Spencer C. Schantz Distinguished Lecturer: Mingzhou Jin

Lecture Title: Industrial Engineering for the Design and Improvement of Systems with Societal Significance

Abstract: Industrial engineering and operations research can be applied to a wide range of systems with significant societal impact, including logistics and supply chains, manufacturing, energy, building construction, agriculture, healthcare, environmental systems, and scientific discovery enterprises. By leveraging advanced decision-making tools and a systems perspective, these approaches enable the design and improvement of such systems, enhancing their efficiency, resilience, and overall contributions to human well-being. In this talk, Dr. Jin will share insights from his experience in applying industrial and systems engineering across diverse domains, as well as his leadership in large-scale, convergent research initiatives.

Bio: Mingzhou Jin is the John D. Tickle Professor and department head of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). He also directs the Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment, ISSE for UTK, and is the PI for the Center for Freight Transportation for Efficient & Resilient Supply Chain (FERSC), a $10M DOT/UTC tier-1 center. He also co-leads a new $20M initiative at UTK and Oak Ridge National Lab for advanced manufacturing for affordable building construction. His research interest includes operations research, sustainability, supply chain, logistics, building environment, additive and smart manufacturing, energy efficiency, transportation, and data analytics. His research has been well sponsored, with over $30 million in grants and contracts from many federal and local government agencies and corporations. He has published more than 130 journal papers. His recent work appeared in Nature, Nature Communications, Nature Climate Change, Production and Operations Management, INFORMS Journal on Computing, Mathematical Programming Computation, IISE Transactions, and other top journals. He won the 2024 and 2021 UTK Success in Multidisciplinary Research Award, UTK Research and Creative Achievement Award, Tickle College of Engineering Research Achievement Award, Outstanding Faculty Service Award, and Teaching Fellow Award. He is a fellow of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers. Currently, he is the Editor-in-Chief of the Engineering Economist, the Editor-in-Chief of Cleaner and Circular Bioeconomy, and the Executive Editor of the Journal of Cleaner Production. He received his Ph.D. from Lehigh University in 2001.