Joseph D. Blackburn – Vanderbilt University
Joseph D. Blackburn is the James A. Speyer Professor of Production Management at the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University. He received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Vanderbilt University in 1963, his M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin in 1964, and his Ph.D. in Operations
Research from Stanford University, 1971.

Professor Blackburn's research and teaching in operations management focuses on time-based competition: how organizations can use faster response to customers for competitive advantage. He is the author of Time-Based Competition: The Next Battleground in American Manufacturing, and is an authority on accelerating new-product development, streamlining supply chains and reverse supply chain strategy. He was appointed Acting Dean of the Owen School in 1999 after the death of Martin Geisel and served in that capacity until Prof. Bill Christie was named Dean in July 2000. He served as Senior Associate Dean from 2005-2007 and also served as Associate Deanl from 1988- 93. In 1995 Prof. Blackburn was named the Outstanding Professor in the Executive MBA Program and continues to teach in the program. Prior to coming to Owen, Blackburn was an Associate Professor of Operations Management at Boston University's School of Management. He also served as Assistant Professor of Management Science at the
University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business, and as Visiting Assistant Professor of Decision Sciences at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. He received his Ph.D in operations research from Stanford in 1971. Before moving to academia, Prof. Blackburn was a chemical engineer for Eastman Kodak in the chemical process
design and economic analysis group. He is a Fellow of the Production and Operations Management Society and serves on the editorial board of the POMS Journal.

Steven C. Graves – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Stephen C. Graves is the Abraham J. SiegelProfessor of Management Science at MIT. Professor Graves received his A.B. and M.B.A. from Dartmouth College and completed his Ph.D. in operations research from the University of Rochester. Since 1977 he has been on the faculty at MIT. He has previously served as a deputy dean at the MIT Sloan School, 1990 – 1993 and the co-director of the MIT Leaders for Manufacturing (LFM) Program (1989- 1990
and 1994 – 2001) and the System Design and Management (SDM) Program (1999 – 2001). He served a two-year term as
the Chair of the MIT Faculty, 2001 – 2003. He has joint faculty appointments with both the Mechanical Engineering Department and the Engineering Systems Division at MIT.

He teaches classes in mathematical modeling and analysis, as applied to decision making in the context of manufacturing, supply chains and distribution systems. His primary research interests are in the design and planning of manufacturing systems and supply chains; recent efforts have considered supply -chain optimization, the evaluation of manufacturing flexibility and various tactical issues arising in e-retailing. He has authored
over 50 papers and is the co-editor of two handbooks:
Logistics of Production and Inventory and Supply Chain Management: Design, Coordination and Operation. Graves has
served on several editorial boards for journals in operations management and management science, and has consulted in areas of production, logistics and distribution systems to several organizations. He has conducted industry-based research projects with numerous companies, including AT&T, IBM, Monsanto, Eastman Kodak, Amazon.com, Intel, General Motors, Boeing, Teradyne and Staples. He is a member of the Board of Advisors to Optiant, a supply chain software firm, and the chief science advisor to JDA Software.