Kulkarni and Patel Win Best Sustainable Development Student Paper Award at IISE Annual: IMSE Presents at Conference

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At the 2023 Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineering Annual Conference and Expo, IMSE Ph.D. Students Preetam Kulkarni and Poojan Patel, along with their supervising professor Caroline Krejci, won the IISE Sustainable Development Track Best Student Paper award for their research on Designing a collaborative online transportation platform for sustainable regional food distribution. IMSE Ph.D. student Jie Han received the Third Place Winner Award in the IISE Innovative Design Competition for her team work on Artificially Generated Text Checker (AGTC). Ms. Han’s research is a collaboration with two students at George Mason University and the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico.

In addition, Ph.D. Students Bahareh Nasirian, Anika Rimu, and Ms. Han participated in the 2023 IISE Doctoral Colloquium. These students heard from panels of accomplished scholars and industry leaders from the fields of Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, and Systems Engineering, and they each presented a three-minute pitch of their dissertation research.

Ph.D. Students Razihe Aghapour, Jaivardhan Sood, Ms. Rimu, and Ms. Han delivered presentations on their research as well. IMSE was also well represented by the faculty. Assistant Professor Mahmudur Rahman participated in the New Faculty Colloquium, and Shuchi Deb, Emma Yang, Shouyi Wang, Jay Rosenberger, Jamie Rogers, Erick Jones, Caroline Krejci, and Chen Kan all participated in the Conference.

– By Jay Rosenberger

IE Faculty at IISE Conference

UTA IMSE Newsletter January 2023

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This new year brings many changes to the UTA IMSE department. Our swiss army knife Paul Componation has officially moved to the Dean’s office and will serve officially as the Associate Dean for Graduate and Interdisciplinary Studies. Our very own Jay Rosenberger will step in and as interim department chair for IMSE and if his holiday party serves as a judge, it is a role in which he will excel.

The last few years have been busy ones in the IMSE department and amidst the various changes at the university and within the department (welcome Dr. Erick C. Jones Jr. and Dr. Md Mahmudur Rahman) we have managed to take on exciting projects and produce exciting work. This newsletter will highlight some of the many accomplishments produced by our department.

As always we appreciate support from alumni, company, and anyone wishing to support our students and our department. Please visit our donation page to support our departmental scholarships. Note: if a scholarship is not listed you can click other and write it in.

COE and IMSE Holiday Party at the Rosenberger Residence

PROJECTS

  • Professors Shuchisnigdha Deb and Emma Yang are “Enhancing Active Learning in Additive Manufacturing Using a Bilingual, Assisted Virtual-Reality Platform” with support from the NSF (Award Number 2202598).
  • Dr. Caroline Kreji has received the prestigious NSF CAREER Award (Award Number 2046632) in order to investigate the “System Design of Crowd Logistics via Participatory Agent-based Modeling”. Dr. Bonnie Boardman will also provide support for this project.
  • Dr. Susan Ferreira, our Systems Engineering expert, has been tapped for her expertise by NASA to work on a project identifying Resilient Systems Engineering Strategies for the space government agency.
  • COSMOS faculty Professors Shouyi Wang, Victoria Chen, and Jay Rosenberger are working on two projects supported by the NSF, one in collaboration with the chemistry department focused on “On-Line Extraction and Separation Method Development using Surrogate Optimization and Machine Learning” (Award Number 2108767) and another led by our own Dr. Wang focused on “Probabilistic Modeling and Stochastic Optimization for Effective Demand Response Decision Management Under Uncertainty in Emerging Smart Energy Markets” (Award Number 1938895)
  • New professor Dr. Erick C. Jones Jr., the newest member of COSMOS, is developing the COSMOS Sustainability lab and has received support from ASEE to implement the Engineering One Planet (EOP) Sustainability framework in UTA Classrooms
  • Dr. Jamie Rogers has once again guided another group of graduating seniors through the capstone projects and we would like to thank all the companies who participated
  • If you are a company that would like to participate in our Capstone project, please contact Dr. Rogers Send Email
Dr. Rogers and the Spring 2022 Capstone Class

PRESENTING UTA WORK

Many of our faculty and students presented at one of the preeminent conferences in our field the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) 2022 Annual Meeting (Indianapolis, IN). Below is a list of some of the work that was presented at this event.

