Two new IOE associate chair positions created

Mariel Lavieri

Incoming Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies and Associate Professor of Industrial and Operations Engineering

Marina Epelman

Associate Chair of Graduate Studies and Professor of Industrial and Operations Engineering

PEOPLE:

U-M Industrial and Operations Engineering (IOE) has created two new associate chair positions, the Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies, and the Associate Chair of Graduate Studies. The new positions will each provide educational oversight and administrative leadership to the department, enabling IOE to carry out new initiatives related to its academic programs.

Both the undergraduate and graduate chairs will be responsible for ensuring that their respective program requirements, policies, procedures, and course offerings are aligned with the high standards of the University and IOE. Each chair will collect feedback from students and oversee the review, recommendation, and selection of scholarship recipients and honors and award nominations.

In addition to these responsibilities, the Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies will act as a key liaison between the department and the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education at the College of Engineering and other relevant College of Engineering committees. The Associate Chair will also oversee all aspects of the IOE undergraduate curriculum including the IOE Curriculum Committee.

Similarly, the Associate Chair of Graduate Studies will serve as an intermediary with the Rackham Graduate School and the College of Engineering Associate Dean for Graduate Education. The Associate Chair will also manage the administration of the PhD qualifying review process and preliminary exams and oversee the IOE Graduate Admissions and Financial Aid Committee.

Marina Epelman was selected as the first Associate Chair of Graduate Studies and officially assumed the responsibilities of the position on July 1, 2019. Professor Epelman has been a part of the IOE faculty since 1999 and teaches courses in linear and nonlinear optimization. Her research concerns many aspects of mathematical optimization, including both theoretical developments and applications in scheduling and healthcare.

Mariel Lavieri was appointed as the first Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies. Associate Professor Lavieri joined IOE in 2009 and will officially step into the new associate chair position on January 1, 2020. Her research focuses on applying operations research to healthcare challenges. Her most recent research on medical decision making explores determining optimal monitoring and treatment by explicitly modeling stochastic disease progression.