Keynote Speakers
Day 1 – July 20, 2026
10:30 am – Opening
11:00 am, July 20, 2026
Prof. Dr. Dursun Delen
Regents Professor at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA
and Professor at Istinye University, Istanbul, Turkey
Short Bio
Dr. Dursun Delen is a world-renowned thought leader in the fields of artificial intelligence, data science, and business analytics. He currently serves as the William S. Spears Endowed Chair in Business Administration and the Patterson Family Endowed Chair in Business Analytics at Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business, where he is also a Regents Professor of Management Science and Information Systems and the Director of Research for the Center for Health Systems Innovation. Before joining OSU, Dr. Delen spent five years as a research scientist at a private research and consultancy company, where he led groundbreaking advanced analytics projects funded by prestigious federal agencies, including the Department of Defense and NASA. His prolific scholarship is evidenced by more than 250 peer-reviewed articles and 12 influential books, making him a sought-after consultant and keynote speaker at national and international conferences. In addition to his research and teaching, Dr. Delen shapes the future of his field as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Business Analytics and AI in Business (Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence), and as a senior or associate editor for several other top-tier journals. His exceptional contributions have been recognized through numerous federal grants and awards—including honors as an eminent professor, Fulbright scholar, Regents’ Distinguished Teacher and Researcher, President’s Outstanding Researcher, and Big Data Mentor.
Presentation Title: Making Sense of AI, Data Science, and the Future of Decision-Making
Abstract:
Artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, big data, and business intelligence—these terms dominate conversations in industry and academia alike. Yet, for many, they remain blurred together, creating confusion about what each truly means and how they differ. This keynote aims to cut through the noise by demystifying these concepts, clarifying where they overlap, and—most importantly—showing where their real power lies. Through vivid, real-world examples drawn from healthcare, education, entertainment, and beyond, the talk will reveal how organizations are turning data into meaningful insight and competitive advantage. Rather than framing data science as just another buzzword, we’ll explore its feasibility, practical applications, and enduring value proposition as a driver of innovation. By the end, participants will not only understand the distinctions between the terms but also see how data-driven strategies are shaping industries and solving pressing global challenges. Join us for a pragmatic journey that bridges technical depth with approachable clarity—designed to empower leaders, practitioners, and innovators to see through the jargon and unlock the real promise of AI and data science.
11:30 am
Dr. José Carlos de Sá
Professor at the Porto School of Engineering (ISEP)
Postgraduate Lean Six Sigma Course Coordinator
Polytechnic of Porto
Portugal
12:00 pm
12:30 pm
Day 21 – July 20, 2026
10:30 – 11:00 am
Gemma Berenguer, Ph.D.
Ramón y Cajal Fellow
Associate Professor
Vice Dean of the Bachelor in Management and Technology
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain)
Professor Berenguer is a Ramón y Cajal Fellow and received her Ph.D. in Operations Research at the University of California, Berkeley. She also holds an M.Eng. in Logistics and Supply Chain Management (ZLC), an M.S. in Economics (Barcelona GSE), and an undergraduate degree in Mathematics (UPC BarcelonaTech). Before joining UC3M, she was an Assistant Professor at the Krannert School of Management, Purdue University.
Professor Berenguer’s major research topics are nonprofit supply chain management, sustainable operations, and supply chain design. She teaches at the undergraduate, Master, and Executive levels in the areas of Operations Management, Supply Chain Management, and Sustainable and Socially Responsible Operations. She has experience collaborating with private, public and nonprofit organizations in the global healthcare, consumer goods, transportation, electronic goods, and solar energy sectors. She has published in journals such as Management Science, Operations Research, M&SOM, Production and Operations Management (POM), and Journal of Operations Management. She serves as Associate Editor at Operations Research Journal, Senior Editor at POM Journal, and is on the Editorial Review Board of the Decision Sciences Journal. Among different accomplishments, she has won the Skinner Best paper award at POM journal (2018) and the SOLA Informs Bi-annual Dissertation Award (2014).
Professor Berenguer is the Vice Dean of the Bachelor of Management and Technology at UC3M. She has served as the 2023 President of the Public Sector Operations Research (PSOR) Section at INFORMS and the Vice-President Europe at POMS (2022-2024).
