FALL 2003

The Newsletter of the

Department of Industrial and

Operations Engineering Gift To IOE EstablishesWilbert Steffy Lectureship

IOE NewsUniversity of Michigan

College of Engineering

I N S I D EStudent Success ................ 2

Chair’s Message ................. 4

Featured Program .............. 5

Faculty News ...................... 6

New Faculty ........................ 9

Special Honors ................. 10

This year, as the College of Engineeringcelebrates its 150th Anniversary, the Departmentof Industrial and Operations Engineeringremembers one of its early distinguished facultywith the inauguration of the Wilbert SteffyLectureship.

“Bert was an outstanding teacher and hismentoring of students and his publicationshelped to build the national reputation of theIOE department,” according to ProfessorEmeritus and former IOE chair Walt Hancock.Wilbert Steffy retired in 1976 after 29 years ofservice on the faculty of theCollege of Engineering.

Wilbert Steffy died in1994 at the age of 86. Hewas survived by his lovingwife Doris who passed awayin 2001. The WilbertSteffy Lectureship wasestablished by a gift fromthe estate of Doris Steffy.

Wilbert Steffy obtaineda B.S. in Mechanical andIndustrial Engineering in1937 from the Universityof Michigan after a numberof years of employment inindustry. During theperiod from 1945 through 1949, he served as aconsulting industrial engineer while teachingcourses on a part-time basis for the University

of Michigan Department of MechanicalEngineering.

In 1949, Steffy was appointed full-timeassistant professor of Mechanical Engineering.He was promoted to associate professor in thenewly established Department of IndustrialEngineering in 1955. In 1968, in recognition ofhis long service to the department, excellentteaching, and the use of his talents to aid thehospitals and machine tool industry of thestate, he was promoted to professor.

The first Wilbert Steffy Lecture will bedelivered on March 25,2004, as part of the Collegeof Engineering’s Sesquicen-tennial Lecture Series. TheLecture will be delivered bySeth Bonder, former CEOof Vector Research. Anexpert in the field ofOperations Research, SethBonder is also a formerfaculty member of the IOEdepartment and knewWilbert Steffy personally.

The endowed WilbertSteffy Lectureship willaccomplish Mrs. Steffy’sintention to benefit the

University and honor her husband, WilbertSteffy, in perpetuity.

“Bert was anoutstanding teacherand his mentoring ofstudents and hispublications helpedto build the nationalreputation of the IOEdepartment”

-Walt Hancock

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The United States Navy has soughttechnical expertise from the Universityof Michigan Industrial and OperationsEngineering Department in its effort totransform its industrial infrastructureusing the principles of Lean Manufactur-ing. IOE Professor Jeffrey Liker andIOE PhD student Robert Kucner arecollaborating with Naval Shipyards in aninvestigation of “Lean ProductionMethodologies in a Ship Overhaul andRepair Environment.”

The four Naval Shipyards (Norfolk,Pearl Harbor, Portsmouth, and PugetSound) form the industrial backbone ofthe U.S. Navy. These facilities do notmanufacture navy ships; rather, theyserve as repair depots to maintain topcondition of existing ships, many ofwhich will be in service for well overthirty years.

In an effort to modernize repairprocesses, cut costs to tax payers, andminimize downtime to the fleet, theNavy has turned to Lean Manufacturing,also known as the Toyota ProductionSystem (TPS), for its strategy of processimprovement. Lean Manufacturing is aproduction strategy built upon thesimple premise of continuously andsystematically removing wasted time,effort, inventory, and other resourcesfrom production processes. The Navy isprojecting that a full implementation ofLean Manufacturing will save as much as$600 million in repair costs within ten

IOE Student Works toTransform Navy Shipyards

years.In search of an expert to guide the

Lean Transformation, the Navy firstcontacted Liker in the summer of 2001.Liker has spent nearly twenty yearsstudying Toyota and the various applica-tions of their production systems. Hecollaborated with Professor ThomasLamb of the University of MichiganNaval Architecture department toconduct an initial study of potentialLean applications in the shipbuildingindustry; this culminated in the publica-tion of a “Guide to Lean Shipbuilding.”

This paper was well received within theshipbuilding industry and created theopportunity for a further partnership.

