2018 program can be seen at http://www.ieomsociety.org/program-dc2018.pdf
Hui Zhao Receives Best Paper Award
Congratulations to Hui Zhao on her paper entitled "Mitigating the US Drug Shortages Through Pareto-Improving Contracts" being selected as a runner-up for the Ralph Gomory Best Industry Studies Paper Award from the Industry Studies Association (ISA) in 2018. ISA, originated from Sloan Foundation programs, is an interdisciplinary scholarly association whose members come from a wide variety of disciplines such as management, economics, engineering, industrial and labor relations, operations research, law, economic geography, and public policy. Scholars committed to industry studies research have demonstrated that the results of industry research that is grounded in observation and integrated with theory and analysis can make important contributions not only to academic knowledge but also to industry practice and public policy.
Zhao was also invited to an FDA "Expert Panel listening session on drug shortage," where she presented findings of her drug shortage study. This invitation was from the new drug shortage task force led by FDA Associate Commissioner for Strategic Initiatives Keagan Lenihan and charged by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. This study was also a finalist for the Piaskella Award from INFORMS Health Applications Society in 2015.
SC&IS Faculty Members Receive Promotions
Congratulations to the SC&IS faculty members who received promotions effective July 1.
Suresh Muthulingam will receive early tenure and promotion to the rank of associate professor in the Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems. Muthulingam’s expertise is in environmental issues in operations management, supply chain management, quality management, and learning and forgetting. He joined the Smeal faculty in 2014.
Muthulingam holds a doctorate in business (operations management) from UCLA, a master of business administration from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, India, and a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras, India.
Saurabh Bansal will receive tenure and promotion to the rank of associate professor in the Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems. Bansal’s research interests lie in three dimensions of supply chain and operations management: model and data-driven understanding of how business managers perceive and estimate uncertainties; descriptive models for how they react to these uncertainties; and, prescriptive optimization-based models for how they react to the uncertainties.
Bansal earned a doctorate in risk analysis and decision making from the University of Texas and a bachelor’s in industrial engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology. He joined the Smeal faculty in 2010.
Arthur Jones will be promoted to associate teaching professor in the Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems. He teaches courses in information systems health administration, organization of data, information systems management and applications, and business information systems analysis, among others. Jones joined the Smeal faculty in 2011.
Student Organizations Give Back to the Community
Penn State Smeal College of Business Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) and American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) student organizations joined forces to lift the spirits of children in the hospital during this upcoming holiday season. Our students packed 150 boxes supporting The Jared Box Project. The boxes were filled with toys and goodies thanks to the generosity of Armada Supply Chain Solutions, a Smeal Center for Supply Chain Research™ Corporate Sponsor. WE ARE working together to make a difference! The Jared Box Project started with a young boy named Jared who was diagnosed with cancer. Throughout treatment, Jared's backpack full of toys was the reason he was able to remain a kid. Members of CSCMP and APICS contributed to this effort and made a difference in our local community.
Bob Novack and Steve Tracey Raise Money for Breast Cancer Research
Smeal's Supply Chain and Information Systems faculty, Bob Novack and Steve Tracey, raised over $10,000 for the American Cancer Society's Real Men on Campus of Penn State campaign for breast cancer research and prevention during October Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Bob and Steve want to thank all of you who donated to this worthy cause. Your generosity is an affirmation that WE ARE determined to make a difference in the over 300,000 women, in North America alone, diagnosed with breast cancer (American Cancer Society's Cancer Facts and Figures 2017/2018).
Marine, father of three reconnects with family while earning supply chain master's
Andre Ingram and his two sons often sat around the family’s dining room table the past year with their laptops open completing homework assignments.
“The dining room is where we usually do our schoolwork, and we’re all just banging away on our keyboards,” said Ingram, 42, who is pursuing a Penn State master’s degree. “My wife came in the room one day and joked how all her boys were doing their homework.”
A Marine Corps officer and father of three, Ingram utilized the uniqueness of his Penn State degree program to spend more time with his family. He is nearing completion of a master of professional studies in supply chain management degree through a special partnership between the Marine Corps, Penn State World Campus and the Smeal College of Business.
SC&IS Students Receive 2018 Senior Awards
Congratulations to the SC&IS Senior Award recipients:
The John M. and Anne B. Stevens Academic Integrity Award: Awarded to a graduating senior or seniors who demonstrate leadership in academic integrity by serving on a college committee, task force or in a leadership role, dedicated to upholding the Smeal Honor Code and to promoting a culture of academic integrity.
