Sharan Srinivas

Sharan Srinivas

Assitant Professor

Welcome to my corner of academia and research expertise! I am an Associate Professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering and the Department of Marketing at the Robert J. Trulaske Sr. College of Business, University of Missouri (MU). I am also the Director for Graduate Studies for the Industrial & Systems Engineering department.

The core focus of my research is to develop novel theories and methods to effectively solve complex operations research (OR) problems that address societal needs and national priorities. With the advent of Industry 5.0, which focuses on societal values, mass customizations and human-machine cooperation, the need to address new OR problems that have real-world implications in fields such as supply chain, manufacturing, logistics/transportation, healthcare, biomedical informatics, and other service systems are increasing. As a result, I am motivated by the prominent challenges in developing novel frameworks, techniques and tools for use-inspired OR problems to enable faster and smarter decisions in the aforementioned thrust areas.

Along with my team of students and collaborators, I aim to conduct innovative and transformative research that leads to the creation of new knowledge, and scalable solution approaches for optimizing societal as well as business applications using data analytics, optimization, machine learning, and heuristic algorithms. My research program builds on my interest to theorize, model, solve and analyze current as well as emerging use-inspired OR problems with the aim of deriving technical advancements, practical/policy implications, and societal impacts. My research includes the development of fundamental and applied innovations involving discrete optimization (exact and approximate algorithms), stochastic models/sequential decision-making, simulation, data analytics and machine learning. My scholarly work has been strengthened by multidisciplinary, multi-institution collaborators and students, whom I have recruited, supported and advised.

I have focused on building my research portfolio through strategic collaborations, industry partnerships and sponsored projects funded by industry as well as state/federal government agencies. My research has received over $2.6M in funding (as PI and Co-PI) and the sponsors include: National Science Foundation (NSF), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), US Economic Development Administration (EDA), Alaska Department of Transportation (AKDOT), Missouri Dept. of Higher Education and Workforce Development (MDHEWD), Schneider Electric, Roche Pharmaceuticals, Boeing, Rebundle, and Trinity Products. My scholarly activities have led to 45 peer-reviewed journal articles, 45+ conference abstracts/proceedings, 1 edited book, 4 book chapters, and 2 provisional patents.

At MU, I bring my expertise to the classroom, teaching a diverse range of undergraduate, graduate, and MBA-level courses. The core topics covered in my courses include data analytics, machine learning, simulation, service systems, and supply chain optimization. I am an active member of INFORMS and IISE professional societies and has served numerous times as a track chair and session chair in their annual conferences. I am also the editorial board member for Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review journal and Topic Editor for Sustainability journal.

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Education

  • PhD, Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, Pennsylvania State University, USA
  • MEng, Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, Pennsylvania State University, USA
  • MS, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Binghamton University, USA
  • BE, Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering-Guindy, Anna University, India

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