Workshops
Tuesday, October 13, 2026, 4:00 – 6:00 pm (Onsite Room 3)
Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Workshop
Dr. Tony Prensa, PhD, MBA, PMP, CB-PMO, CCP, ITIL, 6σ
Chief Executive Officer & Founder
TP Global Business Consulting, LLC
Orlando, Florida, USA
Dr. Prensa is a highly accomplished executive and leader of project management office (PMO), project/portfolio management, information systems and technologies, combines a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership with a major in Information Systems and Technologies, Certified PMO Professional, Authorized PMO Instructor, Certified Project Management (PMP), and ITILIV certification with extensive experience managing and overseeing large information systems projects/programs, strategic planning, and seamless IT implementations. Adept at reengineering business processes, change management and IT infrastructure with business visions to drive profitability, efficiency, and growth within the organization. Proficient at ensuring all processes comply with regulatory requirements and IT governance practices. Excellent communicator with strong influencing and problem-solving skills. Strong leadership skills and demonstrated ability to lead team members and external business contacts including stakeholders such as consultants, partners and vendors. Demonstrated track record of delivery of multiple technical and business projects on time and within budget. Experience in full-lifecycle project management methodologies and tools. Dr. Prensa has been involved with the Project Management Institute for more than twenty-five years. He served a vice president of PMI Puerto Rico Chapter from 1998-2000. He also volunteered in many activities to promote project management and participated of writing PMP exam questions workshop in Dallas, Texas in 2002. Dr. Prensa has helped hundreds of project management professionals to get prepared for the PMP exam. Dr. Prensa has taught project management for several universities in the country, including Virginia Technical University, Grand Canyon University, Colorado Technical University, University of Phoenix and currently teaching for Walden University. With more than 25 years of teaching experience in various formats, face-to-face and virtual. Dr. Prensa has developed techniques to connect with learners and students in the most efficient way. Dr. Prensa has extraordinary people skills, he always puts people first.
2:30 – 4:00 pm, October 14, 2026 (Onsite Room 3)
Student Career Planning and Development Workshop / Panel
Chair
Dr. Ali Abbas
Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California, USA
Presentation Title: Integrating AI, Ethics, and an Appropriate Decision System into Large-Scale Decisions
Dr. Ali Abbas is Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California. He is author, coauthor, and editor of numerous books including (i) Foundations of Decision Analysis, with Ronald A. Howard, (ii) Foundations of Multiattribute Utility, (iii) Next Generation Ethics, and (iv) Ethical Decision Quality: Building an Ethical Decision Culture. He also served as the Director of the Neely Center for Ethical Leadership and Decision-Making, and the Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Threats and Emergencies (CREATE).
He received the Decision Analysis Society Best Paper Award in 2011, the IEEE Systems Council Best Publication Award in 2019, and the Clemen-Kleinmuntz Best publication award in Decision Analysis in 2026. He has been involved in numerous high-stakes decisions including the analysis of TSA-Pre decisions with the Chief Risk Officer of the TSA.
Dr. Abbas regularly teaches courses on decision analysis and has taught numerous executive education courses at a variety of institutions, such as Stanford University, BP, Southern California Edison, the Department of Homeland Security, and numerous other institutions. In addition to his academic career, Dr. Abbas is recipient of the first cohort of NSF I-Corps award where he founded Ahoona, a decision making social network that has several thousand users around the world.
Members
Dr. Leonard (Lenny) Perry
Associate Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering
Director of Industry Partner Program
University of San Diego
San Diego, California, USA
Dr. Leonard A. Perry, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Director of the Industry Partner Program at the University of San Diego. He holds a B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Ohio University, an M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Clemson University, and a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Arizona State University, where his doctoral research focused on quality improvement.
Dr. Perry’s expertise includes Six Sigma, quality improvement, applied statistics, process improvement, engineering education, and industry-engaged engineering projects. His scholarly and professional work includes the integration of Six Sigma into industrial engineering education and the application of industrial engineering methods to manufacturing and service systems. Through the University of San Diego’s industry partnerships, he has led and supervised projects addressing production improvement, inventory management, setup and changeover reduction, and other real-world process improvement challenges.
Dr. Sina Zare
Assistant Professor, Information Systems and Business Analytics
College of Business Administration
Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles County, California
Dr. Sina Zare is an Assistant Professor of Information Systems and Business Analytics at Loyola Marymount University’s College of Business Administration. He holds a Ph.D. in Management Science from the University of Texas at Arlington and an M.S. in Production Engineering and Management from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden. His research focuses on behavioral operations management, behavioral decision-making, family business, AI-driven operations, data analytics, and supply chain and operations management, with particular interest in how human behavior, organizational context, and emerging technologies shape managerial decisions and performance. Dr. Zare’s interdisciplinary work bridges academia and practice through collaborations with industry leaders, startups, family enterprises, and organizations across multiple sectors. He is also actively involved in international academic and professional communities through research, industry engagement, panel leadership, and initiatives connecting entrepreneurial thinking with data-driven innovation and operational excellence.