- Sara Chan, Supply Chain and Information Systems
- Mercedes Marquez, Management Information Systems/Economics
Ralph H. Wherry Student Service Award: This award honors graduating seniors who excelled in service to the college, have exhibited academic achievement, and manifest the promise of a successful professional career.
- Laura Holleran, Supply Chain and Information Systems
- Audrey Mathias, Supply Chain and Information Systems
Smeal Undergraduates Compete in Rutgers Big10 Plus Supply Chain Case Competition
A team of undergraduate Smeal students competed in the Rutgers Big10 Plus Supply Chain Case Competition on April 13, 2018. The event included seven undergraduate and five graduate teams. The participants represented Big Ten universities and others outside of the Big Ten.
The team’s faculty advisor was Susan Purdum, associate teaching professor of supply chain management. According to Purdum, “Our Penn State team performed incredibly well. Two of the team members had never been in competition before, so the team had to learn each other’s strengths first and then leveraged these to create a quality presentation.”
Members of the team were: Cici Dong (Junior SC&IS), Supriya Nair (Senior SC&IS), Sean Hillman (Freshman DUS), and Cody Randall (Senior SC&IS). Congratulations!
Five Female SC&IS Seniors Awarded 2018 MIT Supply Chain Excellence Award
Five seniors in the Supply Chain and Information Systems Program at Smeal have received the 2018 MIT Supply Chain Excellence Award, presented by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The MIT Supply Chain Excellence Award is given annually to outstanding graduating senior supply chain and/or industrial engineering majors. This prestigious accomplishment also grants tuition scholarships of $10,000 (Honorable Mention Winners) and $25,000 (First Place Winners) to the MIT SCM program in Boston!
Smeal Grad Named to 30 under 30 Rising Supply Chain Stars list
Keith Unton, who earned a degree in supply chain management in 2010 and an Executive MBA in 2017, both from the Penn State Smeal College of Business, has been named to the fourth annual 30 Under 30 Rising Supply Chain Stars list, which is a partnership between Thomas and the Institute for Supply Management.
Unton is a senior supply chain manager at The Hershey Company. He is in charge of Hershey’s Walmart and Sam’s Club supply chains.
Professor Sue Purdum's Outreach Extends Beyond Smeal's Classrooms
Professor Sue Purdum has been working with Newport News Shipbuilding since 2015 through Penn State Executive Programs (PSEP) in improving knowledge of supply base management and supplier development. She has also helped to develop content and now teach/facilitate sessions in the program in order to improve Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) compliance with the Naval customer.
Professor Purdum was also invited to be keynote speaker for PSU's Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (IME) Annual Awards Banquet on April 6. Professor Purdum is an alumna of class of 1980 of the IME program.
Jason Acimovic Receives M&SOM Award
Congratulations to Jason Acimovic on winning the best paper award for the INFORMS M&SOM (Manufacturing and Service Operations Management) journal and for being a finalist for the M&SOM journal practice-based research competition.
Timing of Regulatory Stick and Supportive Carrot May Keep Businesses Focused
Coordinating the stick of regulation with the carrot of technical assistance may help small companies perform better environmentally and economically, according to a team of researchers.
The researchers found in a study that when punitive measures from regulatory agencies were followed by help from business support organizations, companies were more likely to stick to voluntary improvement projects than when these projects were followed by punitive regulatory actions, said Suvrat S. Dhanorkar, assistant professor of supply change and information systems in the Penn State Smeal College of Business.
He added that increasing coordination between regulatory agencies, for example, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and business support organizations, such as the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program — PennTAP — in Pennsylvania and Minnesota Technical Assistance Program — MTAP — in Minnesota, could help small and mid-sized businesses not only stay compliant, but continue to grow.
SC&IS Students Featured in Videos
Several SC&IS student alums are featured in videos that were prepared as part of a Deloitte/University Alliance effort to promote women in STEM. The videos can be seen at the link below.
Penn State Smeal Senior Supply Chain Major one of 5 National Scholarship Winners
Laura Holleran, a senior supply chain and information systems major at the Penn State Smeal College of Business, was one of five women chosen from a national pool of applicants for an AWESOME (Achieving Women's Excellence in Supply Chain Operations, Management, and Education) scholarship. An AWESOME scholarship offers university women the opportunity to participate in the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) Edge Conference and the annual AWESOME Symposium.