Plenary
Register: https://www.xcdsystem.com/IEOM/attendee/index.cfm?ID=g5Y5HAk
Plenary I, October 14 (Tuesday), 8:00- 9:40 am
8:00 – 8:30 am, October 14 (Tuesday)
Dr. Daw Alwerfalli
Professor and Director of Master of Engineering Management Program
A. Leon Linton Department of Mechanical, Robotics and Industrial Engineering
College of Engineering
Lawrence Technological University
Southfield, Michigan, USA
Prominent professor, senior technical industry consultant and manufacturing engineering educator with a tremendous expertise in program and curriculum development in higher technical education. Highly experienced and dedicated community leader with great ability to work with an array of constituencies and coalitions in developing shared organizational vision to create and implement strategies aimed at advancing common causes to accomplish goals in fulfilment of the organization’s mission. Highly perceived expert and industrial advisor. He is the founder of Manufacturing Engineering Solutions (MES) a consulting firm founded in 2000. He is senior technical consultant and strategist to the US manufacturing industry. MES developed executive training programs to numerous organizations such as Chrysler, Ford, GM, Exxon Mobil, Conco Philips, Marathon and Tier I and II suppliers to the US auto industry and other international companies. Published numerous research papers in many national and international conferences. Dr. Alwerfalli is a recipient of many prestigious awards including, the 2009 Arab American of the year in education, 1997 Lawrence Tech. Excellence in Teaching Award, 2004 Outstanding Engineering Faculty. He serves on many boards of directors, he also served on the Advisor Council of the Governor of Michigan for the Arab American and Chaldean Affairs Committee. He is currently serving on the steering committee of MAT 2 for dual education where he is a lead assessor to evaluate colleges for readiness in joining MAT 2 coalition of several German US based companies. Dr. Alwerfalli is also serving on the steering committee of “LIFT” Lightweight Innovation for Tomorrow, The committee is to develop innovative educational curriculum and skills for the next generation workforce for the Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee under $148 Million, a federal grant for the year 2015-2016. For several years, Dr. Alwerfalli served as the academic advisor of many doctoral students who obtained their doctorate degrees and are currently leaders in the US auto industry.
8:30 – 9:00 am, October 14 (Tuesday)
Javed M Cheema
Co-Founder and Chief Data Scientist
MC2quare Ventures, LLC
Michigan, 48324 USA
Fellow, Japan Productivity Center
Fellow, American Society for Quality
Javed Cheema is Co-Founder and Chief Data Scientist at MC2quare Ventures, a consulting firm providing uncommon and unique perspectives based on specialized and complex analytics. Javed is a subject matter expert in global trend watch and advanced predictive analytics to Big-5 consulting firms including McKinsey Japan, KPMG EU, Deloitte UK, Bain, and Boston Consulting Group in US. Previously, Javed worked as Global Director of Lean Enterprise at Neapco Drivelines, a leading supplier of automotive propulsion systems. Before Neapco, Javed worked as Chief Engineer, Performance Enhancement at Altarum Institute, a premier consulting firm specializing in private, public and defense sectors’ healthcare systems where he designed and implemented Kanban inventory management system covering all US Naval hospitals under Pacific Command. Javed also served as Senior Director of Quality and Operational Excellence at Eaton Aerospace, Alcoa-Howmet Air Power and Propulsion. SVP of Quality & Global Lean Six Sigma program at Molex Interconnect; Javed has extensive experience of managing corporate level Six Sigma and lean project portfolios in healthcare, pharmaceutical, aerospace, automotive and medical device industries.
Javed holds an MS in Industrial & Systems Engineering from University of Michigan, MBA from University of Central Oklahoma, MS in Manufacturing Systems from Tokyo Poly Technique, and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from UET, Lahore, Pakistan. Javed is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt (DMIAC), a certified Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) Master Black Belt and has actively mentored several Six Sigma projects. Javed is a Fellow of American Society (ASQ). A Certified Manager of Quality & Operational Excellence (CMQ/OE), Certified Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB), Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) and Certified Quality Auditor. Javed is Certified Professional Engineering Manager (CPEM) from American Society for Engineering Managers. Javed has been a sought-after speaker and presenter in various conferences around the world.
9:00 – 9:30 am, October 14 (Tuesday)
Dr. Guoqing Zhang
Professor
Department of Mechanical, Automotive and Materials Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
University of Windsor
Windsor, Canada
ID 238 Global Supply Chains with Tariff and Market Uncertainty: Optimization and AI Approaches
Guoqing Zhang, is a Professor in the Faculty of Engineering, University of Windsor, and also the director of Supply Chain and Logistics Optimization Research Centre. He received his Ph.D. degree in Management Sciences from City University of Hong Kong in 2000. His recent research interests include optimization in supply chain management, logistics, algorithms design and development, RFID, and facility/warehouse layout. He has published articles on those areas in journals such as Computational Optimization and Applications, IIE Transactions, European Journal of Operational Research, Computers and Operations Research, and Operations Research. He has served as a consultant to Auto, Energy, and Foods industries.
