Hero Background Image

Teaching & Research Tracks And Chairs

Teaching Tracks

  • INNOVATIVE EDUCATION

    The art and science of teaching and learning in decision sciences disciplines across all delivery modes. Key areas of interest include quantitative, technology-based and behavioral research, as well as practice, conceptual ideas and empirical findings related to teaching and learning decision sciences.

    Co-Chair:  Ardavan Asef Vaziri, Cal State Northridge – aa2035@csun.edu
    Co-Chair:  Pedro Reyes, Baylor University – pedro_reyes@baylor.edu

  • ROLE OF AI AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM

    DSI has had a long standing tradition of supporting and showcasing the use of technology in the classroom. This track aims to explore the rapidly evolving impact of artificial intelligence and technology on teaching and learning, particularly in preparing decision sciences leaders for the ever-changing future. As AI becomes an integral part of modern education, it is essential to delve into its implications, benefits, and challenges within the academic environment. Papers, abstracts, panels and workshops are invited from contributors. Potential session topics include: Current approaches to teaching using AI, Course design and curriculum development, Empirical research on pedagogical aspects of AI, and Innovative AI implementation ideas. Innovative ideas of using new and emerging technologies are particularly welcome in this track.  

    Chair:  Bob McQuaid, Pepperdine University -bmcquaid@pepperdine.edu

  • PROFESSOR OF PRACTICE

    This track will cover best practices for development of faculty who primarily focus on teaching activities and student service.

    Chair: Ulrich Schmelzle, Michigan Technological University – schmelzle@mtu.edu

Research Tracks

  • AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SUPPLY CHAINS

    This research track encompasses a comprehensive exploration of food and agriculture systems, offering a broad perspective. We encourage submissions that employ analytical and empirical methodologies to achieve the following objectives: Enhanced Understanding–We welcome research that deepens our comprehension of the intricacies of the food and agriculture business and distribution environment, shedding light on challenges and opportunities.

    Innovative Solutions– Submissions that propose pioneering solutions to address real-world problems encountered by the industry are highly encouraged.

    Future Projections–Additionally, we invite research that anticipates and predicts the evolving landscape of food and agriculture systems, forecasting the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. We look forward to contributions that contribute to the advancement
    of knowledge in this critical field, bridging the gap between academia and practical solutions.

    Chair: Prashant Chintapalli, Western University – pchintapalli@ivey.ca

  • BEHAVIORAL OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

    This track focuses on human behavior in operations management. Topics include decision-making, behavioral drivers of operational performance, human biases, social preferences, and team dynamics and collaboration. All research methodologies are welcome.

    Co-Chair: Maria Ibanez, Northwestern University – ibanez@kellogg.northwestern.edu
    Co-Chair: Sebastian Villa Betancur, University of New Mexico – svillab@unm.edu

  • BUSINESS ANALYTICS

    Brings together practitioners and academics to share cutting-edge research and applications in the area of big data and advanced analytics, and aims to show how organizations can use descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analytics to stay competitive in today’s data-driven world.

    Co-Chair: Meng Li, University of Houston – mli@bauer.uh.edu
    Co-Chair: Sandun Perera, University of Nevada, Reno – sperera@unr.edu  

     

     

  • CYBER SECURITY AND SYSTEM RESILIENCY

    Focuses on technical, managerial, organizational, and societal research into information privacy and security challenges in a social, mobile, cloud, IoT (Internet of Things), “big data” context, in an increasingly active internal and external global threat environment.

    Co-Chair: Zac Rogers, Colorado State University – zac.rogers@colostate.edu
    Co-Chair: Seongkyoon Jeong, University of Tennessee – sjeong9@utk.edu

  • DECISION SCIENCES IN PRACTICE

    Focuses on three aspects of practice driven research: to showcase examples for successful research collaborations between industry and academia; to highlight strategies for initiating such collaborative research; to discuss experiences in translating these collaborations into papers at top journals.