  • Dr. Erick C. Jones Jr. presented “Energy Resources’ Effect on Energy Poverty”
  • Dr. Yuan Zhou presented “A Proactive Approach for Operation Decision Support in Primary Care”
  • Dr. Chen Kan presented “Online Point Cloud Fusion for Quality Assurance of Additive Manufacturing”
  • Dr. Mohammad Jahanbakht presented “A Fuzzy AHP-DAMATEL MCDM Framework for Selecting Strategy for Agriculutral Firms’ IOT Adoption Based on Service Providers Readiness Level”
  • Dr. Victoria Chen presented “Green Building Sustainability Assessment Decision Optimization”
  • Dr. Jay Rosenberger presented “Globally Optimizing a Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines Approximation”
  • Dr. Bill Corley presented “Scalar Equilibria for Normal-Form Games”
  • Jie Han (PhD Student, Dr. Wang) presented “Electricity Price Forecasting”
  • Linh Ho Manh (PhD Student, Drs. Wang and Chen) presented “Molecules Classification from Ultra-Violet Spectra by Different Featurization Methods”
  • Marina Materikina (PhD Student, Drs. Chen and Rosenberger) presented “Estimation of State-based Appliance Signatures Using Nonlinear Programming for Non-intrusive Load Monitoring Algorithms”
  • Bahareh Nasirian (PhD Student, Drs. Chen and Rosenberger) presented “An Optimization Model for Prioritizing Organic Waste to Energy-Renewable (POWER)”
COSMOS members, alumni, and friends at the 2022 INFORMS Annual Meeting in Indianapolis

PUBLICATIONS

We are grateful for the support receive via grants, scholarships, and partnerships because they allow our faculty and students to create new scholarship, develop more effective teaching methods and courses, and serve our field and the community. Find a small subset of the peer-reviewed scholarship our faculty and students that have published in the last few months.

  • Jones, E. C., Yaw, S., Bennett, J. A., Ogland-Hand, J. D., Strahan, C., & Middleton, R. S. (2022). Designing multi-phased CO2 capture and storage infrastructure deployments. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Transition, 2, 100023. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RSET.2022.100023
  • Jay M Rosenberger., Victoria CP Chen., Hui-Chiao Jen., Brian L Huff., Aera K LeBoulluec., Bahareh Nasirian., Seoung Bum Kim. (2022). A discrete-event simulation tool for airport deicing activities: Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. https://doi.org/10.1177/00375497221101064
  • Yuan Zhou., Obiageli L., Ngwu., Anika Rimu., Shuchisnigdha Deb., James R. Lummus., Chen Kan. (2022). Teenage bicyclists’ perceptions toward automated vehicles and their associated traffic infrastructure: A focus group discussion. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 89, Pages 371-384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2022.07.006
  • Mohammad Jahanbakht., Javad Samei., Hamed Asgari., Concetta Pelligra., Mehdi Sanjari., Saied Salavati., Ayda Shahriari., Maedeh Amirmaleki., Amir Hadadzadeh., Babak Shalchi Amirkhiz., Mohsen Mohammadi. (2021).A hybrid additively manufactured martensitic-maraging stainless steel with superior strength and corrosion resistance for plastic injection molding dies. Additive Manufacturing, 45, 102068. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2021.102068
  • Caroline C. Krejci., Amy Marusak., Narjes Sadeghiamirshahidi., Anuj Mittal., Sue Beckwith., Jaime Cantu., Mike Morris., Jason Grimm. (2021). Resilient regional food supply chains and rethinking the way forward: Key takeaways from the COVID-19 pandemic. Agricultural Systems, 190, 103101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2021.103101
  • Chen Kan., Xin Liu., Zehao Ye. (2022). Real-time multiscale prediction of structural performance in material extrusion additive manufacturing. Additive Manufacturing, 49, 102503. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2021.102503
  • Shuchisnigdha Deb., Md Mahmudur Rahman., Lesley Strawderman., Brian Smith., & Reuben Burch. (2020). Evaluation of transportation alternatives for aging population in the era of self-driving vehicles. IATSS Research, 44, Pages 30-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iatssr.2019.05.004
  • Xin Liu., Fei Tao., Haodong Du., Wenbin Yu. (2022). Finite element coupled positive definite deep neural networks mechanics system for constitutive modeling of composites. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 391, 114548. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cma.2021.114548
  • V. C. P. Chen et al., (2022). An Optimization Framework to Study the Balance Between Expected Fatalities Due to COVID-19 and the Reopening of U.S. Communities, 19, 100023. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.16.20152033
  • Yiran Yang., Lin Li., Muyue Han. (2022). Techno-economic modeling of 4D printing with thermo-responsive materials towards desired shape memory performance. Design & Manufacturing, Pages 1047-1059. https://doi.org/10.1080/24725854.2021.1989093

