Featured Alumni: Dr. Kaushik Gorahava

Some of you may remember Kaushik Gorahava from his time at UT Arlington as a student and a teaching assistant. Below is his reflection on his research and experience at UT Arlington:

I completed my Ph.D. from the Industrial & Manufacturing Systems Engineering department at The University of Texas at Arlington in summer 2013. After having worked as an Industrial Engineer in India’s manufacturing industry for more than three years, I came to the USA in August 2007 to pursue further studies. I completed my M.S. in Industrial Engineering degree in 2009 and took many advanced Statistics, Optimization, and Mathematical Modeling courses in the Industrial Engineering and Mathematics department, respectively.

As a project in the Stochastic Processes course, I reviewed and analyzed a Stochastic Model for using Ring Vaccination for smallpox control. The project was well received in the class and motivated me to pursue further research at the interface of Systems Science and Epidemiology. Under the guidance of my mentors, I developed my broad research area, optimization in neglected public health issues, for my Ph.D. dissertation. In fall 2009, I started my Ph.D. in the Center On Stochastic, Modeling, Optimization, and Statistics (COSMOS) laboratory, under the guidance of Dr. Jay Rosenberger, an expert in Optimization. I was also mentored by my dissertation co-adviser, Dr. Anuj Mubayi, an applied mathematical scientist working at the intersection of epidemiology and social networks.

Being from India, a developing country, I had observed first-hand the suffering caused by disease and poverty. I noticed an urgent need for improvement in public health policies, especially the basic ones. I chose to work on improving one of the basic control measures for a neglected infectious disease, Leishmaniasis, which mostly affects poverty stricken communities and is the second deadliest vector-borne disease in the world. Leishmaniasis spreads to humans by the bite of an infected sandfly. Bihar’s Public Health Department has limited financial resources and can spray insecticide at a limited number of sites. My research aimed to address questions on optimal insecticide allocation for conducting a spray campaign. My dissertation research involved building and analyzing optimization models. The mathematical models were built by considering factors affecting disease transmission and metrics to help the Public Health Department make better decisions. The results of my dissertation study recommended an improved and long-lasting insecticide spray campaign policy for Bihar’s Public Health Department.

I also enjoyed training and teaching individuals, a set of skills which I acquired through my experience as a Teaching Assistant at the Industrial Engineering department during my doctoral studies. During my graduate studies, I mentored some undergraduate and master’s students. I am an independent researcher now and aim to work at the interface of System Dynamics Engineering and Medical Sciences.

Written by Dr. Kaushik Gorahava
IMSE Alumni


Dr. Gorahava graduated in 2013 with a  PhD in Industrial Engineering and currently works as a Systems Analyst for Horizon Technologies Inc.

Congratulations to Fall and Summer 2013 Graduates

The Fall semester came to a cold end as ice and snow blanketed the North Texas area, forcing the University to reschedule many final exams; but the freezing weather didn’t hang around long enough to spoil the College of Engineering Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, December 14 at College Park Center. The new University president, Dr. Vistasp Karbhari, who has a degree in engineering was the guest speaker at the ceremony which was attended by hundreds of families and friends. For all their achievements, the Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Department would also like to congratulate all our graduates on this special occasion. Here is a list of our newest alumni, as published in The Shorthorn:

Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering:

  • Mohammed Al-Mansouri, Dissertation Title: A Simulation Approach to Production Line Bottleneck Analysis and Cost Justification
  • Piyush Kumar, Dissertation Title: Mathematical Approach for Land Use Planning that Limits Urban Sprawl
  • Aera LeBoulluec, Dissertation Title: Outcome and State Transition Modeling for Adaptive Interdisciplinary Pain Management
  • Clement Smartt, Dissertation Title: Optimizing the Use of Systems Engineering on Proposals
  • Paul Wilson, Dissertation Title: Eutectic Diffusion Brazing Process for Joining Aluminum Laminae with Macro- and Micro-Scale Features