    Chair: Heng Zhang, Arizona State University – hengzhang24@asu.edu

  • DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

    DEI has become a pivotal and transformational element in the corporate world as well as within the society. At its core, DEI involves decisions by firms that impact people (especially under-served and underrepresented groups). This track welcomes research that aims to explore and understand how DEI interacts with various elements of decision-making. We invite submissions that will enhance our understanding of DEI through the lens of decision sciences, by answering questions such as, but not limited to:  Do diverse workplaces have an operational advantage? How can an organization utilize diverse workforce to unlock hidden/untapped value? Does a focus on equity alter a firm’s operational decision making? What decisions have a positive influence on a firm’s DEI performance?

    Chair: Dwai Roy, University of Virginia – royd@darden.virginia.edu

  • DOCTORAL RESEARCH SHOWCASE & AWARD

    These sessions are for doctoral students who have papers in advanced stages of conceptualization. The objective of the showcase is to receive mentoring and focused feedback on these papers by dedicated discussants. This will be accomplished by matching each accepted paper with appropriate discussants to ensure high-quality feedback, in addition to receiving traditional audience feedback from attendees of the session. The goal is to provide research mentoring to doctoral students and showcase their work with the aim of facilitating their job market experience. Each session will include no more than three papers, providing ample time for discussion. We expect to accept not more than 20-30 papers for this track, with preference being given to doctoral students who are on the job-market and who would like to showcase their work.

    To be considered in the track, students need to submit at least an abstract in the conference submission system under this track (there is no need to submit a full paper, and there is no need for the paper to be included the proceedings). However, to enable insightful feedback by the dedicated discussant, a full paper must be submitted to the track chair via email at the time of abstract submission, so that it can be shared with the assigned discussant. Any papers not accepted for the track will be forwarded to the most appropriate general conference track.

    Submissions of high-quality doctoral student papers from all fields and topics are encouraged. DSI is also pleased to award a $300 prize for the best paper submitted to the showcase track specifically.

    Chair: Jim Shi, New Jersey Institute of Technology – jshi@njit.edu

     

  • EMERGING ECONOMIES SHOWCASE & AWARD

    This track is intended to provide mentorship and constructive feedback to researchers from emerging markets for development purposes, and thus is distinct from other regular tracks in several important ways.

    -First, it is exclusively for researchers from emerging economies. Emerging economies generally include countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East & North Africa, Latin America & the Caribbean and Asia (excluding Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea and Taiwan). Submitted manuscripts could be work-in-progress papers or at advanced stages of conceptualization or development.

    Second, each presenting paper will be matched with appropriate mentors or discussants by the track co-chairs to provide high-quality feedback, in addition to traditional audience feedback that the conference presentation provides. We will only have two to three papers per session with a view to provide the audience and researchers time to discuss papers.

    Third, we expect to accept roughly twenty papers into this special showcase. Preference will be given to research papers that focus on emerging economies’ issues and are at relatively advanced stages of development.

    Fourth, all presentations will be in a round table discussion format to foster interactive discussions and maximize the benefit for the presenting researcher. All other papers submitted to the showcase will be routed to the emerging economies regular track.

    We invite submissions from researchers whose primary affiliation is universities in emerging economies. To qualify for matching with mentors, you must be the primary author of the study. Submissions should be between 8-15 pages long and in general should comprise the overall motivation of the study, the research questions, potential contributions, methodology and results (if available). Abstracts-only submissions will not be accepted for the award.

    Chair: Mahyar Eftekhar, Arizona State University – eftekhar@asu.edu

  • GIG ECONOMY AND SOCIAL MEDIA RESEARCH

    The gig economy has emerged based on leveraging the Internet and mobile services. Emergence of platforms to facilitate new modes of interactions in many supply chains has provided suppliers, providers, and consumers new opportunities for enabling last mile delivery and crowdsourcing of innovation, supply, or funds, among others. Additionally, social technologies are facilitating new ways of interactions between individuals and firms that can leverage AI and big data analytics to analyze user-generated content. It is changing the landscape of competition and operation in supply chains, online retailing, and healthcare, notwithstanding the future of the modality of work in several sectors. The Gig Economy and Social Media Research track invites papers related to addressing challenges and opportunities for stakeholders in these data rich environments.