Robert Kucner, currently a third yearPhD student working for Dr. Liker,became involved with the Navy when hespent the summer of 2002 working atPortsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery,Maine. Kucner was involved in the

initial efforts to introduce Lean Produc-tion at the Portsmouth Shipyard, afacility of over 4,000 employees thatspecializes in the overhaul and repair ofnuclear submarines.

As a result of his early efforts, Kucnerrecognized the tremendous technicaland sociological challenges of imple-menting Lean Production within agovernment-owned overhaul and repairfacility, particularly one where produc-tion cycle-times are measured inmonths, a far cry from traditionalmanufacturing. The Navy was interestedin expanding this effort and, along withthe University of Michigan, has taken ona co-sponsorship role of Kucner’s PhDresearch. In the past year and a half hehas spent significant time at each of thefour naval shipyards, immersing himselfin the industry, culture, and productionsystems of each yard.

At the center of Kucner’s efforts thusfar has been his role in the creation of aLean Repair model line in the produc-tion area of ball valve repair at Ports-mouth. According to Kucner, “Ballvalves are significant components onsubmarines. There are over 100 valvesthat need to be repaired from each ship.Some are small, close to twenty pounds,while some are extremely large, aroundfour-hundred pounds. Corrosion andother damage occur. Therefore, thesecomponents must be removed from theship, disassembled, inspected, repaired,

In an effort to modern-ize repair processes,cut costs to tax pay-ers, and minimizedowntime to the fleet,the Navy has turned toLean Manufacturing...

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and reassembled.”The results of this model line have

been significant. Thus far, productionlead-time has been reduced from anaverage of 160 days per component toan average of less than 40 days; the goalis to achieve a 15 day average. Work-in-process has been reduced by 60 percentand worker morale in the area hasdramatically improved.

“It has been very exciting. Thesetechniques had never been tried before,not in this environment. It’s as if thissmall work area has been an ongoinglaboratory experiment. The social andtechnical observations we’ve made havebeen fascinating,” says Kucner.

In August, he presented his work atan Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE)National Conference. He also presentedthe work at a conference of the National

Lean Manufactur-ing is a productionstrategy built uponthe simple premiseof continuouslyand systematicallyremoving wastedtime, effort, inven-tory, and otherresources fromproduction pro-cesses. The Navyis projecting that afull implementa-tion of Lean Manu-facturing will saveas much as $600million in repaircosts within tenyears.

Bob Kucner presents his work to (from left to right) Pete Aldridge, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition,Technology, Logistics; U.S. Navy Captain Kevin McCoy, Shipyard Commander at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard;and other VIPs.

Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP)in April, and has presented to numerousVIPs visiting Portsmouth. According toKucner, “It has been fun. This work hasreceived some very high level visibility.”

Kucner continues to collect data andrecord his findings. He is hopeful ofcompleting his dissertation in 2005. Inaddition to his research, he is theGraduate Student Instructor for IOE421-Work Organizations and IOE 522-Organization Theory. Last year hereceived the “GSI of the Year” awardfrom Alpha Pi Mu for his work as aninstructor.

Kucner came to IOE after completinghis undergraduate work in MechanicalEngineering at the University of Mary-land. His career plans are to teach LeanProduction in academia or to implementLean in the private sector.

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Chair’s Message

This year the Collegeof Engineering iscelebrating its 150th

anniversary. I hopethat many of you willbe able to participatein some of thenumerous activities planned throughoutthe year to celebrate our distinguishedhistory of accomplishments. Much ofthis history and the events are capturedon a website at http://www.engin.umich.edu/150th/index.html.

The alumni of Industrial and Opera-tions Engineering (IOE) continue toplay a major role in the College’ssuccess. It gives me great pleasure toannounce that the recipient of the 2003Alumni Society Merit Award for IOE isDr. W. Peter Cherry (MS ’70, PhD ’72).(Peter will be featured in the next editionof the newsletter.) I am also pleased tonote that, this spring, the inaugurallecture for the recently endowed WilbertSteffy Lectureship will be delivered bySeth Bonder. As many of you mayknow, Steffy was professor emeritus (andan alum) of IOE, and Bonder was acolleague of his on the IOE faculty. Weare extremely proud of all of our alumnicontributions and continued success inboth academic and industrial arenas.Please continue to share your accom-plishments with us.