Degrees Conferred Summer 2013

  • Narakorn Engsuwan, Dissertation Title: Scalar Equilibrium for n-Person Games
  • Diana Martinez Cepeda, Dissertation Title: Variants of Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS): Convex vs. Non-Convex, Piecewise-Linear vs. Smooth and Sequential Algorithms
  • Nadia Martinez Cepeda, Dissertation Title: Global Optimization of Nonconvex Piecewise Linear Regression Splines
  • Roochi Mishra, Dissertation Title: Improving Quality of Information from Multiple Sensor Sources on Mobile Platforms
  • Panita Suebvisai, Dissertation Title: Parametric Cost Estimation Model for Microchannel Bonding Process Based on Activity-Based Costing

M.S in Engineering Management

  • Patrick Alexander
  • Seyed Pooya Mirsalehi (Degree conferred in Summer 2013)
  • Farooq Mohiuddin
  • Noble Vikram Rajanayagam
  • Sai Vignesh Ramachandran
  • Nomita Sharma
  • Vishnu Sethuraman Swarna

M.S. Industrial Engineering

  • Sakthivel Arumugam
  • Wencess Kelelyoh Bett (Degree conferred in Summer 2013)
  • Nithin Chirayath Antony (Degree conferred in Summer 2013)
  • Fermin Feroshi Arun Joseph
  • Stanley Joseph
  • Nirmal Kumar Kanagasabapathy
  • Parkpoom Ketrunghiran
  • Ketan Chandrashekhar Kulkarni
  • Spoorthi Ananda Kumar (Degree conferred in Summer 2013)
  • Lin Lin (Degree conferred in Summer 2013)
  • Dmitri Mitchell
  • Tshiebe Mwamba (Degree conferred in Summer 2013)
  • Gaurav Nirwal
  • J. Dario Padilla
  • Alok Parashivamurthi (Degree conferred in Summer 2013)
  • Dhananjay Patil
  • Kukkala Prasad (Degree conferred in Summer 2013)
  • Sameer Mahesh Rabade
  • Ajinkya Rao (Degree conferred in Summer 2013)
  • Kapil Prakash Raole
  • Jose Sanchez Gonzalez
  • Arvind Walia

M.S. in Logistics

  • Anna Candia
  • Mahmoud Motaqed Larijani (Degree conferred in Summer 2013)

M.S. in Systems Engineering

  • David O. Asaolu
  • Arlyssa Jaquez
  • Christopher M. May
  • Stephen McLauchlin
  • Larry Joe Parker
  • Aaron Thomas Sherman

B.S. in Industrial Engineering

  • Ukesh Chawal
  • Midhun Abraham John
  • Aditya Kasukhela
  • Sarim Khan
  • Hyun Ki Kim
  • Indra Poudel
  • Nader Sayadi (Degree conferred in Summer 2013)
  • Shrijan Shrestha
  • Sumit Shrestha
  • Ashvin Thomas
  • Pravin Tripathi

Dr. Corley’s Recent Activities

As this entry goes online, I will be in Minneapolis at the annual INFORMS conference presenting a paper entitled “A Cooperative Dual for the Nash Equilibrium.” The gist of this research is that people can often fare better in competitive situations if they cooperate. However, the more profound implication of the work is that complete cooperation is guaranteed to be possible only between two competitors, not three or more. In other words, there is a mathematical limit to complete cooperation. Apparently, three’s a crowd, like we all knew already. In addition, I will be attending the conference “Learning and the Brain” at Harvard in  November. At the INFORMS conference, I will also be working on a Systems Engineering research proposal with Dr. Ferreira.

Dr. Rosenberger, a recent IMSE Ph.D. graduate,  and I submitted in August a paper entitled “Constraint Optimal Selection Techniques (COSTs) for Nonnegative Linear Programming Problems”  to Optimization Methods and Software about an approach to solve huge, currently unsolvable linear programming problems quickly, as demanded by today’s high-speed, high-tech, ever-accelerating world. Linear programming, as you may remember, is the most widely used computational model in the business and scientific worlds. The method was also the basis of a recently issued patent entitled “System, Method and Apparatus for Allocating Resources by Constraint Selection.”

Finally, I will be headed abroad over the winter break and stop thinking about all this heady stuff. Enjoy your semester.

Written by Dr. Bill Corley
IMSE Faculty

Guest Post: Diana Martinez, IMSE Doctoral Student

I am originally from Mexico; I earned my bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering at the Instituto Tecnologico de Saltillo and worked in a plastic injection company as a Manufacturing and Project Engineer for over two years. My initial desire was to come to the United States to improve the language; however, in 2007 I was awarded a 60-month scholarship from the Mexican National Council for Science and Technology to study at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA).

