Call for Papers and Presentations

IEOM Society International is organizing the 7th Latin American Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management in Panama during August 4-6, 2025. The conference aims to provide a forum for academics, researchers and practitioners to exchange ideas and recent developments in the field of Industrial Engineering and Operations Management. The conference is also expected to foster networking, collaboration and joint effort among the conference participants to advance the theory and practice as well as to identify major trends in Industrial Engineering and Operations Management.

Submission Link: https://www.xcdsystem.com/IEOM/abstract/index.cfm?ID=z2ODlfN
Registration Link: https://www.xcdsystem.com/IEOM/attendee/index.cfm?ID=sejdN9d

Authors can submit full paper(s) or abstract(s) only. Authors MUST use the conference template to prepare papers or abstracts. IEOM Society encourages to submit full paper(s). All full papers will be subjected to double peer review. Accepted papers will be published in the IEOM proceedings and index in world-renowned databases: CrossRef, Google Scholar, IEOM Index Online Library and EBSCO. Any submission implies that an author will present at the 2026 IEOM Panama Conference.

Paper Template WORD (*.docx)

Abstract Template WORD (*.docx)

Poster Template (*.pptx)

Sample IEOM Papers can be followed to prepare a quality paper:
Paper 1, Paper 2, Paper 3, Paper 4, Paper 5, Paper 6, Paper 7, Paper 8, Paper 9 and Paper 10.

SELECTED PAPERS WILL BE asked to submit an extended version to the IJIEOM, Q1, Scopus Indexed (International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Operations Management).

If you need an acceptance letter/invitation letter or have any questions, please contact Dr. Mizanur Rahman (info@ieomsociety.org).

Tracks/Topics

Topics covering industrial issues/applications and theoretical research, but are not limited to:

Artificial Intelligence and Data Science
Automation, Robotics and Autonomous Systems
Business Management and Operations Management
Digital Transformation, Industry 4.0 and IoT
Engineering Education and Curriculum Improvement
Engineering Management and Project Management
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Facility Planning and Layout
Human Factors, Ergonomics and Healthcare Systems
Lean Six Sigma and Operations Excellence
Manufacturing, Assembly and Design
Quality, Reliability and Maintenance
Simulation, Optimization and Productivity Improvement
Supply Chain and Logistics
Sustainability, Green Systems and Energy
Case Studies and Best Practices

COMPETITIONS:

IEOM Competition Rubrics

Overall content: 1-5 points
Data analysis and results: 1-5 points
Presentation skills: 1-5 points
Knowledge of the topic / confident: 1-5 points
Answering questions: 1-5 points

Publication and Indexing – Proceedings

Papers will be published in the proceedings with DOI at IEOM Index. Your papers will be in open access with ISSN and ISBN.

IEOM Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Paper Formatting and Guidelines

Paper Title (18 font bold center)

José Barrios Ng

President and Chairman of the Board

Universidad Latina de Panama

Panama City, Panama

Oscar Ronaldo León Oliva

Founder, President and Chairman of the Board

Quality Leadership University (QLU)

Panama City, Panama

Humberto Alvarez

Professor and Associated Dean of Research, Graduate Studies and Outreach Programs

Industrial Engineering School

Technological University of Panama (UTP)

Panama City, Panama

Luis Rabelo

Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering & Management Systems

University of Central Florida

Orlando, FL, USA

luis.rabelo@ucf.edu

Ahad Ali and Don Reimer

A Leon Linton Department of Mechanical, Robotics and Industrial Engineering (12 font center)

Lawrence Technological University

Southfield, MI 48075, USA

sali@ltu.edu, dreimer@ltu.edu

Paper Title

18 font with bold and center justification
All titles should be in standard mixed case, where the first letter of each word is capitalized and followed by lower case letters, as noted below:

Lean Manufacturing, Operations Management and Six Sigma Applications

Authors and Affiliations

Author name – 12 font with bold and center justification
Affiliation – 12 font with center justification
Authors with same affiliation should be together
Authors with different affiliations should be listed separately with one space in between
Email can be added for each author
Single space between affiliation and abstract title

Abstract (12 font)

Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract Abstract (10 font)

Abstract title – 12 font with bold and center justification
Abstract text – 10 font with full justification
Not exceeding 250 words.