Also announced in this newsletter isthe newly established Japan TechnologyManagement Program (JTMP) LeanFund, earmarked primarily to supportstudent research. The impact of suchgifts on IOE is significant. PhD studentBob Kucner’s work transforming Navyshipyards (see article on page 2 of thisissue) was partially supported by this

Fund. It is the generous support frommany of our colleagues, alumni, andfriends that helps us attract many suchoutstanding students. Additional studentaward-winners are also recognized in thisedition.

And, of course, our faculty continueto excel. Bob Smith has received theUniversity’s Distinguished FacultyAchievement Award. He and KattaMurty have been named Fellows of theInstitute for Operations Research andthe Management Sciences (INFORMS).Amy Cohn received the ElizabethCaroline Crosby Research Award, andMark Lewis has been named the SloanFoundation’s Mentor of the Year. InDecember, Don Chaffin will receive anhonorary degree from Kettering Univer-sity.

The two newest members of ourfaculty, professors Goker Aydin(Stanford) and Vlad Babich (CaseWestern), are off to a successful start.I’m also pleased to announce thatProfessor Nadine Sarter from Ohio StateUniversity will be joining the depart-ment next fall. We are fortunate to havehired six new faculty members over thepast two years to help us meet ourincreasing student enrollments. For over500 undergraduates and several hundredgraduate students IOE is the departmentof choice!

In the last newsletter, I described theways in which the economy was begin-ning to affect our department andparticularly our students. Fortunately, upuntil now, we have been able to preservethe core academic quality of ourprograms and our commitment tomaintaining high standards in teaching,research, and service. As you may beaware, however, the State of Michigan is

facing a $920 million budget deficit forthe current year. The Governor and theLegislature are considering additionalreductions in funding, including morecuts to public higher education. Highereducation took a deeper cut than anyother sector of the state budget last year.There is no doubt that additionalreductions in state funding will chal-lenge our capacity to serve our students.

At this critical point in time, we mustask for your support in helping us touphold the high standards of excellenceand superior IOE experience ourstudents deserve. Your contribution, inany amount, will make a difference, andyou can choose how. For example, adonation to the IOE undergraduatescholarship fund or the IOE graduatefellowship fund will help us to continueto attract outstanding students who mayneed financial assistance. A donation tothe IOE special gift fund will help usmaintain a rich intellectual environmentfor students, including seminars,research support, and enhanced growthopportunities. I realize that tougheconomic times trickle down to indi-viduals, and you may also be experienc-ing the consequences. However, evensmall amounts from our large numberof enthusiastic alums will have animpact on our ability to address theeconomic challenges we face. I thankyou, in advance, for your consideration.

Finally, this is your newsletter, andwe’d love to hear from you. Let us knowwhat you’ve been up to and what storiesyou’d like to see. Please send yourcomments, suggestions for specificfeatures, news items, etc. toseiford@umich.edu.

Happy Holidays and Go Blue! Lawrence M. Seiford

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Featured Program

Endowments have a tremendous impact on the University.They contribute to Michigan’s continued leadership in theclassroom, laboratory, and the community by providingthe resources necessary for faculty and students to pur-sue research and to achieve their academic goals.

Professor Jeffrey Liker and the JapanTechnology Management Program areproud to announce the establishment ofthe JTMP Lean Fund, a quasi-endow-ment fund at the University of MichiganDepartment of Industrial and Opera-tions Engineering. This endowment hasbeen created by revenue from the LeanManufacturing Conferences. The TenthAnnual Lean Manufacturing Conferencewill be held May 10 – 13, 2004.

The JTMP Lean Fund’s main purposeis to fund UM student research relatedto world-class product development,manufacturing, and supply chainmanagement as practiced by the leadingJapanese manufacturers, and particularlythe practices of Lean Manufacturing asbest exemplified by Toyota MotorCorporation. In some cases, smallgrants will be made available to Univer-sity of Michigan faculty as travel funds

Japan Techology ManagementProgram Establishes ScholarshipEndowment Fund

or for direct research expenses. Thisfunding can also be used as matchingfunds for student internships related toLean practices. The funds can help payfor travel and living expenses.

The first award of a JTMP Lean Fundwas granted to Robert Kucner. Kucner isan IOE PhD student who has beenstudying Lean Manufacturing for threeyears under Dr. Jeffrey Liker. During thesummer of 2002, he began working withPortsmouth Naval Shipyard where he isa Process Improvement Engineer (seearticle on page 2).