Produced by The Sustainable Equitable Allocation of Resources (SEAR) Lab, developed by “Shraddha Varekar (SEAR Lab, RA)”

Rimu Earns Fellowship and Presents at Transportation Conference

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IMSE PhD student Anika Rimu earned a prestigious Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Transportation along with 8 other UT Arlington students. Ms. Rimu recently attended the Transportation Research Board Conference in Washington, DC, to present her research on Improving Bicyclists Safety with Assistive Technologies. Her research is funded by the Center for Transportation Equity, Decisions, and Dollars, a Tier 1 University Transportation Center also funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

COSMOS at INFORMS

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COSMOS at INFORMS

The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) held its Annual Meeting on October 15-19, 2022 at Indianapolis, Indiana.  Over 6,000 were in attendance.  Faculty and current students from the Center on Stochastic Modeling, Optimization, & Statistics (COSMOS) joined COSMOS alumni and friends at a reunion lunch in the JW Marriott.  COSMOS faculty and students chaired 12 sessions, and COSMOS research was presented in 20 technical talks.  One session brought together four generations of female researchers: Dr. Christine Shoemaker, who was COSMOS Director Victoria Chen’s mentor at Cornell University, Dr. Chen, COSMOS alumna Dr. Hadis Anahideh, and Ph.D. student Nazanin Nezami, who is currently working with Dr. Anahideh at the University of Illinois Chicago.  Dr. Chen also participated on a panel discussing best practices for diversity, equity, and inclusion at universities.

Dr. Christine Shoemaker, who was COSMOS Director Victoria Chen’s mentor at Cornell University, Dr. Chen, COSMOS alumna Dr. Hadis Anahideh, and Ph.D. student Nazanin Nezami, who is currently working with Dr. Anahideh
Pictured (L-R): Nazanin Nezami, Dr. Hadis Anahideh, Dr. Victoria Chen, Dr. Christine Shoemaker

IE DISSERTATION DEFENSE WITH SRIVIDYA SEKAR

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Title: Optimizing the Performance of Analytical Chemistry Instrumentation

Presenter: Srividya Sekar

Date: April 6th

Time: 12:00 pm -2:00 pm

Location: WH 425A or virtually on Teams

Teams Live Info: Click Here to Join Live Event

Supervisors: Dr. Victoria Chen, Dr. Jay Rosenberger

Committee members: Dr. Kevin Schug, Dr. Shouyi Wang, Dr. Chen Kan

Abstract: Optimal parameter settings play an important role in the efficiency of the analytical chemistry instrumentation. The research focuses on developing a globally optimal surrogate optimization methodology to obtain parameter settings for a run of the instrument. It uses a smooth Quintic Multi Adaptive Regression Splines (QMARS) as the surrogate model and a Mixed Integer Quadratically Constrained Program (MIQCP) to globally optimize the metamodel. The algorithm will provide an abundance of knowledge about the analytical chemistry instrument, reduce the sample preparation time and the trial-and-error runs needed to achieve the optimal and efficient extraction of the analysis.

IE SEMINAR SERIES WITH YASAMAN GHASEMI

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Title: Simulation-Based Optimization for Dynamic Patrol Deployment Planning

Presenter: Yasaman Ghasemi

Date: Monday, April 19, 2021

Time: 1:15 pm – 2:15 pm

Teams Live Info:
Click Here to Join Live Event

Abstract: Police operations play a crucial role in public safety and the sustainable development of communities. Although police agencies have made decades of effort to improve patrol operations, the policing system’s complex nature often makes it very challenging to manage and control. Specifically, the dynamic and stochastic criminal behavior, the constrained policing resources, and the reactive patrol operations hinder the law enforcement agencies from successfully adopting predictive policing and better understanding the system dynamics, assessing the operational performance, and improving the quality outcome. In this study, a computerized simulation-optimization framework is developed to address the dynamically changing complexities and uncertainties in police operations and adaptively optimizing operational performance based on the state of the policing system. Therefore, an agent-based model (ABM) is developed, with an integration of the Geographic Information System (GIS), to simulate and visualize the underlying patrolling system’s dynamics at a micro-level. The ABM is implemented in AnyLogic, a Java-based multi-simulation platform, based on a set of pre-specified attributes and behavior rules. Moreover, a design of experiments approach is implemented on the ABM to inspect how police actions affect the operational outcomes under a set of system constraints. A real-world case study is presented to illustrate how this framework provides a guideline for dynamic patrol deployment planning. This case study is conducted for the Arlington Police Department (APD), Texas, to verify this concept and enable deployment decisions towards a more effective police patrol operation and dynamically respond to various crime circumstances.