Plenary II, October 15 (Wednesday), 8:00- 9:40 am
8:00 – 8:30 am, October 15 (Wednesday)
Xuan (Jen) Zhao, Ph.D.
Professor, Operations and Decision Sciences
Lazaridis School of Business and Economics
Wilfrid Laurier University
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Adjunct Professor, Management Sciences
Faculty of Engineering
University of Waterloo
Associate Editor, Journal of Operational Research Society
Presentation Title: Managing Quality on Two-Sided Platforms
Dr. Zhao is a professor in Operations and Decision Sciences at Lazaridis School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University. She holds a Ph.D. in the joint fields of Management Science and Transportation/Logistics from the University of British Columbia. Her research involves utilizing the tools of Management Science/Operations Research and Economics to model, analyze, and derive insights into problems in the areas of Supply Chain Management, Marketing/OM interfaces, Revenue Management, Entrepreneurships, Sustainable Operations, Behavior Operations, and Business Analytics. Her research papers (over 65) appear in prestigious refereed journals in operations such as Manufacturing & Service Operations Management (FT top 50), Production and Operations management (FT top 50), European Journal of Operational Research, as well as marketing journals such as Quantitative Marketing and Economics and Journal of Marketing and Consumer Research.
Dr. Zhao’s research has been recognized and supported by National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canda (SSHRC), as well as multiple provincial and international grants. Research funds (over $1.5 million) enable her to supervise numerous post-doctoral fellows, doctoral students, and master’s students. Dr. Zhao has also won numerous awards and scholarships, including the Inaugural Lazaridis Research Excellent Award, Ministry of Research Innovation post-doctoral supervision award, High-Caliber Foreign Expert of Liaoning Province China, numerous faculty merit awards and course remission awards, Canadian Administrative Science Best Paper Award, Behavior Workship Best Paper Award, and Wiley top-cited paper award.
Beyond services within Laurier, Dr. Zhao has served in NSERC Discovery Grant Evaluation Group, SSHRC Insight Development Grant Adjudication Committee, inaugural NSERC Horizon program committee, as a university examiner of Lingnan University in Hong Kong. She is currently an Associate Editor of Journal of Operational Research Society, on the editorial review board of Production and Operations Management, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Waterloo.
8:30 – 9:00 am, October 15 (Wednesday)
Suresh Done
CIO
SNA Technologies
Commerce, Michigan
Title: Frameworks to build Responsible AI
Abstract :
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly emerged as a transformative force across industries, with most organizations adopting AI in some form. However, many of these implementations are ad hoc, resulting in limited business value and, in some cases, flawed solutions. Common challenges include bias, lack of regulatory compliance, and insufficient governance—issues that undermine trust and long-term effectiveness. To realize the full potential of AI and ensure its responsible adoption, organizations need structured approaches and well-defined frameworks. In this presentation, Suresh and Biswan will explore proven frameworks designed to guide the development of Responsible AI solutions, enabling systematic, compliant, and robust implementations that deliver sustained business impact.
About the Speakers:
Suresh Done is CIO of SNA Technologies with 30+ overall experience and 20+ years of experience driving enterprise-wide digital transformation, AI strategy, and architectural innovation for Fortune 500 companies across diverse industries. He is providing consulting services on IT Strategy and Enterprise Architecture to many organizations across the globe. He developed many methodologies and frameworks including Agile Enterprise Architecture Methodology and Enterprise AI Architecture. Suresh had mentored thousands of architects across the globe on Enterprise Architecture, Scaled Agile and Artificial Intelligence. Earned “Company of the Month” honors from CIOReview in July 2015 and June 2021 for excellence in enterprise architecture, AI enablement, and strategic IT leadership. He had been included in Marquis Who’s who biographical list for his entrepreneurial and philanthropic work.
Biswan has over 23 years of industry experience as a solution architect, designer, and implementer, as well as a strong passion for research and innovation in information science/technologies, quantum computing, business, and IT management, He has a strong focus and interest in IT/IS research areas within machine learning, data sciences, AI, deep learning, and quantum computing applications to solve real-world business problems. He has double PhDs in Computer science and Quantum computing and quantum communication theory in Industry 5.0. Biswan is a very senior member of IEEE as a senior member of Region 4 IEEE, and Biswan is an active student chair activity (SAC chair) in the IEEE-Chicago section and chair of SPX members for the better reach in research and innovations in science, technology, and quantum computing. Dr. Biswan is working on quantum computing research at one of the large LiB battery manufacturing EV companies and applying QIS to solve the supply chain, EOL, and SOH in the battery segment.
