Ozlem Ergun

Biographical Profile

Associate Professor, H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Education

B.S. Operations Research and Industrial Engineering, Cornell University, 1996; Ph.D. Operations Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001

Professional Experience

Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology (Assistant Professor, 2001-2008, Associate Professor, 2008-present); Health and Humanitarian Logistics Research Center, Georgia Institute of Technology (Founding codirector 2007-present)

INFORMS/ORSA/TIMS Activities

Member (1997-present); Vice President of Membership and Professional Recognition, Board of Directors (replaced the elected VP for the year 2011); Doing Good with Good O.R. Student Paper (Co-Chair of the founding committee 2008, Co-Chair of the prize committee 2009, member of the prize committee 2010); Forum for Women in OR/MS (Senior VP-Communications 2008, Junior VP-Communications 2007); MSOM Student Paper Competition (several times); Co-Chair for Sponsored cluster for Section on Public Programs, Service, and Needs (INFORMS 2010); Co-Chair for Invited cluster on Humanitarian Relief and Disaster Preparedness (INFORMS 2009 and 2008); Chair for Sponsored Sessions and member of the Organizing Committee (INFORMS 2003); various cluster and session chair in all INFORMS meetings since 2003

Publications

Author of more than 30 journal articles and book chapters on design and management of large-scale networks, collaborative network formation and operations, and the application of these concepts to supply chain optimization in for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Publications appeared in Operations Research, Transportation Science, Naval Research Logistics, Discrete Applied Mathematics, Operations Research Letters, and other journals, as well as the New York Times and Atlanta Journal Constitutional.

Professional Honors and Awards

CAREER Award, National Science Foundation, 2003; EURO/INFORMS 2007 Management Science Strategic Innovation Prize given on the subject of Logistics in 2007; Senior Faculty Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award, Georgia Tech Faculty Honors, 2011

Other Professional Activities

Coeditor for INTERFACES Special Issue on Humanitarian Applications: Doing Good with Good OR (2009-2010); Associate Editor for Manufacturing & Service Operations Management Special Issue on Environment (2011); Co-Chair of the Health and Humanitarian Logistics Conference, Georgia Tech (2009-2011); Member of the steering committee for the NSF Haiti RAPIDs and Research Needs Workshop (2010)

Position Statement

It is a great honor to be nominated for the Vice President Membership and Professional Recognition position in which I have been serving for the last six months as a replacement for the previous elected official. One of the biggest challenges INFORMS and its members face is explaining the profession’s relevance and proving its value to the outside world. I believe with the two recent INFORMS initiatives, Doing Good with Good OR and Business Analytics, we were able to make progress in increasing our society’s impact in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. My goal is to capitalize on these recent initiatives by connecting nonmembers, such as undergraduate students who choose careers in the industry and professionals from the governmental, military, and nongovernmental organizations, with INFORMS and winning them over as new members. Furthermore, during my current term I have started to work on several new ideas, such as developing members-only content for INFORMS Online, to increase the value of the INFORMS membership. I will continue working on establishing these initiatives and converting them into sustainable and standardized operations working with the Membership Committee and the rest of the Board.