Bio: Yasaman Ghasemi is a Ph.D. Candidate in Industrial Engineering at the Department of Industrial, Manufacturing and Systems Engineering at UTA. She received her B.Sc. degree in Computer Engineering from Azad University and her M.Sc. degree in Industrial Engineering and Management from Linkoping University (LIU), Sweden. Yasaman’s research focuses on Complex Systems Modeling & Optimization, primarily in Healthcare Systems (infectious disease modeling, policy development, and health data analytics) and Policing Systems (dynamic policing decision analytics). One of her promising research projects developed an Agent-Based Simulation Model to investigate the transmission dynamics of infectious diseases in university campuses, aiming to help public health decision-makers quickly respond to the epidemic/pandemic with effective interventions. Her research received a grant through the Research Enhancement Program at UTA.

IE Seminar Series with Dr. Mohammad Jahanbakht

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Title: Pre-entry Experience, Post-entry Adaptations and Internationalization in the African Mobile Telecommunications Industry

Presenter: Dr. Mohammad Jahanbakht

Date: Monday, March 22, 2021

Time: 1:15 pm – 2:15 pm

Teams Live Info:
Click Here to Join Live Event

Abstract: We study the evolution of the African mobile telecommunications industry from its effective beginning, and explore the sources of ownership advantages among indigenous firms, by assembling historical qualitative and quantitative firm-level data. Our historical qualitative findings suggest that a few start-ups gained industry-specific knowledge through their pre-entry experience, directed their post-entry development of capabilities toward adaptations to challenging market and operational conditions, and leveraged their adaptive capabilities to enter and compete in other African countries. Using our quantitative panel data, we show that these firms successfully internationalized across the continent. In particular, compared with other start-ups, they had higher rates of foreign entry in African countries that had relatively weaker rule of law, and greater market reach in African countries that had relatively larger low-income consumer segments. These patterns corroborate that their capabilities for overcoming the industry’s challenging market and operational conditions were their key ownership advantages. Through our triangulated analysis, we show that inherited industry knowledge provides a foundation for post-entry capability development, and entrepreneurial leadership guides this process to create ownership advantages for regional internationalization.

Bio: Mohammad Jahanbakht joined ISME department on Fall 2020. Prior to joining UTA, he was an assistant professor of entrepreneurship in Bertolon School of Business at Salem State University for five years. His research interest include entrepreneurship, innovation policy, and technology management.

IE/EE Seminar with Erick C. Jones

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Our next seminar will be held jointly with the Electrical Engineering Department. Our next presenter will be Erick C. Jones, a PhD candidate at The University of Texas at Austin.

All students, faculty, and staff are welcomed to attend.

Title: Multi-Systems Optimization: Equitably Aligning Generation and Demand

Presenter: Erick C. Jones

Date: March 8, 2021

Time: 1:15pm – 2:15pm

Join us on Teams Live via computer or mobile app
Click to join live event

Abstract: Modern life depends on cheap and reliable energy. The energy system powers just about every other major sector including buildings, transportation, food systems, and water systems. However, the energy production process produces large amounts of pollution and greenhouse gases, most of the energy it does produce is wasted, and the negative externalities cascade to other systems. Furthermore, the environmental concerns, inefficiencies, and adjacent system effects have the largest impacts on the most vulnerable. Those of us who are housed in areas with higher air pollution, have less efficient homes and cars, and as a result spend more of their income on energy while getting less out of it. New technologies and the purposeful integration of energy with other sectors via systems of systems engineering techniques can address some of these issues. The goal of this work is to advance research related to multi-systems optimization by examining possible interdependencies between the energy sector and other systems that encourages clean energy adoption by aligning the flexible loads of those systems with the intermittent supply of renewables and investigating if that minimizes an individual or a community’s barrier of entry into the clean energy space.

