College of Sustainable Operations

The mission of the College of Sustainable Operations is to create a community of researchers, educators and practitioners sharing a common interest in the application of operations management principles and tools for improving environmental, social and economic sustainability. The prime objective is to foster the creation and dissemination of knowledge to improve our understanding of the issues at the interface between sustainability and operations, and to develop tools that can aid in organizational decision-making in both business and non-profit sectors. The College embraces theoretical and empirical research, practical applications and projects, field studies as well as teaching and pedagogical material.

The College will be actively involved with the organization of research tracks and presentations at the POMS Conferences. In addition, it will hold specialized events to bring together academicians, practitioners, as well as members from the public sector and NGOs to exchange ideas on pressing issues related to sustainable operations. The College will also maintain a Web site and email listserv to facilitate the exchange of information within the community.

Workshop on New Product Development, Innovation, and Sustainability
October 14-15, 2010
Kelley School of Business, Indiana University

The Operations & Decision Technologies Department at the Kelley School of Business of Indiana University is pleased to sponsor a workshop on the interface between new product development, innovation, and sustainability. The workshop will be held at the Kelley School on October 14-15, 2010. The Kelley School of Business has generously agreed to cover all registration fees and meals during the two-day workshop, as well as an informal reception on the previous evening of October 13th.

This workshop precedes the deadline for submission of papers to the special issue of Production and Operations Management on new product development, innovation, and sustainability, and we encourage researchers planning a submission to this special issue to present their developing work at the workshop, where they can receive feedback that can foster further refinement to their research. Program committee members for the workshop include the three co-editors for the special issue: Mark Ferguson (Georgia Tech), Glen Schmidt (University of Utah), and Gil Souza (Indiana University).

Deadline for workshop submissions (one-page extended abstract) is July 30th, 2010. The Kelley School will cover hotel expenses for authors of accepted abstracts. Notices of acceptances will be sent by August 13th.

For more information, please check: http://mypage.iu.edu/~gsouza/index.htm

Kyle Cattani and Gil Souza
Kelley School of Business, Indiana University
Workshop Co-Chairs

1. 2010 Mini-Conference of the POMS College of Sustainable Operations

The Mini-Conference of the POMS College of Sustainable Operations was successfully held at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Center Hotel on May 6, 2010. The Mini-Conference brought together more than 30 researchers who shared a common interest in sustainability and sustainable operations.

The Mini-Conference commenced with Stelios Kavadias’s thought-provoking presentation about the interaction between sustainability and product development. He emphasized the importance of metrics for measuring sustainability and discussed driving factors of sustainability in the context of organization structures. Alfonso Pedraza Martinez talked about humanitarian logistics based on his pioneering field work. His presentation focused on fleet management in the field. Industry keynote speaker, Burton Hammer, talked about sustainability using an example of a new hydropower technology that his company developed and its business model. Shmuel Oren clearly explained complicated electricity markets using mathematical models that are actually used to support electricity trading in the U.S.. His presentation covered important market issues, including electricity market risks and the impact of carbon regulations. Andrew Hoffman analyzed the evolution of the concept of sustainability from an innovative cultural and social viewpoint.

2. Announcement for the winner of the PhD Proposal Award

Winner: Alfonso Pedraza Martinez from INSEAD (advisor, Luk N. Van Wassenhove, INSEAD)
Dissertation title: “Last Mile Vehicle Fleet Management in Humanitarian Operations”

Congratulations, Alfonso.

Award Committee: Vedat Verter (chair, McGill), Charles Corbett (UCLA), Mike Ketzenberg (Texas A&M), and Joe Blackburn (Vanderbilt)

3. 2009 Mini-Conference of the POMS College of Sustainable Operations

The Mini-Conference of the POMS College of Sustainable Operations was successfully held at the Buena Vista Palace Hotel & Spa in Orlando on April 30, 2009. The Mini-Conference brought together more than 40 researchers who shared the common interest on sustainability and sustainable operations.

The Mini-Conference commenced with Gil Souza’s overview of current research and future directions in closed-loop supply chains by. He categorized the research areas of closed-loop supply chains and discussed research trends and future directions for each area. Charles Corbett talked about environmental operations. His interactive style presentation induced many interesting potential research topics from audience. Luk Van Wassenhove shared his experience and views on an emerging research area, humanitarian logistics, with examples from the projects led at INSEAD. He explained the differentiating aspects of humanitarian logistics and emphasized the need to bridge the gap between academics and practice in this area. Atalay Atasu and Ravi Subramanian presented a summary of the submissions to the Sustainable Operations Track of POMS Annual Meeting, and an analysis of the research trends on the basis of this information.

The editorial panel was held in the afternoon. Senior editors of leading journals (Management Science, Production and Operations Management, Journal of Operations Management, Journal of Supply Chain Management, Journal of Industrial Ecology, and Foundations and Trend in Technology) discussed trends and interest from these journals in various types of sustainable operations research.

Board Members 2010

• President: Gil Souza (Indiana University, Bloomington)
  
• VP Meetings: Atalay Atasu (Georgia Institute of Technology)
  
• VP Membership: Michael Galbreth (University of South Carolina)
  
• VP Outreach and Awards: Elif Akcali (University of Florida)
  
• Treasurer: Deishin Lee (Harvard University)
  
• Secretary: Ravi Subramanian (Georgia Institute of Technology)
  
• Online Editor: Fuminori Toyasaki (York University)
  
• Past President: Tamer Boyaci (McGill University)

  
  Past Board Members

  
  
  • President: Tamer Boyaci (McGill University)
    
  • VP of Membership: Michael Galbreth (University of South Carolina)
    
  • VP of Meetings: Atalay Atasu (Georgia Institute of Technology)
    
  • VP of Outreach & Awards: Vedat Verter (McGill University)
    
  • Treasurer: Michael Ketzenberg (Texas A&M University)
    
  • Secretary: Ravi Subramanian (Georgia Institute of Technology)
    
  • Online Editor: Fuminori Toyasaki (York University)