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Burcu Keskin receives Distinguished Graduate Student Award (5/6/08)

Dr. Burcu B. Keskin received the Distinguished Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Doctoral Research at Texas A&M University. This university-wide award is given to a select number of graduating doctoral students that demonstrate exceptional scholarly research and teaching. The awards were presented by The Association of Former Students and The Office of Graduate Studies at Texas A&M University on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 in College Station, TX.

Three New Faculty Appointments in OM (8/16/07)

Burcu Keskin, a recent Ph.D. graduate in Industrial Engineering at Texas A&M University, joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor. She earned both her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Industrial Engineering from Bogzaici University, Istanbul, Turkey. Her research insterests include integrated supply chain management and applied optimization. She has co-authored three papers, two of which have been accepted to appear in Computers and Operations Research and the Europen Journal of Operational Research. The other is under review with IIE Transactions. She worked on a project funded by Frito Lay, Inc., which involved large scale optimization of the entire outbound supply chain to achieve inventory reduction at the inventory keeping facilities and higher truck utilization for vechile routing operations. She is currently teaching inventory management.

Sharif Melouk also joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor from the Air Force Institute of Technology, Department of Operational Sciences, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH. He earned his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering at Texas A&M University and his B.S. and M.B.A.degrees from Oklahoma State University. He has had several funded research proposals and articles published in the International Journal of Production Research and the International Journal of Production Economics. He holds a joint appointment with the Alabama Productivity Center as a Senior Research and Field Engineer. He is currently teaching computer simulation.

William "Bill" Petty is an Instructor and the Undergraduate Coordinator in OM. He received his M.B.A. in Operations Management and B.S. in Industrial Management at the University of Cincinnati. He comes to the department from the Alabama Productivity Center where is was the manufacturing outreach coordinator. He previously held jobs as controller at ZF Lemforder Corp, Tuscaloosa, AL; Quality Fabricators and Finishes, Inc., Williamsburg, OH; and Club Chef, Inc., Cincinnati, OH. He is currently teaching introduction to operations management and purchasing and supply management.

Austin Cup Winner (April 2007)

Michael Ingram, B.S., Operations Management and M.A., Applied Economics, won the prestigious Austin Cup awarded during Honors Day 2007 to the top graduating senior in The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration. He completed both his B.S. and M.A. degrees in May 2007 with a GPA of 4.0. In Fall 2005 he developed a model to predict freshman attrition for the Office of Recruitment Services and in Spring 2006 participated in a collaborative research team, sponsored by AmSouth Bank, to investigate statistical and mathematical models for measuring stress in various loan portfolios. He holds a UA/SAS Data Mining Certificate. Michael's other honors and activities included: President's List, National Merit Scholar, University of Alabama Presidential Scholar, SGA Campus Safety Committee Chairman, Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society, Anderson Society, Blue Key Honor Society, and Society of Operations Management Students.

Ph.D. Graduate Accepts Faculty Position at Texas A&M University (6/2007)

Malini Natarajarathinam, Ph.D., OM, 2007, accepted an Assistant Professor position at Texas A&M University, Department of Industrial Distribution. Malini received a B.E. in Industrial Engineering from Anna University, Chennai, India, an M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University, and an M.A. in Management Science at The University of Alabama. Her dissertation topic "Stochastic Inbound Inventory Routing Problem" was motivated by her experience with the logistics operations for inbound parts in automotive assembly operations and is based on Dr. Chuck Sox's consulting experience with Hyundai Motor Manufacturing of Alabama and her experience with CAPS Logistics. She was a teaching assistant for our core operations management course, OM 300, and also for a masters level course in supply chain modeling and analysis, OM 517.

South Carolina Hires OM Ph.D. Graduate

Dr. Sanjay Ahire, who eared his doctoral degree in operations management from The University of Alabama business school in 1992, has been appointed a full professor of operations management/supply chain management at Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Read more.

Automotive Manufacturing Executive Speaks to OM and IE Students at UA (12/2/2004):

Steve Dickerson, VP and GM of Metaldyne Torque Transfer Products spoke to a joint meeting of OM and IE students tonight. He also spoke to both sections of the OM300 course on Friday. Steve has over 30 years of experience as a manager in the automotive manufacturing industry. Steve has worked for a number of automotive suppliers including GM-Delco, ITT, GKN, and now Metaldyne. Click here to view a copy of Steve's presentation.

Significant Increase in Undergraduate OM Enrollment (11/30/2004):

Over the past 6 months there has been a significant increase in undergraduate OM enrollment. In May 2005 there were approximately 30 students, mostly seniors and juniors, affiliated with the OM program. There are now over 130 students affiliated with the program including sophomores and freshmen. The enrollment in the junior level OM major courses for Spring 2005 is almost double what it was last spring, 2004. The increase in enrollment is attributable to the recruiting activities of OM faculty and students and the strong job market for OM majors.

Management Science to Become Operations Management (11/18/2004):

The faculty of the Culverhouse College of Commerce & Business Administration approved changing the name of the graduate programs in Management Science to Operations Management today. This change will align the name of these graduate programs with the corresponding undergraduate program in Operations Management. It will also help the faculty market these masters and doctoral degree programs to prospective graduate students and employers. These changes must be approved by the UA Board of Trustees and the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) before they are official.

New MBA Concentration in SC&OM Approved (10/20/2004):

The C&BA Faculty Executive Board approved the creation of a new concentration in the MBA program for Supply Chain and Operations Management (SC&OM). This new concentration will be managed jointly by the OM faculty and the SCM-marketing faculty. Current MBA students may transition into the program, and new students will be accepted into the program next year. The co-coordinators for the program will be Dr. Chuck Sox and Dr. Alex Ellinger.

MGS Doctoral Student Accepts Position at MIT-Zaragoza (7/9/2004):

UA Management Science doctoral student, Prashant Yadav, has accepted a faculty position at the MIT-Zaragoza Logistics Center in Zaragoza, Spain. The MIT-Zaragoza International Logistics Program is a research and education partnership among the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of Zaragoza, the Government of Arag�n, Spain, and the logistics companies of PLAZA, a state-of-the-art logistics park under construction in Zaragoza. The program will focus on research and graduate education in logistics and supply chain management.

Record Number of OM Interns and Co-ops (6/17/2004):

About one-third of OM majors at The University of Alabama at working at paid internships and co-ops around Alabama and Georgia this summer. The number of OM internships is up significantly this year compared to previous years according to Ashley Brady, internship coordinator for the Culverhouse College of Commerce & Business Administration. OM interns and co-ops are working at the following companies this summer.