    Co-Chair: Rajiv Garg, Emory University – rajiv.garg@emory.edu
    Co-Chair: Shubham Gupta, New Jersey Institute of Technology – sg2688@njit.edu

  • HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT

    Focuses on research examining concepts, strategies, processes, methods, and practices that enable healthcare organizations to increase their performance on several performance dimensions, including improving access to care, patient experiences and the quality of care, improving population health and social determinants, and reducing the cost of healthcare.

    Co-Chair: David Dreyfus, Rutgers University – ddreyfus@business.rutgers.edu
    Co-Chair: John Lowrey, Northeastern University – j.lowrey@northeastern.edu

  • HUMANITARIAN OPERATIONS AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT

    Focuses on studies that exemplify good practices and recent improvements in the domain of the disaster response, as well as projects geared towards achieving United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

    Chair: Karthik Natarajan, University of Minnesota – knataraj@umn.edu

  • INDUSTRIAL AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

    The focus of the track is on industrial and systems engineering applications from industry covering, but not limited to, the following areas: manufacturing and warehouse operations utilizing robotics and automation, process control through sensor technology, ergonomics, 3D printing and additive manufacturing, machine learning and artificial intelligence for manufacturing and supply chain.

    Chair: Yue Wang, University of Arizona – ywang23@arizona.edu

  • INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY/INFORMATION SYSTEMS

    Focuses on the organization, development, strategy, and leadership of digital innovations and artificially intelligent technologies. Includes research that synthesizes conceptual frameworks integrating information systems, operations management, economics, innovation, and strategy to establish the role and value of IT and artificial intelligence (AI) in realizing business value.

    Co-Chair: Brian Lee, Penn State University – brian.lee@psu.edu
    Co-Chair: Yoonseock Son, University of Nortre Dame  – yson@nd.edu

  • INNOVATION AND NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

    Focuses on novel research and practice dealing with people, processes, systems, and technologies related to driving innovation performance and product development success in firms.

    Co-Chair: Adrian Choo, Michigan State University – chooadri@broad.msu.edu
    Co-Chair: Shubhobrata Palit, ESADE – shubhobrata.palit@esade.edu

  • LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT

    Focuses on contemporary research topics in logistics and transportation. Includes presentations that advance knowledge and theory in transportation, inventory management, distribution and fulfillment, network design and other related areas. This track welcomes papers based on all types of methodologies.

    Co-Chair: Martin Dresner, University of Maryland – mdresner@umd.edu
    Co-Chair: Adriana Hofer, University of Arkansas – ahofer@walton.uark.edu

  • MANUFACTURING MANAGEMENT

    Focuses on contemporary research topics in production and manufacturing. The track welcomes a broad range of research methods (e.g., analytical, empirical, theory development) that examine issues in production and manufacturing.

    Chair: Scott Webster, Arizona State University – scott.webster@asu.edu

  • MARKETING AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

    Focuses on research papers that provide insights into how effective branding can help firms weather uncertainty better and engage with consumers in more effective ways.

    Chair: Yunchuan (Frank) Liu, University if Illinois Urbana Champaign – liuf@illinois.edu

  • OPERATIONS FINANCE INTERFACE AND ACCOUNTING

    Focuses on cutting-edge interdisciplinary research at the nexus of finance, economics, and decision sciences.

    Co-Chair: Youngsoo Kim, Loyola University Chicago – ykim35@luc.edu
    Co-Chair: Qiannong Gu, Ball State University – qgu@bsu.edu
    Co-Chair: Khaled Abdou, Penn State University – kka1@psu.edu

  • PROCUREMENT AND SOURCING

    Designed to facilitate presentations that advance knowledge and theory of practices evolving in the field of purchasing and supply management.