9:00 – 9:30 am, October 15 (Wednesday)
Dr. Harun Rashid
Adjunct Professor
Wayne State University
Detroit, Michigan, USA
ID 237 Peeragogy and Heutagogical Framework for Teaching AI Ethics
Dr. Harun Rashid earned his M.A. degree from Dhaka University (Bangladesh) and University of Waterloo (Canada); and earned his Ph.D. from Wayne State University (Detroit). He has devoted his career in university teaching and research for over four decades – here and abroad – including Chittagong University and Dhaka University (Bangladesh), University of Waterloo (Ontario), Wayne State University (Detroit), University of Phoenix, Marygrove College (Detroit), and Wayne County Community College (Detroit). He aims at continuing to add more tools to his toolbox toward building strong professional learning communities at colleges and universities. He cares about being culturally responsive, and he continues to strive toward sharpening up his individual educational leadership knowledge, skills, and dispositions. His goal is to ensure consistency and precision in his strategic planning, decision making, and solution seeking. He focuses on enacting system-wide capacity-building processes in his area of concentration in the field of teaching and learning.
In addition, as the Director of Staff Mentoring and Coaching at a public charter school system for about 10 years, Dr. Rashid has been overseeing the faculty coaching, mentoring, professional development, and staff evaluation programs. He has also been conducting professional development training for teachers and instructional administrators. His goal is to assist in building, and being an important and effective part of, an impactful, healthy, growth-producing, innovative, and networked educational system that would ensure mastery-oriented mindset for all students in both core academic content and in the 21st century skills that would prepare them for college and tomorrow’s world of work.
He has published in his areas of expertise – Philosophy and Education. He has been working – for about a decade – as a pre-publication professional reviewer of books published by Oxford University Press, McGraw-Hill Higher Education, and Routledge: Taylor and Francis Group. He is a K-12 educational administrator certified by Michigan Department of Education, and a certified Quality Assurance Review Team Chair of NCA (North Central Accreditation). He served as a panelist (along with two other panelists: David Schmidt, V.P. of Connections Education Inc; and Mack Moore from National Heritage Academies) on a symposium on ESPs, EMOs, and CMOs: What are these education management organizations, and what is it like to work for one at Central Michigan University: The Governor John Engler Center for Charter Schools in April 2014.
Dr. Rashid offered professional development workshops for Michigan Department of Education, Detroit Public Schools, Metro Detroit are Private Schools, APIAVote, Michigan Institute of Professional Psychology, Michigan Association of Public School Academies, Wayne State University, Wayne County Community College, Bangladesh University Grants Commission, Universities in Bangladesh: Brac University, Dhaka University, Chittagong University, Jahangir Nagar University, and CCN University – Comilla.
He has offered professional development workshops for all levels of educators and educational administrators on Differentiated Instruction; Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP); Quality School and Choice Theory; Effective Classroom Management; Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences; Brain-based Learning; School Improvement; Teaching Critical Thinking; Reach Them Before You Teach Them; How to Get Parents on Your Side; Response to Intervention; Live Event Learning; and High Performing Teacher; Brain Based Ways We Think and Learn; Building Communication and Team Work in the Classroom; Classroom Management: Orchestrating a Community of Learners; Coaching Skills for Successful Teaching; Designing Motivation for All Learners; Discovering the Power of Live Event Learning; Meaningful Activities to Generate Interesting Classrooms; Professional Refinements in Developing Effectiveness; Purposeful Learning through Multiple Intelligences; Successful Teaching for Acceptance of Responsibility; Teaching the Skills of the 21st Century; and Cognitive Coaching: Making Faculty Better, NOT Bitter.
Plenary III, October 16 (Thursday), 8:00- 9:40 am
8:00 – 8:25 am, October 16 (Thursday)
E. Shirl Donaldson, Ph.D. PMP
Faculty Member
College of Innovation and Technology
University of Michigan Flint
Academia is the second career for E. Shirl Donaldson. Dr. Donaldson worked as a partner in a family-owned manufacturing firm resulting in exceptional insight into entrepreneurship, manufacturing, operations management, project management, quality systems, technology management and STEM education. Before returning to Purdue University in 2009 to pursue a Ph.D. in Industrial Technology, she held positions with technical and financial responsibilities. She brings these skills and experiences to every space she enters as she continues to teach and consult. In August 2021, Donaldson joined the College of Innovation and Technology as inaugural faculty at University of Michigan Flint. Previously, Dr. Donaldson has taught operations management, project management, supply chain, and quality systems at The University of Texas and Purdue University. Problem-solving is Shirl Donaldson’s passion. Professor Donaldson is a certified project management professional (PMP) and an active member of Project Management International (PMI). Her current research agenda is highlighted in several community engaged projects such as Modifying Vehicles for Handicapped Children from a Student Perspective, Racial Equity and STEM, STEM Education and Donk Racing, Motorsports and Applied STEM, Leveraging Project Management for Student Success, Paper Ceiling Explorations, and Entrepreneurship in Underserved Communities.