I finished my M.S. in Industrial Engineering in Summer 2008 and pursued a PhD program in Fall 2008, joining the COSMOS (Center on Stochastic Modeling, Optimization, & Statistics) family. My research focused on the study of an advanced statistical method called Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) and the development of variants and sequential algorithms that provide more flexibility to the modeling process and facilitate the optimization routines. The case studies included an inventory forecasting problem, an air pollution problem and an automotive crash safety design problem.

During my graduate studies I was selected as a Graduate Research Assistant at TMAC, where I had the opportunity of being involved in different consulting projects for small and medium companies located in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. Being part of the diverse community of UTA has been absolutely one of the most important experiences in my life not only because of the professional achievements I have earned but also because of the amazing people I have been fortunate to meet.

Written by Diana Martinez, IMSE Doctoral Student
Email: diana.martinezcepeda@mavs.uta.edu
LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/diana-martinez/26/307/511

IMSE Grants and Awarded Contracts

Several IMSE faculty members were recently awarded research grants and contracts. Dr. Li Zeng made news for the grant she received recently from the National Science Foundation for her research titled, ” Quality Profile Modeling and Control with Applications in Tissue-engineered Scaffolds Fabrication.” The collaborative research will be conducted with Penn State and with the purpose of developing a “generic and systematic methodology for the modeling and control of quality profiles through the integration of advanced statistical techniques and expert knowledge of manufacturing processes.” Dr. Zeng was awarded a $142,223 grant that will run through 2016. For more information on this research, read the abstract on the NSF website.

In addition, the IMSE Department received a Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need, (GAANN) Grant for $534,000 that will benefit five students over the next three years.

Dr. Jay Rosenberger, Dr. Susan Ferreira, and Dr. Victoria Chen were awarded a $33,000 contract with L-3 Communications for a “Flight Test Matching Tool” to develop a method to warm start a simulator calibration process.

Additional grants that were awarded:

Richard Billo, John Priest, and Erick Jones were awarded TxMED grant “A Novel Glass Microfluidic Neuro-Sensor For High-Throughput Drug Discovery.”

Erick Jones was awarded NSF I/UCRC grant “Rf-Code Computer Rack Cooling System RFID Project.”
Erick Jones was awarded a grant from Angelica Incoroporation Evaluating RFID in Healthcare Linen” joint with SAVANT.

IMSE Welcomes New Faculty Member

Dr. Shouyi WangThe IMSE Department welcomes new Assistant Professor, Dr. Shouyi Wang. He comes to UTA from the University of Washington where he served as a Research Scientist.

Dr. Wang has interests in data mining, machine learning, pattern recognition, multivariate process monitoring and prediction, multivariate statistics, applied operation research, and human-centered computing. He has developed mathematical theories and algorithms to frame, model and optimize complex systems, and solve large-scale data mining and knowledge discovery problems in engineering and science. He has conducted research projects on intelligent learning control systems for humanoid walking robots, personalized healthcare online monitoring and decision-making systems using multivariate physiological signals, functional and diagnostic brain imaging analysis and network modeling (fMRI), clinical recommendation system for respiratory-gated PET/CT Imaging using patient classification and statistical association, real-time prediction/detection of mental states and cognitive activities using brain-computer interfaces, and personalized healthcare information systems with wearable body sensor networks. He is also the author of several articles that have appeared in publications such as the International Journal of Data Mining and Bioinformatics, Wiley Encyclopedia of Operations Research and Management Science, and  conference proceedings.

Dr. Wang received a Ph.D in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Rutgers in 2012. He is also a member of professional engineering organizations such as the Institute for Industrial Engineers (IIE), Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), and Institute of Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Industrial Engineers in Healthcare

A recent article in The Shorthorn cited a study from Georgetown University which claimed that degrees in healthcare were among the top college degrees to have due to the low unemployment rates in that field. It’s no wonder that healthcare is a growing field. With our aging society and the Affordable Care Act in place, more Americans will be seeking medical care in the near future.