Keywords (12 font)

Keyword 1, Keyword 2, Keyword 3, Keyword 4 and Keyword 5. (10 font)

No more than five keywords (10 font)

1. Introduction (12 font)

Add introduction here including motivation of the research (why this research is important / why this research is needed), and problem statements. (10 font)

1.1 Objectives (11 font)

Add research objectives here. Make sure to fulfil all the research objectives at the end and articulate in the conclusion. Focus on key unique research contributions (10 font)

2. Literature Review (12 font)

Add literature review here (10 font)

3. Methods (12 font)

Add methods here (10 font)

4. Data Collection (12 font)

Add data collection here. (10 font)

5. Results and Discussion (12 font)

5.1 Numerical Results (11 font)

Add numerical results here. Make sure to describe all tables and add inferences (10 font)

5.2 Graphical Results (11 font)

Add graphical results here. Make sure to describe all figures and add inferences. If needed, add statistical analysis here. (10 font)

5.3 Proposed Improvements (11 font)

Add propose improvements write here including additional numerical and graphical results (10 font)

5.4 Validation (11 font)

Add any validation here including improvement with statistical hypothesis tests write here (10 font)

6. Conclusion (12 font)

Add conclusion here. Make sure to address that all objectives are met and emphasize of unique research contribution (10 font)

References (12 font)

Add references here. Make sure to follow IEOM reference format. See details at the end. (10 font)

Rahman, M. A., Sarker, B. R. and Escobar, L. A., Peak demand forecasting for a seasonal product using Bayesian approach, Journal of the Operational Research Society, vol. 62, pp. 1019-1028, 2011.

Reimer, D., Islam, T. and Ali, A., Engineering education and the entrepreneurial mindset at Lawrence Tech, Proceedings of the 12^th Annual International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, vol. xx, pp. xx-xx, Istanbul, Turkey, July 3-6, 2012, https://doi.org/10.46254/AN4.12.202201.

Reimer, D., Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Available: http://www.ieomsociet.org/ieom/newsletters/, July 2020.

Reimer, D. and Ali, A., Engineering education and the entrepreneurial mindset at Lawrence Tech, Proceedings of the 3^rd Annual International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, vol. xx, pp. xx-xx, Istanbul, Turkey, July 3 – 6, 2012.

Reimer, D., Title of the paper, Proceedings of the 5^th North American International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, pp. xx-xx, Detroit, Michigan, USA, August 10-14, 2020.

Shetty, D., Ali, A. and Cummings, R., A model to assess lean thinking manufacturing initiatives, International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 310-334, 2010.

Biography (12 font)

Add each author biography – limited to 250 words. (10 font)

Page Layout

8 1/2″ X 11″ paper
All margins: 1.00″
Full justification
Times New Roman font
Maximum 12 pages
Single space for entire manuscript

Each paper should have abstract, introduction, literature review with minimum 15 citations including some recent publications, methods, data analysis, numerical and graphical results, statistical analysis, validation, conclusion and references.

Conference name as a header and copyright information as footer must be used. Copyright information implies that IEOM Society International has right to publication the paper

Headings (12 font)

12 font size with bold and left justification
Header should have numbering

1.1 Sub-Headings (11 font)

Title – 11 font with sub-numbering
Text – 10 font with no indexing
One space between paragraphs

Literature Review

If author is mentioned at the beginning for the citation:

Rener (2020) developed the SC network with uncertainty. – For Single author

Rener and Ali (2020) developed the SC network with uncertainty. – For two authors

Rener et al. (2020) developed the SC network with uncertainty. – For more than two authors or if author is mentioned at the end for the citation:

SC network was developed with uncertainty (Rener 2020). – For single author

SC network was developed with uncertainty (Rener and Ali 2020). – For two authors

SC network was developed with uncertainty (Rener et al. 2020). – For more than two authors

Full details should be provided at the end for Reference Section:

Rener, A., Optimization of the supply chain network using uncertainty, International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, vol. xx, no. xx, 2020.

Rener, A. and Ali, A., Optimization of the supply chain network using uncertainty, International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, vol. xx, no. xx, 2020.

