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In a pivotal announcement made in November 2024, we are proud to announce that Pinar Keskinocak has been named the next H. Milton and Carolyn J. Stewart Chair beginning January 1st. As co-founder and director of Georgia Tech’s Center for Health and Humanitarian Systems (CHHS), Dr. Keskinocak has led research in public health, emergency preparedness, and resource management. She has also collaborated with various organizations including the CDC and The Carter Center, to develop and create real-world solutions. Succeeding Edwin Romeijn, who led ISyE for 10 years, Dr. Keskinocak will continue to build upon the school’s legacy as the nation’s top-ranked industrial engineering program. 

Congratulations to Pinar Keskinocak, for winning both the INFORMS President’s Award and the George E. Kimball Medal. These prestigious honors recognize Dr. Keskinocak’s significant contributions to the welfare of society and her impact to the operations research and management science community. Dr. Keskinocak, a past president of INFORMS, is renowned for not only her work in health and humanitarian systems but also her leadership within the professional community. 

Congratulations to Yang (Vivian) Yang, advised by Gian-Gabriel P. Garcia, for receiving the prestigious INFORMS scholarship. This scholarship provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to attend the 2024 INFORMS Annual Meeting, where they can engage with professionals and explore various fields. This scholarship underscores Vivian’s academic excellence and commitment to advancing analytical research. 

Congratulations to Ph.D. student Haden Boone, advised by Mathieu Dahan, for receiving the prestigious Seth Bonder Scholarship for Applied Operations in Military and Security Applications. This scholarship recognizes Boone’s outstanding research in applying operations research and analytics to enhance military and security decision-making. This award provides $4,000 in funding to support innovative work for a promising new researcher.

Congratulations to ISyE Ph.D. student Zihan Zhang, advised by Kamran Paynabar and Han Shi, for being awarded the Judith Liebman Award. This award recognizes outstanding student volunteers who have been “moving spirits” in their universities, their student chapters, and the Institute. Beyond her academic pursuits of research, focusing on high-dimensional data-analytics and machine learning, Zihan has demonstrated exceptional leadership and service within the INFORMS community. 

Gian-Gabriel P. Garcia, Lauren N. Steimle, Wesley J. Marrero, and Jeremy B. Sussman were awarded the Minority Issues Forum (MIF) Paper Competition, established in 2016 to highlight recent contributions by emerging scholars. Garcia holds the Harold E. Smalley Early Career Professorship, while Steimle is the Harold R. and Mary Anne Nash Early Career Professor and Assistant Professor at Georgia Tech's H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Their collaborative research exemplifies innovative advancements in operations research and management sciences. 

Congratulations to Ph.D. student Himadri Pandey, advised by Gian-Gabriel P. Garcia at Georgia Tech's H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, for securing first place in the 2024 Minority Issues Forum (MIF) Student Poster Competition. Her poster, titled "Time Constrained Concussion Diagnosis: An Analysis of the NCAA-DoD CARE Consortium Dataset," presents significant research on improving concussion diagnosis within limited time frames. Established in 2012, the MIF Student Poster Competition highlights and promotes the research of underrepresented students and their advisors. 

Ph.D. student Yuming Sun, advised by Professors Pinar Keskinocak and Lauren N. Steimle at Georgia Tech’s H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE), has been recognized for his research on poliovirus transmission and vaccination strategies. What began as a classroom project in the Health Systems Practice course evolved into impactful work in collaboration with the CDC. His research aims to inform global vaccination policies and strategies to combat polio outbreaks. Yuming’s contributions were recognized with Honorable Mention as a Graduate presenter at the 2024 AAAS Annual Meeting. 

A group of eight graduating students from Georgia Tech’s H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering collaborated with Neighborhood Cooperative Ministries (NCM) to improve food distribution, increasing the average number of families served a month by almost 100%. During the Capstone Design course, the students built a system that tracked food availability through real-time notifications, optimized warehouse storage increasing capacity by 70%, and introduced the SmartChoice inventory system which improved client food selection. As a result, NCM was able to increase their food supply by 20,000 pounds a month and get closer to their goal of 1 million pounds of food distributed per year by the year 2026. The students demonstrated how applied engineering can have a profound impact on society. 

Students in their final year from the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) at Georgia Tech collaborated with Neighborhood Meals on Wheels (NMOW) to help improve the distribution of meals to older adults and people with disabilities living in Gwinnett County. This group, which goes by the name “Seniors Servicing Seniors,” worked on redesigning NMOW’s facility and automating the route scheduling to meet the 43 percent growth projection for this year. Their hard work on the project helped them win the ISyE distinction award at the Capstone Design Expo

Congratulations to the Health and Humanitarian Supply Chain Management (HHSCM) 2024 Professional Education Certificate Program graduates! Practitioners from all over the world, including India, Ireland, Nigeria, Peru, Sierra Leone, and the United States, participated in the program, representing the private sector, government, and non-governmental organizations such as Chemonics International, EStrat Solutions, and USAID. Thank you all for your dedication in the course and towards improving health and humanitarian systems! The HHSCM 2025 registration will soon be opening so look out for any further updates.