I Had a Great Time Speaking on Agricultural Supply Chain Networks at the University of Louisville in Kentucky

I returned from Louisville, Kentucky, past midnight. Immediately after my Humanitarian Logistics & Healthcare class at the Isenberg School of Management this past Thursday, I headed to Bradley airport for my flight to Detroit, and onwards to Louisville. I was very excited to have been invited to speak at the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Louisville. I was invited by Professor Lihui Bai, who, along with Professor Monica Gentili, co-directs the Logistics and Distribution Institute there. Professor Bai's PhD advisor at the University of Florida was Don Hearn, who was a good friend of my PhD advisor, Stella Dafermos of Brown University. Both have passed away.

It was also wonderful to be in a warmer climate with even flowers, after a very long winter in New England. It was great to meet in the morning with Professors Yunmei Liu and Thomas Riedel (a University of Massachusetts Amherst PhD alumnus), and to hear Professor Bai's PhD students speak on their fascinating research! One of Dr. Bai's PhD students is now working with one of my former PhD students and Dr. Bai.  A feature of academia that I love is all the connections that we have across the miles. Thanks also to Professor Brian Yueshuai He for meeting with me and discussing congestion pricing in Manhattan. He has a PhD from the Tandon School at NYU.   I thoroughly enjoyed speaking about agricultural supply chain networks and the many challenges that exist today (including tariffs) and how we quantify resilience and robustness under disaster scenarios. I also spoke on making an impact and interacting with journalists and the media as well as legislators. The Q&A was excellent after my presentation and we took a nice group photo.

The lunch at the University Club with Interim School of Business Dean Jeff Guan, the Chair of Computer Science and Engineering Wei Zhang, and Dr. Bai, which included oysters, was delicious. Another highlight was a group discussion with the IE PhD students, from so many countries (Turkey, Iran, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh....). Their energy, enthusiasm, and passion for their research are uplifting. I was surprised by a beautiful gift of stunning coasters presented to me with Kentucky Derby artwork on them.  We will use them when we toast the derby in early May! 

Sincerest thanks to all and especially to Professor Lihui Bai for the exceptional hospitality extended to me and for the great attention to detail in organizing my visit.

Many thanks to Delta for terrific 4 flights and for upgrades! 

Thanks to Mr. Ryan Avery, Regional Disaster Officer of the American Red Cross

As an educator, I hope to inspire my students in all the classes that I teach and also to impart knowledge gained from years of doing research and teaching a plethora of courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

This spring semester, I am, again, teaching my Humanitarian Logistics and Healthcare class at the Isenberg School of Management. The class attracts students not only from our business school, but also from Public Health and from Engineering at UMass Amherst. The class meets, bright and early, on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:30AM. The scheduling of this course so early makes sense since a very important part of the course is hearing from expert practitioners, some of whom  travel close to 2 hours to give a guest lecture. 

This past Thursday,  we had the great honor and pleasure of having Mr. Ryan Avery, a Regional Disaster Officer (RDO) for the American Red Cross (ARC), speak in my Humanitarian Logistics & Healthcare class. 

Ryan's presentation was so informative and engaging that we all left energized, inspired, filled with hope, and grateful for the work that the ARC does in alleviating suffering. Ryan manages an ARC team of 12 employees and 750 volunteers and serves as a member of the Northeast Division Response Management Team as an Assistant Director of Workforce.  

He began his Red Cross journey in 2010 as a Disaster Cycle Services Volunteer in Connecticut, serving in this capacity for 6 years. In 2016, Ryan transitioned to becoming an employee with the ARC, working in different roles with the Wisconsin and Massachusetts teams, and as an RDO since 2023. His wealth of experience in responding to numerous national disaster relief operations including Hurricanes Matthew, Irma, Maria, Laura, Ian, and even to the 2021 Afghan Repatriation, Hurricane Helene, and the recent DCA plane crash left us awe-struck. It was very impressive to hear how the ARC continues to innovate; to be as efficient as possible; to focus on preparedness as well as on response, and to even work on long-term recovery programs. There are true heroes among us - many thanks to Mr. Ryan Avery and to the American Red Cross!

