Category: Faculty Research

New School of Business and Economics Faculty Awards Recognize Research, Service

The bronze Husky dog statues sits in the center of Michigan Tech's campus. At its annual faculty retreat last week, Dean Johnson, dean of the School of Business and Economics (SBE), presented for the first time awards for excellence in research and service. Dana Johnson, professor of supply chain and engineering management, was the recipient of the research award. Johnson will receive funding toward faculty development for her current stream of research to predict which patient psychometric attributes and demographic variables impact overall patient experience. This will extend prior research by working with Aspirus Keweenaw who utilizes the Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems. 

Joel Tuoriniemi, professor of practice in accounting, was acknowledged for his dedication to service. “There are many deserving faculty members in SBE who work to advance our strategic vision. I am fortunate to be surrounded by motivated students who demand a rigorous experience and serve as ambassadors. It makes my job promoting the Master of Science in Accounting program to future Huskies and employers that much more rewarding,” says Tuoriniemi.

In addition to the new honors in research and service, the School each year recognizes exemplary teaching. The addition of two new awards promotes the hard work School of Business and Economics faculty dedicate to blending business and technology curriculum to meet student and industry needs of the future.

“Faculty have expectations in the realms of teaching, research, and service. These new awards are designed to recognize faculty leaders in the School of Business and Economics,” says Dean Johnson.

Graduate Student Spotlight: Creating the Future of Natural Resource Economics in Mining

Josephine Amponsem, a master’s student in Applied Natural Resource Economics in the School of Business and Economics at Michigan Tech, is working alongside Emanuel Oliveira, assistant professor of economics, building a socioeconomic database with more than one million observations on factors impacting entrepreneurship. In addition to collating and cleaning data, Amponsem is using Stata, an econometric software for analyzing huge amounts of economic data.

Amponsem is also gaining hands-on experience working with Latika Gupta, assistant professor of economics, collecting and mapping data on energy efficiency in the steel industry. “We ask ourselves what is the data telling us, and how can it be used to make economic decisions,” Amponsem says.

Michigan Tech graduate student Josephine Amponsem
School of Business and Economics graduate student Josephine Amponsem takes a research break outside the Academic Office Building.

Lecture by Dr. Paul Nelson

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Dr. Paul Nelson gave a lecture on Thursday, November 16 entitled “The Current State of Competition in the United States” organized by the Economics Club with the support of the SBE. More than 100 people were in attendance including students, faculty, and members of the local community.  Dr. Nelson’s lecture described the rise of oligopolies over the last few decades and how innovation is pretty much the main hope to disrupt them.

For more information, visit the Daily Mining Gazette.

 

New Supply Chain and Operations Management Professor

Join us in welcoming our newest faculty member to the School of Business and Economics, Dr. Ulrich Schmelzle. Shmelzle earned his Ph.D. in Business Administration with a concentration in Supply Chain Management from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He also holds an MBA from Arizona State University and a bachelor degree (equiv.) in Industrial Engineering and Management from the University of Hamburg, Germany.

Prior to returning to academia, he held different managerial positions in supply management, manufacturing, and logistics planning. With more than 18 years of industry experience, he has worked as a consultant, entrepreneur, and senior manager primarily in the semiconductor and aerospace industries. Schmelzle’s research focuses on managerial decision-making promoting efficiency and innovativeness. He is particularly interested in how operations and supply chain management can enhance the innovation performance of the organization.

Ulrich regularly presents new research at national conferences from organizations such as the Decision Sciences Institute (DSI) or the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) and has published in peer-reviewed academic journals and conference proceedings.

Schmelzle