8:25 – 8:50 am, October 16 (Thursday)
Dr. Sardar Asif Khan, P. Eng., PMP
Continuous Improvement Lead, Parts & Services, North America
Stellantis
Auburn Hills, MI, USA
Dr. Sardar Asif Khan is Vice President of Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) and a recognized leader in the fields of continuous improvement, lean transformation, and supply chain optimization. With over two decades of diverse experience across industry and academia, Dr. Khan currently leads Continuous Improvement for Parts and Services, North America at Stellantis, where he leads end-to-end operational excellence initiatives across 22 distribution facilities. His leadership has generated multimillion-dollar savings while fostering a culture of innovation and sustainable improvement in complex manufacturing and supply chain environments.
Since 2014, Dr. Khan has been an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Windsor, where he teaches and mentors graduate students in industrial engineering and lean systems. His teaching integrates real-world industry challenges with academic rigor, preparing future engineers to lead in both technical and regulatory environments.
Dr. Khan holds a Doctor of Engineering in Manufacturing Systems from Lawrence Technological University (MI), an MBA from Central Michigan University, a Master of Engineering in Manufacturing Engineering from Wayne State University, and a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the University of Engineering & Technology, Pakistan. He is a licensed Professional Engineer and a Project Management Professional (PMP).
Dr. Khan is a recipient of numerous honors, including the FCA Top Leadership Award, PEO Order of Honour, Ontario Volunteer Service Award, and the Engineer of the Year Award. He is also active in public service, serving as Director of the Windsor-Essex County Board of Health, Chair of the Automotive Product Design Advisory Committee at St. Clair College, and Warden of Camp 14, Corporation of the Seven Wardens.
An advocate for engineering education and public interest regulation, Dr. Khan has been involved with PEO since 2006 and now contributes to shaping the future of engineering governance in Ontario as Vice President. His work exemplifies the fusion of strategic leadership, regulatory engagement, and academic excellence.
8:50 – 9:15 am, October 16 (Thursday)
Lorraine Forshaw
Corporate Quality Manager
Ground Effects Ltd.
Windsor, Ontario
Canada
Lorraine has been in the automotive industry for 35+ years in a variety of industries from chemical compounding, tool & die manufacturing and plastic molding, painting and assembly. She has held positions primarily in quality but also operations management and launch oversight. Lorraine is currently Corporate Quality Manager at Ground Effects Ltd, which is a diverse global company encompassing part packaging and assembly operations, Electro/Power Coatings and vehicle upfits for a number of major OEMs including spray on bed liners and vehicle modifications for Police.
Lorraine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Windsor.
9:15 – 9:40 am, October 16 (Thursday)
Dr. Raj Sohmshetty
Professor of Practice
Assistant Director for Industry X
College of Engineering
Wayne State University
Detroit, Michigan
Founder & Co-Director, IntelliMake Research Hub & Factory
Raj Sohmshetty holds a joint appointment at Wayne State University as a Mentor-in-Residence in the Division of Research & Innovation and as a Professor of Practice in the Industrial & Systems Engineering Department. Raj brings a wealth of experience from the automotive industry, spanning product development, manufacturing, and technology innovation. During his career at Ford Motor Company, he held numerous technical and leadership roles, most recently leading a research team focused on smart manufacturing, the factory of the future, and future mobility technologies. Raj has extensive experience in innovation, with over 70 patents in automotive design, manufacturing, and future mobility systems, as well as multiple Trade Secret Awards. He has contributed to more than 25 conference and journal papers, reviewed technical papers, and chaired sessions for organizations such as SAE and Smart Manufacturing and Automation Conferences. His background enables him to effectively support faculty and student researchers in their research efforts, intellectual property development, industry collaborations, and technology commercialization. Raj earned his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toledo, Ohio, and an MBA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Education: B.Tech. (Mechanical Engineering), Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India, MS (Mechanical Engineering, The University of Toledo, OH and MBA (Technology & Strategy), The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. Research interests: Smart Manufacturing, Industry 4.0, IIoT, AI/ML, Robotics, Process Simulations, Manufacturing Digital Twins, and DFMA.