Rener, A., Ali, A. and Reimer, D., Optimization of the supply chain network using uncertainty, International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, vol. xx, no. xx, 2020.

Few aspects to be considered to prepare a literature review:

Introductory write up for literature review
Make sure to add some recent references
Avoid paper-by-paper review. It should be based on category. Similar topics, applications or tools could be added in one paragraph. Few citations should be in a paragraph.
A summary paragraph should be added.

Figures

Texts of figure should be readable
Original high quality pictures
Center justification
Title of Figure should be in center and it must be mentioned as “Figure x: …”
Title of figure should be sentence case with center justification and 10 font
Title should be after figure
All figure numbers must be mentioned in the body of the paper.
One space between texts and figure, figure and title of the figure and title of the figure and texts.

Figure 1. Name of the figure

Tables

Texts of table should be readable
Center justification
Title of table should be in center and it must be mentioned as “Table x: …” It should be added before table.
Title of table should be sentence case with center justification and 10 font size
All table numbers must be mentioned in the body of the paper.
One space between texts and table, table and title of the table and title of the table and texts.

Table 1. Name of the table

Equations

Equation numbering is optional.

Acknowledgements

Add acknowledgement if needed

IEOM Reference Format

Citation Styles

If author is mentioned at the beginning for the citation, use the below format:

Rener (2020) developed the SC network with uncertainty. – For Single author

Rener and Ali (2020) developed the SC network with uncertainty. – For two authors

Rener et al. (2020) developed the SC network with uncertainty. – For more than two authors

If author is mentioned at the end for the citation, use the below format:

SC network was developed with uncertainty (Rener 2020). – For single author

SC network was developed with uncertainty (Rener and Ali 2020). – For two authors

SC network was developed with uncertainty (Rener et al. 2020). – For more than two authors

Full details should be provided at the end for Reference Section:

Reimer, D., Islam, T. and Ali, A., Engineering education and the entrepreneurial mindset at Lawrence Tech, Proceedings of the 12^th Annual International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. xx-xx, Istanbul, Turkey, July 3-6, 2012, https://doi.org/10.46254/AN4.12.202201.

Rener, A., Optimization of the supply chain network using uncertainty, International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, vol. xx, no. xx, 2020.

Rener, A. and Ali, A., Optimization of the supply chain network using uncertainty, International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, vol. xx, no. xx, 2020.

Rener, A., Ali, A. and Reimer, D., Optimization of the supply chain network using uncertainty, International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, vol. xx, no. xx, pp. xx-xx, 2020.

References Guidelines

References title – 12 font with bold and left justification
References texts – 10 font
Use single space
No empty line between two references
No numbering should be used for references
Last name and year should be used for any reference citation. Last name and year should be used for single author and double authors. For more than two authors, last name of the first author and “et al.” with year should be used. For examples: Reimer (2009), (Reimer 2009), Reimer and Ali (2009), (Reimer and Ali 2009), Reimer et al. (2009) and (Reimer et al. 2009). Number is not allowed in the reference citation.
All references must be cited in the paper.
Journal and conference names should in italic.
Title of the book should be in italic.
All lines after the first line of references list should be indented one-fourth (1/4) inch from the left margin. This is called hanging indentation.
Below are some examples.

For journal papers

One author

Last name, first initial., Title of the paper, Journal Name, vol., no., pp., year.

Lee, J., Measurement of machine performance degradation using a neural network model, International Journal of Modelling and Simulation, vol.16, no. 4, pp. 192-199, 1996.

Two author (more authors will have similar format with addition authors)

Last name, first initial. and last name, first initial., Title of the paper, Journal/Conference Name, vol., no., pp, year.

Cook, V. and Ali, A., End-of-line inspection for annoying noises in automobiles: trends and perspectives, Applied Acoustic, vol. 73, no. 3, pp. 265-275, 2012.

Rahman, M. A., Sarker, B. R. and Escobar, L. A., Peak demand forecasting for a seasonal product using Bayesian approach, Journal of the Operational Research Society, vol. 62, pp. 1019-1028, 2011.

Reimer, D., and Ali, A., Engineering education and the entrepreneurial mindset at Lawrence Tech, Proceedings of the International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, vol. x, pp. xx-xx, Istanbul, Turkey, July 3 – 6, 2012.