Endowments have a tremendousimpact on the University. They contrib-ute to Michigan’s continued leadershipin the classroom, laboratory, and thecommunity by providing the resourcesnecessary for faculty and students topursue research and to achieve theiracademic goals.

The commitment and accomplish-ments of our faculty and students arewell-documented and reinforce theUniversity of Michigan’s reputation asone of our country’s premier institutionsof higher learning. The JTMP LeanFund continues this tradition.

For more information about theJTMP Lean Fund, or the Lean Manufac-turing Conference, contact the programat (734) 763-3258 or atumjtmp@umich.edu.

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IOE NEWS is published by:

Industrial and OperationsEngineeringUniversity of MichiganIOE Building1205 Beal AvenueAnn Arbor, MI 48109-2117

(734) 764-6473(734) 764-3451 faxioe.engin.umich.edu

Department ChairLawrence Seiford

Newsletter StaffNancy Murray, Editornmurray@umich.edu

PhotographsEyvind ClaxtonNancy Murray

Faculty News

The Regents of the University of Michigan

David A. Brandon, Ann Arbor

Laurence B. Deitch, Bingham Farms

Olivia P. Maynard, Goodrich

Rebecca McGowan, Ann Arbor

Andrea Fischer Newman, Ann Arbor

Andrew C. Richner, Grosse Pointe Park

S. Martin Taylor, Grosse Pointe Farms

Katherine E. White, Ann Arbor

Mary Sue Coleman, ex officio

Katta Murty and Robert Smith havebeen elected as Fellows of the Institutefor Operations Research and theManagement Sciences (INFORMS).This award honors the most distin-guished and illustrious members ofINFORMS—those who have demon-strated outstanding accomplishments inoperations research and managementscience.

Monroe Keyserling was again successfulin being awarded a NIOSH traininggrant for the 2003-2004 academic year.The purpose of these NIOSH grants isto provide training for professionals andresearchers in occupational health andsafety disciplines. The NIOSH grant willfully support at least three IOE graduatestudents.

In addition to the academic compo-nent of the NIOSH training grant is acontinuing education and outreachcomponent that provides seed fundingto support non-academic training forpracticing professionals in occupationalhealth and safety. This NIOSH grantsupport was also awarded for theupcoming year. Staff members in theIOE Department, led by RandyRabourn, administer this program.

Robert Smith has received the veryprestigious Distinguished FacultyAchievement Award from the Universityof Michigan. Distinguished FacultyAchievement Awards recognize extraor-dinary achievements in teaching,research, creative work in the arts, publicservice or other activities that bringdistinction to the University. Smith isthe first IOE professor to receive thisaward.

His award citation describes him asan indefatigable and perceptive opera-tions researcher, mathematician andscholar, with an overriding commitmentto scholarship and quality. Legendary forinsisting on complete and well-sup-ported rigor in all aspects of his and hisco-workers’ analyses, he also has beenable to communicate successfully withindustrial and commercial users of thevarious methods he has developed,coming up with apt examples andclarifications of otherwise dauntingtechniques, the citation continues.

Smith has produced seminal researchin a variety of areas: infinite horizonoptimization, capacity expansion, thefoundations of dynamic programming,and the modeling of large-scale distribu-tion and transportation systems. He hasreceived the Research Excellence Awardfrom his department four times since1992-93, and the College of EngineeringResearch Excellence Award in 1999-2000.

The recipient of an OutstandingTeacher Award, Smith is, likewise, one ofthe most effective teachers in the college,his citation says.

His colleagues say he is steadfast inexpressing opinions about importantmatters such as academic freedom,

Don Chaffin has been named to receivean honorary doctoral degree in engineer-ing from Kettering University. This highhonor will be awarded at the Ketteringcommencement on December 5, 2003.Chaffin, an alumnus of Kettering, willdeliver the commencement address.

bureaucratic malfeasance, and studentobligations to take their lives and workseriously.

