Five USC PhD Students to Study Supply Chain Sustainability

With support from the USC Office of Research and Innovation, CREATE has launched a new research initiative focused on Supply Chain Integration, Resilience and Trust.  A specific focus is supply chain sustainability, in the sourcing and recycling of materials, components and products, as well as transition to electric vehicles.  Another focus is supply chain disruptions arising from extreme weather events, precipitated by climate change.  

Five Ph.D. students from USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering and Price School of Public Policy have joined the effort through their doctoral research. The new thrust is led by CREATE Director Randolph Hall.  Price faculty member Genevieve Giuliano and Viterbi faculty member Bhaskar Krishnamachari are co-Principal Investigators.  In addition, John Carlsson and Maged Dessouky from the Viterbi school are mentoring participating Ph.D. students.

Wentao Zhao is a Ph.D. student in the Epstein Department of Industrial and System Engineering. He received his master’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from Columbia University and Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Zhejiang University. His research focus is developing models and algorithms leveraging operations research and machine learning to address decision-making challenges arising in the battery supply chain.

Tanvir Ibna Kaisar is a third year PhD student at the Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Prior to joining USC, he received bachelors and masters degrees in Industrial and Production Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. His research interest lies in the intersection of optimization, data analytics, and machine learning applications. He is developing heuristic solutions that address real-life complex problems. Currently, he is working on mechanism design in collaborative online truck routing.

Narjes Nourzad is an Electrical Engineering (EE) student pursuing a Ph.D. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Tehran in Iran. Throughout her academic journey, Narjes has developed an interest in the applications of Reinforcement Learning (RL) in various domains, with a particular focus on using RL to enhance networking systems and adaptive and intelligent network systems capable of meeting the ever-growing demands of modern communication. She will apply these skills to issues in supply chain resilience and trust.

Qifan Shao is a second-year Ph.D. student in Urban Planning and Development at the University of Southern California. She received her Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Peking University and her Bachelor’s degree in Human Geography and Urban Planning from Northwest A&F University. Her research focuses on land use and transportation, relationships between land use and travel behaviors, sustainable transportation, low-carbon transportation, and social equity.

Ke Xu is pursuing her Ph.D. degree in the Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. She received her masters degree at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and bachelors at Xi’an Jiaotong University. Her research focuses on last-mile delivery problems.