Shetty, D., Ali, A. and Cummings, R., A model to assess lean thinking manufacturing initiatives, International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 310-334, 2010.

For conference papers

One author

Last name, first initial. Title of the paper, Conference Name, pp. xx-xx, city, country, dates, year.

Reimer, D., Entrepreneurship learning experiences, Proceedings of the 12^th Annual International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, pp. xx-xx, Istanbul, Turkey, March 7-10, 2022.

O’Neill, E., Introduction to Improving Adaptive Snow-Sports through Engineering Design, Ergonomic Form and Function, Proceedings of the 4^th North American International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, pp. 1486-1487, Toronto, Canada, October 23-25, 2019.

Two author (more authors will have similar format with addition authors)

Last name, first initial. and last name, first initial., Title of the paper, Conference Name, pp. xx-xx, city, country, dates, year.

Aghimien, D. and Aigbavboa, C., Performance of selected funding schemes used in delivering educational buildings in Nigeria, Proceedings of the 3^rd North American International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, pp. 108-119, Washington DC, USA, September 27-29, 2018.

Reimer, D., Islam, T. and Ali, A., Engineering education and the entrepreneurial mindset at Lawrence Tech, Proceedings of the 12^th Annual International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. xx-xx, Istanbul, Turkey, July 3-6, 2012, https://doi.org/10.46254/AN4.12.202201.

Motsepe, Y. A., Makhanya, B. and Pretorius, J.H.C., Exploring the impact project definition readiness index on capital projects for coal-fired power station projects, Proceedings of the First African International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, pp. 638-649, Pretoria, South Africa, October 29 – November 1, 2018.

For books

Last Name, First Initial. and Last Name, First Initial., Title of the book, edition, publisher, year.

Chang, T., Wysk, R. and Wang, H., Computer-Aided Manufacturing, 3^rd Edition, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 2006.

For website

Last Name, First Initial. and Last Name, First Initial., Article title article title article title article title article title, Available: http://www.ieomsociety.org/Details.aspx?id=xxx, May 21, 2019. If the author’s name is not listed, begin with the title of the article for citation.

Name of the website, Available: http://www.ieomsociety.org/Details.aspx?id=xxx, Accessed on May 21, 2019.

For Newspaper

Last Name, First Initial. and Last Name, First Initial., Newspaper article title, date of publication, URL. Accessed Month Day, Year. If the author’s name is not listed, begin with the title of the newspaper article for citation.

All references should be organized alphabetically

References

Ali, A. and Rener, A., Optimization of the supply chain network using uncertainty, International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, vol. xx, no. xx, year.

Chang, T., Wysk, R. and Wang, H., Computer-Aided Manufacturing, 3^rd Edition, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 2006.

Cook, V. and Ali, A., End-of-line inspection for annoying noises in automobiles: trends and perspectives, Applied Acoustic, vol. 73, no. 3, pp. 265-275, 2012.

Krstovski, S., Quality index, www.ieomsociety.org/newsletter/. Accessed May 21, 2020.

Lee, J., Measurement of machine performance degradation using a neural network model, International Journal of Modelling and Simulation, vol.16, no. 4, pp. 192-199, 1996.

Masud, A.S.M. and Whitman, L.E., Educating future engineers: An example, Proceedings of the First International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, pp. 175-179, Dhaka, Bangladesh, January 9 – 10, 2010.

Rahman, M. A., Sarker, B. R. and Escobar, L. A., Peak demand forecasting for a seasonal product using Bayesian approach, Journal of the Operational Research Society, vol. 62, pp. 1019-1028, 2011.

Reimer, D., Entrepreneurship learning experiences, Proceedings of the 12^th Annual International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, vol. xx, pp. xx-xx, Istanbul, Turkey, March 7-10, 2022.

Reimer, D., Entrepreneurship, innovation and experiential learning, Available: http://www.ieomsociety.org/id=xxx, May 21, 2019.

Rener, A., Ali, A. and Reimer, D., Optimization of the supply chain network using uncertainty, International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, vol. xx, no. xx, year.