11:00 – 11:30 am
Sinan Onal, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair of Industrial Engineering
Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville (SIUE)
Edwardsville, Illinois, USA
Sinan Onal, Ph.D., is a Professor and Chair in the Department of Industrial Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). His work focuses on how AI and machine learning can be designed and deployed as part of real operational systems, with an emphasis on reliability, accountability, and measurable outcomes. His research interests include human-centered AI in healthcare operations and data-driven decision support for early identification and follow-up pathways. A key application area in his group is gait-based analysis (iGAIT) as a scalable signal to support earlier screening and referral workflows, especially when stakeholders extend beyond the clinic to include families, schools, payers, and public agencies. He also works on AI-enabled quality and inspection systems, applying computer vision and statistical learning to improve process performance and product quality in industrial settings.
Dr. Onal has been active in the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE), serving as President of the Data Analytics & Information Systems (DAIS) Division, as a Board Director, and as Chairperson for DAIS-related activities at the IISE Annual Conference. His recognitions include the SIUE Teaching Excellence Award, the SIU System Collaboration Award, the SIU Faculty Collaborations Award, the Hoppe Research Professor Award, Outstanding IE Teaching Awards, the IISE Energy Systems Division Best Paper Award, an invited speaker role for the Service-Learning Workshop at Arizona State University, and selection for the Frontiers of Engineering Education Symposium at the National Academies’ Beckman Center.
Presentation Title: A Network Operating System for AI-Enabled Early Diagnosis: Architecture, Orchestration, and Governance
Abstract: Early diagnosis is often discussed as a prediction problem, but in practice it is a coordination problem. Signals may exist across home, school, and clinical settings, yet delays occur when ownership is unclear, handoffs fail, and follow-up actions are not completed. This keynote presents a forward-looking framework for AI-enabled early diagnosis ecosystems that treats early diagnosis as a closed-loop network operation rather than a stand-alone model output. The proposed “Network OS” functions as a coordination layer for the screening-to-services pathway, integrating multi-source signal capture, uncertainty-aware AI triage to support safe prioritization under limited capacity, and orchestration that assigns an owner, deadline, escalation, and closure for each next step. Trust and governance mechanisms such as consent, access control, audit trails, and monitoring are embedded to support safe adoption and scaling. A learning loop uses system-level outcomes to update both models and workflows over time. Operationalization is illustrated through iGAIT, where gait-based signals provide a scalable input that can support earlier routing to screening, evaluation, and services across families, schools, clinicians, payers, and public agencies. The keynote defines outcome measures as timeliness, closed-loop completion, equity gaps, and workforce burden and outlines a pilot implementation and evaluation plan centered on continuous monitoring.
11:30 -12:00 am
12:00 – 12:30 pm
12:30 – 1:00 pm
Day 3 – July 22, 2026
10:3o am
Professor Charles Mbohwa, Ph.D. (IEOM President 2025 – 2026)
Distinguished Professor
University of South Africa (UNISA)
Pretoria, South Africa
Past Pro-VC, University of Zimbabwe
Former Executive Dean, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of Johannesburg
Professor Charles Mbohwa is a Visiting Professor at University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He was a Pro-Vice Chancellor Strategic Partnerships and Industrialisation at University of Zimbabwe and an affiliated Professor in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment. He is an established researcher and professor in the field of sustainability engineering and energy. He was the Chairman and Head of Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Zimbabwe from 1994 to 1997 and was Vice-Dean of Postgraduate Studies Research and Innovation in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of Johannesburg from 2014 to 2017. He has published more than 350 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conferences, 10 book chapters and three books. He has a Scopus h-index of 11 and Google Scholar h-index of 14. Upon graduating with his BSc Honours in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Zimbabwe in 1986, he was employed as a mechanical engineer by the National Railways of Zimbabwe. He holds a Masters in Operations Management and Manufacturing Systems from University of Nottingham and completed his doctoral studies at Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Technology in Japan. He was a Fulbright Scholar visiting the Supply Chain and Logistics Institute at the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, a Japan Foundation Fellow, is a Fellow of the Zimbabwean Institution of Engineers and is a registered mechanical engineer with the Engineering Council of Zimbabwe. He has been a collaborator in projects of the United Nations Environment Programme. He has also visited many countries on research and training engagements including the United Kingdom, Japan, German, France, the USA, Brazil, Sweden, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mauritius, Austria, the Netherlands, Uganda, Namibia and Australia. He has had several awards including British Council Scholarship, Japanese Foundation Fellowship, Kubota Foundation Fellowship; Fulbright Fellowship.
11:00 am
11:30 am
12:00 pm
12:30 pm