4:00 – 6:00 pm, October 14, 2026 (Onsite Room 3)
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Workshop
Workshop Facilitator: Professor Don Reimer, Lawrence Tech, MI, USA
Each team will develop an idea to solve an engineering problem that may have commercial potential. They will develop a business plan using the business model canvas. Teams will compete for prizes with best ideas and best commercial potentials. Students need to bring their laptops.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Workshop – A hands-on interactive learning experience
This workshop has been designed to encourage participants in a hands-on interactive learning experience on the development of the entrepreneurial mindset
Topics:
- Idea Generation
- Opportunity Recognition
- Ventura Creation
- Value Creation
- Understanding and working with the Business Model Canvas as a validation tool
- Identifying “Customer Segments” and the “Customer Archetype”
- Introduction to the Business Planning Process
- Presentation and Recognition (Prizes)
- Join us for an exciting and interactive learning experience on how to make your dream a reality.
Professor Donald M. Reimer
Chief Operating Officer
IEOM Society International
President, The Small Business Strategy Group, Detroit, Michigan, USA
Adjunct Faculty – A. Leon Linton Department of Mechanical Engineering
Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan, USA
Donald M. Reimer is an adjunct faculty at the A. Leon Linton Department of Mechanical Engineering in College of Engineering at Lawrence Tech in Southfield, Michigan. He coordinates the Certificate of Entrepreneurial Engineering Skills. Mr. Reimer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management from Lawrence Technological University and a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from University of Detroit/Mercy. He is a Certified Management Consultant with over 35 years of experience in working with closely-held businesses. He has taught courses in entrepreneurship, strategic management, corporate entrepreneurship and innovation for engineers. Mr. Reimer is a member of the Lawrence Tech Kern Campus Committee, Coordinator of the Lawrence Tech Innovation Encounter. He is faculty Advisor of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization. Mr. Reimer serves as a Kern Fellow of The Kern Family Foundation, Co-Direct of the Coleman Fellows Program, member of the National Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization Faculty Advisory Council and is a member of the American Society of Engineering Education.
He has operated his own consulting company – The Small Business Strategy Group for 23 years. He published numerous articles on small business, entrepreneurship and strategic thinking. He has received several awards and recognition by local, state and federal agencies for his work in entrepreneurship and minority business development. Mr. Reimer served as member of the Minority Economic Development Committee of New Detroit. Mr. Reimer is member of the Small Business Advisory Council of the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Reimer is a member of Advisory Board of the Milwaukee Junction Small Business Assistance Center. He is also a member of the Applied Innovation Alliance. Mr. Reimer serves as a KEEN Fellow for The Kern Family Foundation and is a member of United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
4:30-6:00 pm, October 15, 2026 (Onsite Room 3)
Six Sigma Green Belt Workshop
IEOM Six Sigma Yellow Belt (IEOM-SSYB)
IEOM Six Sigma Green Belt (IEOM-SSGB)
Speaker: Dr. Ahad Ali, Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan, USA
Six Sigma Certification Topics
- Six Sigma Fundamentals
Define
- Project Charter
- Process Maps, SIPOC, Matrix Diagrams, Critical to Quality (CTQ) Metrics, and DPMO
- Pareto Chart
- SIPOC
Measure
- Process analysis
- Probability, Statistics and Distribution
- Data collection and analysis
- Gage Repeatability and Reproducibility (R&R)
- Process capability
- X-Bar Charts, Run Charts, Moving Average Charts, EWMA Charts, Attribute Charts, Takt Time, Standardization, Spaghetti Diagrams, and Setup Reductions
Analyze
- Value Stream Map
- Hypothesis Testing
- Goodness of fit test
- Regression Analysis
- Cause & Effect Diagrams
- Scatter Diagrams
- ANOVA
- Confidence Interval
Improve
- Lean Tools to reduce NVA: 5S, Kaizen, Seven Zeros, TPS Principles, FMEA, and Simulation
- Design of Experiments (DOE)
- Statistical Process Control (SPC)
- Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
- Solutions Validation
Control
- Control Plan
- SPC
- Tracking
- DFSS
Dr. Ahad Ali
Associate Professor
Director of Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering
Director, Master of Science in Industrial Engineering
Director of Smart Manufacturing and Lean Systems Research Group
A. Leon Linton Department of Mechanical, Robotics and Industrial Engineering
Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan, USA
Executive Director, IEOM Society International
Dr. Ahad Ali is an Associate Professor and Director of Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and Master of Science in Industrial Engineering in the A. Leon Linton Department of Mechanical, Robotics and Industrial Engineering at the Lawrence Technological University, Michigan. Dr. Ali is the Director of Smart Manufacturing and Lean Systems Research Group. He earned B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh, Masters in Systems and Engineering Management from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Dr. Ali is the Executive Director of IEOM Society and Conference Chair of the Sixth International Conference on Industrial Engineering and operations Management, Kuala Lumpur 2016. He advised six doctorate students in Doctor of Engineering in Manufacturing Systems. Dr. Ali has published journal and conference papers. He was past President of IIE Lean Division. Dr Ali has done research projects with Chrysler, Ford, DTE Energy, Delphi Automotive System, GE Medical Systems, Harley-Davidson Motor Company, International Truck and Engine Corporation (ITEC), National/Panasonic Electronics, and Rockwell Automation. His research interests include quality, reliability, six sigma, manufacturing, simulation, optimization, scheduling, maintenance, e-manufacturing, lean, CAE and GD&T and. He is a member of ASEE, IEEE, IEOM, INFORMS, and SME.