    Chair: Keith Skowronski, University of South Carolina – keith.skowronski@moore.sc.edu

  • PROJECT MANAGEMENT

    Represents the art and science of accomplishment, whether it be through single projects, programs, or portfolios.  Essential research will examine techniques and processes that assist in the completion of projects, plus investigate social and behavioral issues that impact individual careers, team performance, organizational success, and societal benefits.

    Co-Chair: Anne Dohmen, Michigan State University – dohmenan@msu.edu
    Co-Chair: Molly Hughes, West Virginia University – molly.hughes1@mail.wvu.edu

  • QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND LEAN OPERATIONS

    Focuses on demonstrating how pursuing lean and quality helps firms achieve superior operational, environmental, market and financial performance. Specifically, the research should be based on data from sources including but not limited to case studies, primary survey or experimental data, secondary/archival data and simulation.

    Chair: Subhajit Chakraborty, Coastal Carolina University – schakrabo@coastal.edu

  • SERVICE SYSTEMS AND OPERATIONS

    Focused on leading edge research that enhances the understanding of services such as studies about strategy formulation, process design, improvement strategies, and service delivery mechanisms.

    Co-Chair: Ali Fattahi, Johns Hopkins University – ali.fattahi@jhu.edu
    Co-Chair: Sean Wan, The Ohio State University – wan.207@osu.edu

  • STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

    Focuses on the formulation and implementation of strategy in all types of organizations as well as strategic dynamics in the marketplace. Submissions in the various areas of strategy literature, such as new venture strategy, innovation strategy, behavioral strategy, value creation, micro-level dynamics, planning routines, cognition, business models, data-driven strategy, etc. are also encouraged.

    Co-Chair: Chandrasekhar Manchiraju, Michigan State University – manchiraju@broad.msu.edu
    Co-Chair: Mayukh Majumdar, University of San Diego – mmajumdar@sandiego.edu
    Co-Chair: Woo-Yong Park, University of Nevada, Las Vegas – woo-yong.park@unlv.edu

  • SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

    Concerned with all aspects of the design, operation, and improvement of supply chains.

    Co-Chair: Alper Nakkas, The University of Texas, Arlington – nakkas@uta.edu
    Co-Chair: Seokjun Youn, University of Arizona – syoun@arizona.edu
    Co-Chair: Ahmet Colak, Clemson University – acolak@clemson.edu

  • SUPPLY CHAIN RISK AND RESILIENCY

    While the importance of supply chain risk management has been undisputed, the COVID-19 pandemic put supply chain risk management to the test. Even those companies seemingly well prepared struggled with the worldwide emergency and how to move forward. Unprecedented events like these have the ability to uncover weaknesses, and while addressing them can be a challenge, they can also serve as an opportunity to develop more resilient and robust supply chains. This track seeks submissions that focus on risk and resiliency in our current environment. Illustrative topics include, but are not limited to qualitative and quantitative supply chain models aimed at managing risk dynamics and disruptions, best practices and lessons learned from experiences made during the pandemic, strategies for navigating the “new normal,” leveraging technology and intelligence to better manage risks, or supply chain redesigns triggered by the experiences made.

    Co-Chair: Robert Wiedmer, Arizona State University – robert.wiedmer@asu.edu
    Co-Chair: Carlos Mena, Portland State University – chm@pdx.edu

  • SUSTAINABILITY AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBIITY

    Focuses on work that investigates (i) novel production and sourcing practices that elevate health and safety, reduce waste and pollution or even regenerate the natural environment, (ii) challenges and intended/unintended effects of implementing sustainable practices on firms and their supply networks, (iii) how organizations include social and environmental criteria in their strategic, tactical and operational decision making, and (iv) what contingencies at both firm and supply chain levels affect the willingness and ability of organizations to achieve progressively higher environmental and social performance over time.

    Co-Chair: Karthik Murali, Oregon State University – karthik.murali@oregonstate.edu
    Co-Chair: Suvrat Dhanorkar, Penn State University – ssd14@psu.edu