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Robert Smith received a new NSFGOALI grant: “Planning Horizons forOptimal Decision Making Over Timewith Applications to Production SystemsOptimization.” Daniel Reaume, StaffResearch Engineer in the EnterpriseSystems Laboratory at General Motors,is co-principle investigator. The overallgoal of this research is to provide arational framework that leads to aplanning horizon choice that is efficientand yet far-sighted, leading to decisionswhich are undistorted by unanticipatedend-of-study effects. Examples of suchdecision-making problems include thesizing and timing of capacity expan-sions, planning for production schedul-ing and maintenance tasking, and thereplacement and acquisition of newequipment.

The models and methods developedwill be validated on the problem ofjointly optimizing manufacture andmaintenance schedules in the context ofvehicle production along a collection ofproduction lines at General Motors. Theresearch will be collaboratively pursuedwith faculty and students at the Univer-sity of Michigan and research engineer-ing staff at General Motors R & DLaboratories. Students will serve asinterns at GM thus directly assisting inthe transfer of technology both in theresearch and educational domains.

Monroe Keyserling has been appointedto serve as Chair of the NationalInstitute for Occupational Safety andHealth (NIOSH) Study Section.NIOSH is the federal agency responsiblefor performing research related to healthand safety in the workplace. The StudySection is the advisory panel responsiblefor performing scientific peer review ofinvestigator-initiated grant proposalssubmitted to NIOSH.

Tom Armstrong has just returned froma sabbatical leave where he spent fourmonths at the Institute of AdvancedStudies of the University of Bologna.He is collaborating with faculty at theUniversity of Bologna Medical Schoolon patterns of manual work and workerhealth. This work entails analysis ofwork patterns at several industries in theEmila Romagna province includingmanufacturers of small and large homeappliances, garments, shoes and ceramictile. He presented a paper entitled:“Normal Work Pace and Hand ActivityLevel at Six Italian Manufacturing Sites”at the May meeting of the HumanAspects of Advanced Manufacturing:Agility & Hybrid Automation in Rome.In this paper he examined normal workperformance rates, physical work stressesand work design factors.

He presented a special guest seminarin June at the Institute of AdvancedStudies entitled: “Human Work: Past,Present and Future — Some ErgonomicConsiderations.” In this presentationhe examined the importance of manuallabor ergonomics in the past, presentand future. Archeological excavations oftools show that the earliest humans wereconcerned with manual work and the

design and use of tools to enhance theirwork performance. Hand tools andmanual work performance have contin-ued to evolve and are important factorsin contemporary work settings includingmanufacturing, agriculture, offices, andhealth, among others. Although automa-tion is becoming increasingly importantin contemporary industry, manual laborwill continue to be important in thehighly dynamic lean work places of thefuture.

While on sabbatical, Armstrong wasalso able to devote time to the develop-ment of several computerized tools foranalysis and design of jobs. Theseinclude computer programs for timestudy, time-based analysis of handforce and posture, simulation of handpostures and motions and simulationof assembly lines. These tools are beingintroduced in IOE 463 Work Measure-ment and IOE 567 Work RelatedMusculoskeletal Disorders this year.

Tom Armstrong and Sheryl Ulinreceived a grant from the State ofMichigan to provide ergonomics jobanalysis and customized training semi-nars to small and medium sized Michi-gan companies. This grant allows theCenter for Ergonomics to provide serviceto companies who may not otherwiseutilize ergonomics job analysis designprinciples and to develop industrialpartners for other activities. In the past,companies who participated in thisproject welcomed IOE students to studytheir manufacturing operations as part ofcourse projects and independent studyprojects. Participating companies havealso served as pilot sites for large researchstudies.

Faculty News

Amy Cohn received the University ofMichigan’s Elizabeth Caroline CrosbyResearch Award, named after world-renowned neuroanatomist ElizabethCaroline Crosby. Cohn is working onnetwork design problems in areas such astransportation, logistics and telecommu-nications.

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Faculty News

Yili Liu continues to work with his PhDstudents to develop a queueing networkmodel of the human mind and behav-ioral system and the correspondingcognitive performance analysis andsimulation software. The most recentmajor progress is the doctoral disserta-tion research of Omer Tsimhoni, whosework enables the queueing networkhuman performance model to steer adriving simulator in real time, whileallowing us to visualize the internalinformation flows inside “the mind”during driving. A QuickTime movie canbe found on the website http://www-personal.engin.umich.edu/~yililiu/cogmodel.html.

