Özlem Ergun

Professor, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Dr. Özlem Ergun’s research focuses on the design and management of large-scale and decentralized networks. She has applied her work on network design, management, and resilience to problems arising in many critical systems including transportation, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare. Ergun has worked with organizations that respond to emergencies and humanitarian crises around the world, including USAID, UNWFP, UNHCR, IFRC, OXFAM America, CARE USA, FEMA, USACE, CDC, AFCEMA, and MedShare International.

Dr. Ergun contributes regularly to Auribus Consulting, a Boston-based management consulting firm, as a logistics and analytics expert. Dr. Ergun has also been a leader in establishing a strong community of OR/MS professionals with an interest in public programs. She was the President of INFORMS Section on Public Programs, Service and Needs in 2013. She currently serves as the Area Editor at the Operations Research journal for Policy Modeling and the Public Sector Area. Dr. Ergun is also a founding co-chair of the annual Health and Humanitarian Logistics Conference, held annually since 2009.

Education:

  • Ph. D., Operations Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA, June 2001
  • B. S., Operations Research and Industrial Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, January 1996

Research Overview:

Design and management of large-scale networks, supply chain design and resilience, collaboration and crowdsourcing in logistics, humanitarian logistics