I presented Ryan with a framed Professor for a Day certificate signed by our Isenberg School Dean Anne P. Massey. I also followed up with a formal Thank You letter for his outstanding presentation and copied it to several ARC officials. I continue to get emails from students who were incredibly moved by his presentation and by his willingness to answer so many questions. During these very challenging times, goodness and kindness and professionalism of our disaster relief workers give me hope as does the appreciation of my students for the workers' courage and selflessness. 

President of the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) Back at UMass Amherst

Yesterday, was a very busy, fascinating day with the return of Dr. Tymofiy Mylovanov to UMass Amherst. Mylovanov is the long-term President of the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) in Ukraine. He has led this private university for over 3 years in war-time. Enrollment has tripled; many new programs have been started, including in engineering, an, through its KSE Institute, numerous timely white papers have been published, that are regularly cited in the media. KSE, even in wartime, has hosted many dignitaries and thought leaders. Mylovanov regularly speaks to the media, including CNN.

The day was blustery, with 60 mile an hour winds. Mylovanov told me about the turbulence on his flight from Reagan National in DC to Bradley Airport (our local airport) in Connecticut. Luckily, on the third attempt, the pilot landed the plane safely!

I had helped to organize his visit and talk, with assistance from the Office of Global Affairs and the UMass Amherst INFORMS Student Chapter. It was Mylovanov's 3rd visit to UMass Amherst since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Shortly after that date, I was elected Co-Chair of the KSE Board of Directors but continue to serve on its International Academic Board. Very quickly UMass Amherst and KSE signed a series of MOUs and our global partnership was established.

Thanks to the Office of Global Affairs at UMass Amherst and its Director, Vice Provost Dr. Kalpen Trivedi, and Kim Stender for organizing the excellent lunch at The Commonwealth Restaurant with Provost Fouad Abd-El-Khalick, Dr. Trivedi, the Dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences Dr. Karl Rethemeyer, and Senior Associate Dean Lisa Masteralexis joining us. 

Since Mylovanov is having a big birthday in a few days, we surprised him with dessert and Happy Birthday and his name written out in chocolate.

Afterwards, we had a terrific, informal Meet and Great in the Elkins Room at the Isenberg School, which included the exchange students from KSE, some of our Operations Management PhD students, my OIM Department Chair, Professor Senay Solak, and Professor Bogdan Prokopovych.

We then, as a group, headed to the IALS building where Mylovanov gave the talk, "Future of Europe if Ukraine Loses," to a packed audience of students, faculty, and staff from UMass Amherst, and even from Amherst College and the community. The UMass Amherst INFORMS Student Chapter, whose President this year is my PhD student, Ismael Pour, did a fantastic job promoting this event. In fact, the announcement for Mylovanov's seminar was posted all week on the UMass Amherst homepage!

There was a great reception afterwards with delicious food and desserts.

We escorted Dr. Mylovanov back to his car and onwards to Bradley and DC.  Today, he flies to London and will visit several cities in different countries before his return to KSE and Kyiv.

Below is a collage of photographs from his very special visit.

Thanks to all who were able to join us!

2025 Panel with the Exchange Students from the Kyiv School of Economics in Ukraine

This was a very tough week, beginning with Monday, February 24, 2025, the 3rd anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine,  followed by the visit of Ukraine's President Zelenskyi to the Oval Office in DC on Friday, February 28.

In the afternoon of February 27, we hosted a panel at the Isenberg School of Management with the exchange students from the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) in Ukraine. I'd like to thank the UMass Amherst INFORMS Student Chapter and its President, Ismael Pour, for designing a nice flyer for the event and for handling the promotion and logistics.

Below is a collage of photos and the flyer.

It was an honor to moderate this panel with my colleague, Dr. Bogdan Prokopovych.

The slide deck of my presentation, with some background on the UMass Amherst - KSE partnership, which includes the student exchange program as well as a Virtual Scholar Program with scholars in Ukraine, can be found on the Supernetwork Center website: https://supernet.isenberg.umass.edu/visuals/KSEExchangeStudentPanel2025.pdf

Many thanks to all who came to support our four outstanding exchange students from Ukraine! Their work ethic, dedication, courage, friendliness, love of their homeland, and appreciation of all that UMass Amherst has to offer, are inspiring.