Don Chaffin reports that the firsthuman motion prediction software willbe showcased in its commercial formatat the HUMOSIM Laboratory semi-annual meeting with their industrialpartners in December.

The consortium partners (composedof Ford, GM, DaimlerChrysler, Interna-tional Truck, Lockheed Martin, the USPostal Service, and the US Army-TACOM) have sponsored a variety ofmodeling and empirical studies for thelast six years. Professor Julian Faraway,chair of the Department of Statistics,has developed this particular softwarepackage. It predicts how people ofvarying size perform reaches and moveobjects in a realistic fashion.

At the December HUMOSIMLaboratory meeting, this software is tobe displayed while working within thepopular CAD Digital Human Modelsknown as Jack (from EDS) and Safework(from Delmia). In this form it will allowthe partner companies to perform muchmore accurate and fast simulations ofpeople to enhance vehicle and worksta-tion ergonomics designs.

For more information on this andother models being developed in theHUMOSIM Laboratory, go to:www.HUMOSIM.org.

Katta Murty has started preparing aseries of books to help students developthe MM-C-A (mathematical modeling,computational and algorithmic) skillsnecessary to make engineering decisions.Believing that students can learn mostlyby their own efforts from well writtenbooks, he is preparing these books in aself-teaching style, and making themavailable on the web, instead of publish-ing them on paper through commercialpublishers.

So far he has completed one Sopho-more level book for the MM-C-A skillsof linear algebra. This can be seen at thefollowing website: http://ioe.engin.umich.edu/people/fac/books/murty/algorithmic_linear_algebra/.

He has started work on a Junior levelbook, “Optimization Models forDecision Making.” The current incom-plete version of this book can be seen atthe following website: http://ioe.engin.umich.edu/people/fac/books/murty/opti_model/.

A subsequent Masters level book onthis subject is also planned.

He welcomes comments, encourage-ment, and suggestions for good model-ing problems.

Last year Murty was on sabbaticalleave, visiting Seoul National Universityand POSTECH, in Korea, for work oncombinatorial optimization problems atthe steel company POSCO; Universityof Science and Technology, in HongKong, to complete the work on develop-ing a DSS (Decision Support Systems)for daily operations in a containerterminal; and Indian Statistical Institutein Hydrabad, India.

Mark Lewis was selected as the SloanFoundation’s Mentor of the Year. Hereceived the award at the Compact forFaculty Diversity sponsored by theSouthern Regional Education Board.This recognition is awarded annually tofaculty who actively mentor undergradu-ate and graduate students who are under-represented minorities.

Barry Kantowitz has been selected to befacilitator for a Federal HighwayAdministration scanning tour of newdevelopments in human factors abroad.He will be helping to select laboratoriesin England, The Netherlands, France,Israel, Germany, Sweden and Finlandfor the team of government, statehighway, and research officials to visitJune 11-27, 2004, as well as accompany-ing the tour and writing the team report.These visits help American researchersand administrators learn about leading-edge research in Europe.

Jan Shi received the 2003 Excellence inService Award from the IIE Transac-tions. He also gave an invited seminarin the Distinguished Seminar Series inthe Department of Industrial andManufacturing Engineering at PennState University on October 2, 2003.His topic was “Stream of VariationMethodologies for Multistage Manufac-turing Processes.”

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New Faculty

Goker AydinAssistant ProfessorIn finding solutions to supply chainproblems, Goker Aydin prefers to take inthe big picture. Aydin’s researchinterests are in the field of OperationsManagement with an emphasis on theinterface between production andmarketing decisions in a supply chain.He finds insights into problems bycreating a math model of the generalbusiness practices and analyzing thatmodel. “Sometimes the explanations arecounterintuitive. Surprising.”

His introduction to this field of

and HP essentially rent their servers tonew and established companies using“pay as you go” or “pay as you grow”pricing.

Since joining the faculty in fall of2003, his biggest challenge has been thetransition into the professorial role. “Idid not have a lot of teaching experiencebefore coming here. I like teaching, butit has been a challenge.” He has beenteaching a relatively small class, 40students, which has helped. And, headds, “Senior faculty members havebeen very good mentors.”