So, what does a job in healthcare have to do with a blog about industrial engineering? As an industrial engineer, you can seek employment in a variety of industries, businesses, or institutions, including areas such as manufacturing, retail, banking, government, and healthcare. As the healthcare field grows, hospitals and other healthcare-related businesses will be seeking ways to optimize the efficiency of their workplaces. As an industrial engineer, your skills can be utilized to design systems that will merge people, information, materials, and equipment to provide the most efficient, productive, and safest methods. Industrial engineering has been called the people-oriented engineering profession. What better way is there than to apply your skills to the healthcare industry to better the lives of the doctors, nurses, staff, and patients?

In fact, the IMSE department’s Center on Stochastic Modeling, Optimization, and Statistics (COSMOS) is currently working on several projects in the healthcare field such as nurse planning, nurse triage services, adaptive pain management, and biomaterial fabrication. The healthcare industry is just one of the many areas that utilize the versatile skills of industrial engineers.

Guest Post: Nadia Martinez, IMSE Doctoral Student

My name is Nadia Martinez and I am an international student at the University of Texas at Arlington. I came to the United States on January 2007 to enrich my education by accomplishing a master’s degree and pursuing a doctorate degree program. I obtained my master’s degree in fall 2008 and am currently working on my Ph.D. at the Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering Department.

I belong to the Center On Stochastic, Modeling, Optimization, and Statistics (COSMOS) where the main objective is to design and model complex real-world systems. My research is focused on developing a deterministic global optimization method based on mixed integer linear programming to solve a piecewise linear function generated by a flexible statistical model subject to constraints that include both linear regression models and piecewise linear models. One of the main applications of this method is on the safety system design of automotive vehicles, with a special interest in crash-worthiness. This type of systems is considered computationally complex. I have also worked as a Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) at TMAC, which is a research center of the College of Engineering at UTA, where I have participated in different projects related to my Industrial Engineering career. The opportunity I have had of being a GRA has definitely increased my vision about how to deal with real-life problems.

Through my experiences at UTA, I have learned and realized that I was not only fulfilling a dream but I was also becoming part of a big and great family. Although being away from your beloved ones is not an easy thing, being around with such an amazing people like students, professors, co-workers and friends have made of this experience an amazing journey. Sharing cultures, beliefs and ways of life is an incredible opportunity to mature and expand your horizons.

Written By Nadia Martinez, IMSE Doctoral Student
Email: nadia.martinezcepeda@mavs.uta.edu

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/nadia-martinez/4a/243/670

A COSMOS Ph.D. Dissertation Defense

On November 16th, COSMOS Ph.D. student Bancha Ariyajunya successfully defended his dissertation, entitled “Adaptive Dynamic Programming for High-Dimensional, Multicollinear State Spaces.” His dissertation committee included COSMOS faculty Dr. Victoria Chen, Dr. Jay Rosenberger, and Dr. Li Zeng. His dissertation addressed the problem of correlated variables in a dynamic programming state space. His methodology was originally motivated by airport deicing activities and was tested on an ozone pollution control optimization. In airport deicing, the state of the system considers the environmental impact of deicing, and the environmental variables are highly correlated. In ozone pollution, the state of the system considers ozone concentrations in the air, and these are highly correlated over time and space. Bancha’s research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. His current research interest is in the area of statistical modeling and data mining.

COSMOS News

We’re pleased to announce that our Center of Stochastic Modeling, Optimization, and Statistics (COSMOS) will be well represented at this year’s annual conference of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) in Phoenix this month. The theme of the conference is “Informatics Rising.” Several of our Ph.D. students, including Piampoom Sarikprueck, Asama Kulvanitchaiyanunt, Piyush Kumar, Diana Martinez, Nadia Martinez, John Dickson, Aera LeBoulluec, and Poovich Phaladiganon will be presenting their research. In addition, Dr. Bill Corley will present his research on Nash Equilibrium, and Dr. Li Zeng will make two presentations, one on Low-E glass manufacturing and another on Tissue-engineered Scaffold fabrication. In total, COSMOS researchers are lead authors or co-authors on 15 presentations!

More information on COSMOS’ exciting work can be found at https://www.uta.edu/cosmos/.

More information on this year’s INFORMS conference can be found at http://meetings2.informs.org/phoenix2012/.