Rener, A., Optimization of the supply chain network using uncertainty, International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, vol. xx, no. xx, pp. xx-xx, year.

Retnanto, A., Parsaei, H.R. and Parsaei, B., The role of program advisory board in elevating the degree program content Proceedings of the 9^th International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, pp. 739-741, Bangkok, Thailand, March 5-7, 2019.

Shetty, D., Ali, A. and Cummings, R., A model to assess lean thinking manufacturing initiatives, International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 310-334, 2010.

Biography / Biographies (for single author – biography and multiple authors- biographies) – 12 font bold

Include bio of each author at the end of the paper
Limited to 250 words

Biographies

Dr. José Barrios Ng, co-founder and partner at ABCO Global, is a successful business director and entrepreneur. He has worked as Director of Planning and Project Manager and/or Vice-President of Finance in companies such as ESSO, Cervecería Nacional (largest brewery in Panama), Cable & Wireless and the Panama Canal. In 2002 José Barrios Ng joined the managing team at the Panama Canal Authority as Executive Vice President for Administration and Finance, where he was responsible for planning, financial analysis, risk management, administration of ACP contracts, and the strategy and policy design of financial continuous improvement. In 2007, he was appointed Deputy Administrator of the Panama Canal where he directed the group that managed the financing for the five billion dollar expansion project of the Panama Canal. He currently acts as president and chairman of the board for one of the largest private universities in Panama, Universidad Latina de Panama. Under his leadership, enrollment at Universidad Latina has more than doubled. He is also board member of two other universities: Universidad Americana and UNESCPA, a university specialized in training and certifying public accountants. José Barrios Ng serves as President for 4AB Distribution Company, and has served as President of the Panama Stock Market for 3 years, President for Optima Insurance, the media group Nueva Prensa Financiera (Capital Financiero newspaper), and the Panama Rotary Club. He is a member of the Board of Directors for numerous important enterprises including ABCO Global, Panama Metro, Panama Maritime Authority, the real estate trust Alianza Properties, and San Fernando Hospital, accumulating vast experience in diverse economic sectors. José Barrios is a distinguished ex alumnus and member of the Advisory Board of the School of Engineering of Georgia Tech. In 2014, he was awarded Doctor of Humanities, Honoris Causa, from Southeastern Louisiana University, and has received numerous other recognitions such as: Executive of the Year (Capital Financiero); Financial Executive of the year, 1996 & 2011 (Panama stock exchange); Outstanding Teaching Award 1997, 2000, 2001 (ULACIT); and Outstanding member award- Rotary Club of Panama, among others. He is an Electrical Engineer from Louisiana State University, has a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech, and a Master’s degree in Economic Engineering from the University of California—Los Angeles (UCLA), and completed additional post graduate studies in Operational Investigation at UCLA. He is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Pennsylvania in Higher Education Administration.

Oscar R. León received his Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration in 1989 and his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1988, both from the University of Louisville. He is a Fulbright Scholar and the State Department International Visitor Leadership Program alumni. León is the President and Founder of Quality Leadership University (QLU), a Panamanian Higher Education Institution he founded in 1997. QLU has offered undergraduate and graduate programs in academic cooperation with University of Louisville since 1999, and both institutions have graduated more than 2,000 Latin American professionals in Panama. Panamanians are the largest nationality of undergraduate students´ population at UofL main campus. León serves as Secretary of the Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Panama. He served as President of the Private Sector Council for Educational Assistance, an organization composed of more than 30 business associations. He was also a member of the Permanent Multisector Council for the Implementation of the National Commitment to Education. León is a member of the Board of Directors of the Panamanian Fulbright Association. He was also a member of the National Council for University Evaluation and Accreditation of Panama. León formerly served as President of the Association of Private Universities of Panama and as a Treasurer of the Association of Private Universities of Central America. León is a member of the Lions Club International. León is founding and building the PK-12 Notre Dame Academy of Panama in 2023, institution that will educate more than one thousand students with a STEM focus. Leon’s oldest daughter Mariana León-Smith serves as Academic Vice President and Director of Research at QLU. Mariana is a University of Louisville´s College of Arts and Sciences Political Science Department alumni.