Another adjustment for Aydin hasbeen the relocation from California toAnn Arbor. He received his PhD inIndustrial Engineering from Stanford in2003. Aydin has been pleasantlysurprised by Ann Arbor. “I like it herevery much. Ann Arbor has all theamenities of a big town without thehassle.” No stranger to the Midwest, hereceived his MS from Purdue in 1999.“After four years without a winter, I amready.”

research came in studying the grocerybusiness. “It is easy to relate to storiesabout the problems in the supply chainof grocery stores,” says Aydin. “Every-one can relate.”

For the future, Aydin is looking attwo topics of research that have to dowith relational promotions. One isrebates, both rebates to the consumerand rebates to the retailer, also knownas channel rebates. A second topic ofinterest to Aydin is the marketing ofservers. Large companies such as Dell

Volodymyr BabichAssistant ProfessorTraditionally, problems of finance andproblems of operations are looked atseparately. For Volodymyr Babich,the interface between these two areasprovides a frontier. “I find this areaof research incredibly exciting,” saysBabich. “There are many interestingproblems that have not been solved yetand I think that there are opportunitiesto make a significant contribution topractice and theory.”

Babich’s current research focuses onthe effects of credit risk in supply chains,and the combined operational and

financial decisions of the pre-IPO firms.These were the topics explored in hisdoctoral research at Case WesternReserve where he earned his PhD inOperations in 2003. He received hisMaster’s in Mathematics, also at Case.

The interdisciplinary study ofoperations and finance seemed a naturalchoice for Babich. After completingfoundational studies in Operations,Finance, and Modeling Methodology,he started his research under the guid-ance of Professor Matthew J. Sobel,Department of Operations, and Profes-sor Peter H. Ritchken, Department ofBanking and Finance.

The models and methods used tofind insights into problems at theinterface of operations and financecome from supply chain management,industrial organization, operations,finance, financial engineering and gametheory.

Babich’s favorite game, not in theory,is racquetball. Finding racquetballpartners has been his biggest challengesince coming to Michigan, but he is nowhaving success on this frontier as well.

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IOE Student AwardsWyeth Allen Scholarship

Veronica Chin Clyde Johnson Scholarship

Kenneth AgacinskiCraig FranklandAlan BeckerDerek FahrerJulie Van HeldenMashid PirzadehMeera MeerkovJeffrey Miller

Myun Lee ScholarhipMarc Berman

Rasch ScholarshipBradley Belsky

Silent Hoist Material Handling PrizeJustin KileDavid CiemnoczolowkiWilliam Logozzo

Kudos

The IOE volleyball team ruled the sand court in match-ups with other engineering department teamsduring Geek Week. Clockwise from upper left: Team leader Marissa Ebersole displays her winningserve; Brian Cullinane and Brad Zylstra show teamwork; Bob Kucner spikes the ball; Kristi Schmidtcheers on the team while Mike Bauerly rests between games. Photos contributed by Larry Seiford.

IOE was the overall winner of the firstannual Geek Week, October 6-10,2003. Geek Week was sponsored bythe North Campus CommunityBuilding Council to promote a senseof community on North Campus.

Activities included the VolleyballTournament pictured above, an InternRelay, and a clothing and canned fooddrive to benefit the needy. IOEdominated all events according toPhD student Marissa Ebersole.

Alumni Honors

James Morgan, PhD, was runner-upfor the Best Dissertation Award givenby the Technology ManagementSection of INFORMS. Morgan isDirector of Lean Product Creation atFord Motor Company.

Carter Kerk, PhD, CPE, and Associ-ate Professor in Industrial Engineeringat South Dakota School of Mines &Technology, was appointed to OSHA’snewly formed National AdvisoryCommittee on Ergonomics (NACE).Kerk will chair the committee.

Thom J. Hodgson, PhD, received theAlbert G. Holzman DistinguishedEducator Award from the Institute ofIndustrial Engineers.

11C O L L E G E O F E N G I N E E R I N G / I N D U S T R I A L A N D O P E R A T I O N S E N G I N E E R I N G / i o e . e n g i n . u m i c h . e d u

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PAIDAnn Arbor, MIPermit #144

Industrial and Operations EngineeringIOE Building1205 Beal AvenueAnn Arbor, MI 48109-2117

The annual IOE Picnic, organized by Alpha Pi Mu, offered an opportunity for Romesh Saigal to chat with IOEstudents (from left) Patrick Dennis Rich, Jeffrey Chang and Yao Cheng.

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