Bio: Erick Jones is a Ph.D. Candidate in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. He received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University. As an undergraduate, Erick researched growth mechanisms of single-walled carbon nanotubes. From there, he spent several years working in the design, manufacturing, oil and gas, and HVAC industries. These experiences motivated Erick to pursue research that can enhance quality of life by improving access to sustainable resources, particularly where a lack of physical infrastructure or economic resources presents a major obstacle. In his research, Erick develops integrated assessment tools to analyze how energy systems, water resources, supply chains, urban space, and transportation networks operate in concert to influence economic and environmental well-being. Since Fall 2019, Erick has been an NRT Fellow in the NSF Research Traineeship program on food-energy-water systems at UT and in the Summer of 2020 received the Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship from the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy to support his research with Los Alamos National Laboratory on the SimCCS tool for CCS infrastructure optimization. Erick also participates in education and outreach activities through the Planet Texas 2050 initiative, INFORMS, GEC, and Science in Residence, which encourages K-12 students to think about climate change and other STEM issues. 

Dr. Xin Liu to present seminar

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Title: Integrating Multiscale Modeling and Machine Learning – Design, Analysis and Manufacturing of Advanced Materials and Structures

Presenter: Dr. Xin Liu

Date: February 22, 2021

Time: 1:15 pm-2:15 pm

Teams Live Info:

Join on your computer or mobile app

Click here to join the meeting

Abstract: The superior performances of advanced materials and structures are mainly achieved through engineering the microstructure at different scales. This seminar will introduce a novel physics-based data-driven multiscale modeling approach to connecting the microstructures to the material properties and structural performances. The first part of this seminar will introduce the basic idea of the multiscale modeling method called mechanics of structure genome (MSG) and its application to textile composite structures. The accuracy and efficiency of the MSG models will be demonstrated by comparing with conventional finite element models. Moreover, the neural network models were trained to further accelerate the multiscale modeling. The second part of the seminar will introduce the on-going research of developing multiscale and multiphysics models to predict the process-structure-property-performance relation. The multiscale modeling was carried out to predict the effective thermal conductivity. In addition, a two-step homogenization approach was developed to enable in-situ monitoring and performance prediction considering the manufacturing-induced geometry imperfections. The developed approach can be used for the in-process decision making for additively manufactured materials with complex geometry shapes (e.g., metamaterials).

Bio: Dr. Xin Liu is an Assistant Professor in the Industrial, Manufacturing, & Systems Engineering Department at UTA. He is also a member in the Institute for Predictive Performance Methodologies at UTA Research Institute. Dr. Liu obtained his PhD in 2020 and Master of Engineering in 2016 from Purdue University in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. His expertise is in data-driven multiscale modeling of composite materials and structures. He has authored/co-authored 20+ journal papers and refereed conference papers. He also developed 3 computer codes for multiscale modeling of composites.  He received the American Society for Composites (ASC) Ph.D. Research Scholarship Award in 2018.

Interning with NASA

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By Anthony Corneau, B.S. IE student

Anthony Corneau

My first internship was in the engineering cost modeling office where I worked on a parametric modeling for space telescopes. This required sifting through and gathering large quantities of historical data then regressing it into a cost model. This gave me insight into budget and scheduling for large scale projects that included R&D, contracting, and multi-year timelines. I was so proud when my work was published alongside my mentors. During this experience, one of my mentors was able to bring me on detail to the Liquid Propulsion Engine Systems Engineering branch. This was so much fun being able to work hands on assembling a developmental rocket engine that was tested as well!

My second internship started in the summer of 2020, which turned into a part-time fall internship, my third and current. Over the last 6 months, I have worked in the Liquid Propulsion Engine Systems Engineering branches as a Systems Engineer, helping to develop the next generation architecture to replicate an in-space representative physical test bed for a project called the Integrated Reaction Control System (iRCS). This is an internal NASA project with strong potential for being part of the Artemis missions as well as the Mars Sample Collection international program. What is unique about this project is that it has no successful implementation to date and yet it would be a landmark achievement in combining the Main Propulsion Systems within space vehicles with their Reaction Control Systems, which historically through today is using two different propellants which creates a very heavy system. My role on the team has been largely systems engineering tasks and covering many different engineering disciplines. I have done work with documentation and data tracking, developing Concept of Operations and Test Matrices, fluid and thermal network flow simulation, component safety analysis, building VBA and Python based tools for analysis and verification, and more.

Through Dr. Boardman’s IE2305 Computer Applications and IE class, I gained experience in VBA that actually became incredibly useful in my current role. I was able to create complex macros that integrated many different software tools into a useful dynamic modeling tool within Excel, as well as create a more user friendly experience by utilizing command buttons and menus. Through Dr. Krecji’s IE 4303: Production and Inventory Control, I have been exploring VBA more in depth and using the simulation aspect with my work by using the principles learned in simulating for a FORTRAN script for a thermal and fluid flow simulation. I look forward to more systems engineering course work to help me in my next internship with NASA in the Summer of 2021.