Dr. Luis Rabelo received a BS in Electro-Mechanical Engineering from the Technological University of Panama in 1983, an MS in Electrical Engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1987 and a Doctorate in Engineering Management from the University of Missouri. He was a Postdoc at the University of Missouri in Nuclear Engineering. Dr. Rabelo received a dual MS in Systems and Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has worked for the Advanced Technology Group (Goodrich) and Honeywell Laboratories. Dr. Rabelo was a NASA Fellow from 2002 to 2005, and a Project Manager at NASA from 2009 to 2011. He is currently Professor in the Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Department at UCF. He is also the Undergraduate Coordinator. He has written more than 300 articles and a book on Artificial Intelligence. He has been the principal advisor for 39 Master’s students and 29 PhDs. He received the award for the Best Scientific Article of the Year in 2004 from the Society of Automotive Engineers and received the distinction “ONE NASA” in 2006. He was the recipient of the Fulbright Distinction in 2008. In November 2008, he received the honor of the Technological University of Panama (UTP) of being the 2008 Distinguished Alumni. In 2011, he was the Henaac Award Winner in Education. In 2013 and 2018, he received the Forest R. McFarland Award from the Society of Automotive Engineering (SAE). Lately, he received the SAE Russell S. Springer Award for his article on the modeling of space operations systems in 2017.

Dr. Ahad Ali is an associate professor, director of doctor of engineering in advanced manufacturing and director of industrial engineering programs (BSIE & MSIE) at A. Leon Linton Department of Mechanical, Robotics, and Industrial Engineering of the Lawrence Technological University (LTU), Southfield, Michigan, USA. He established the Siemens Electro-Matic Industrial Engineering Lab at LTU. Dr. Ali was the primary author of the ABET self-study report of the BSIE Program at LTU in 2022. He earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET), Bangladesh, a Master’s in Systems and Engineering Management from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA. Dr. Ali was an Assistant Professor in Industrial Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico – Mayaguez, a Visiting Assistant Professor in Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Toledo, and a Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at the Bangladesh Institute of Technology, Khulna. He received an Outstanding Professor Award from the Industrial Engineering Department, University of Puerto Rico -Mayaguez. Dr. Ali has been recognized with a Fulbright Award. He has published 75 journal papers and 150 conference papers. Dr Ali conducted research projects with Chrysler, Ford, DTE Energy, New Center Stamping, Whelan Co., Delphi Automotive System, GE Medical Systems, International Truck and Engine Corporation (ITEC), and Rockwell Automation. His research interests include manufacturing systems, quality, lean, six-sigma, simulation, artificial intelligence, supply chain, and optimization. He supervised 11 doctoral students in Doctor of Engineering in Manufacturing Systems (DEMS). He is a founding team member and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IEOM Society International. Dr. Ali is a Co-Chair of the International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management. Dr. Ali organized IEOM conferences around the globe on six continents including Augsburg, Bali, Bangkok, Bogota, Bristol, Costa Rica, Delhi, Detroit, Dhaka, Dubai, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, Lima, Manila, Melbourne, Monterrey, Muscat, Orlando, Paris, Pilsen, Rabat, Riyadh, Sao Paulo, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, and Washington, DC. He is an associate editor of the IJIEOM. Dr. Ali is a member of IEOM, INFORMS, SME, and IEEE.

Professor Don Reimer is a Chief Operating Officer of the IEOM Society International, Southfield, Michigan, USA. He is a managing member of The Small Business Strategy Group, LLC, and working as an adjunct professor at Lawrence Technological University. Professor Reimer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management from Lawrence Technological University and a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Detroit/Mercy. He has been recognized as a professional management consultant with over 45 years of experience in working with closely held businesses. He has taught courses in entrepreneurship, management, corporate entrepreneurship, and innovation for engineers. Professor Reimer served as a member of the Minority Economic Development Committee of New Detroit. He has served as a KEEN Fellow for The Kern Family Foundation. He is a member of the Lawrence Tech Alumni Board of Directors and has been elected a Fellow of the IEOM Society International. Professor Reimer is a faculty advisor of the Student Chapter of the IEOM Society at Lawrence Tech. He visited 17 countries to organize IEOM conferences. Professor Reimer is coordinating IEOM student chapters around the world.