Michigan Tech College of Business Newsblog

Category: Faculty and Staff

Faculty Profile: Giridhar Reddy Bojja, Assistant Professor of Information Systems and Analytics

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Giridhar Reddy Bojja, Assistant Professor of Information Systems & Analytics

Giridhar Reddy Bojja, new College of Business assistant professor of information systems and analytics, brings academic expertise in management information systems, analytics, and computer science, as well as industry experience as a data scientist and engineer. His hire is part of a College of Business faculty hiring initiative that supports a new curricular emphasis on technology and business analytics.

Bojja comes to Michigan Tech from the University of Central Oklahoma – College of Business, where he was a visiting assistant professor of business analytics. His academic and industry background is well aligned with Michigan Tech’s tech-focused environment.

He cites several reasons for his interest in Michigan Tech, including the wide research opportunities, the entrepreneurial emphasis within the College of Business, and the AACSB accreditation of College of Business programs. He is also impressed that Michigan Tech is a Carnegie Institute-rated R2 university on the path to becoming an R1 institution.

Bojja’s research interests lie at the intersection of information systems and management science. In his health information technology research, he investigates IT capabilities and outcomes and design science research to build IT artifacts. In his data science research, he explores social network analysis and predictive analytics.

“Through a composite technology-enabled organizational excellence lens, my research addresses the optimization of technological resources and the effective appraisal of business leadership for optimal firm outcomes,” Bojja explains. “I am also particularly interested in building IT artifacts involving AI, machine learning, and blockchain for healthcare using a design science approach.”

Bojja started his career as a business intelligence developer at Sanford Health, where he was drawn to the vastness of the healthcare sector, which eventually became his primary research stream. He also worked as a data engineer at Johnson & Johnson and Sharecare and as an engineer for Amazon Business Upstream Analytics. 

This academic year, Bojja will teach IS/IT Management (MIS 2000), Information Systems, Management and Data Analytics (BA 5200), and Information Systems Projects (MIS 4100).

Bojja received his PhD from the College of Business and Information Systems at Dakota State University in 2022. His master’s degree is in analytics, and his bachelor’s is in Computer Science.

Learn more about Giridhar Reddy Bojja on his faculty profile.

The Michigan Tech College of Business prepares tomorrow’s business professionals through STEM-infused, AACSB-accredited degree programs and minors. The college’s bachelor of science programs are in accounting, business analytics, construction management, economics, engineering management, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing; master of science programs are in accounting and analytics, applied natural resource economics, engineering management, and the TechMBA®.

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Faculty Profile: M. Steven Holloway, Assistant Teaching Professor of Economics

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M. Steven Holloway, Assistant Teaching Professor of Economics

The College of Business is pleased to welcome M. Steven Holloway, a new assistant teaching professor of economics.

When he started his PhD, Holloway already knew that he wanted to work for a mid-size state university, preferably in a community with robust outdoor recreational activities.

“Michigan Tech checked both those boxes and brought me closer to my original home of Iowa. When the opportunity arose to work here, it was an easy decision to make,” Holloway says.

Holloway’s primary research investigates intertemporal choice through a behavioral economics lens. He says his interest in the topic stems from his fascination with the human mind.

“I love developing models that attempt to approximate the complex processes our brains use to make decisions,” Holloway explains. “Intertemporal choice is a topic of interest in not only economics, but in psychology, sociology, ecology, and finance, among others, giving me opportunities to collaborate and learn from other disciplines,”

Holloway is also interested in questions related to inequality and the environment.

Holloway’s teaching philosophy is based in his desire for inclusion and equity in his field. He says that helping students find their passion is one of teaching’s biggest rewards.

“I feel very privileged to be able to impart knowledge to students, knowing that some lesson of mine may be the spark that shapes the path of someone’s academic and professional career,” Holloway says. “It’s an added bonus when I get to see that passion firsthand.”

“If students see their experiences reflected in the course and are challenged to think deeply about them, sustained engagement with the material comes naturally,” he says, adding that he engages and motivates his students with relevant and challenging learning materials.

Holloway aims to create economics lessons that are intellectually challenging while engaging a larger, more diverse set of students by relating content to lived experiences and societal issues.

“By doing so, I can share the insights of economic reasoning and research while also gaining insight into perspectives other than my own,” he says. “The knowledge flow from teacher to student, and vice versa, benefits both the science and pedagogy of economics.”

In a favorite research project, which led to the first two chapters of his PhD dissertation, Holloway and his co-authors designed an experiment to test whether their research subjects essentially followed “the rules” of current discounting models, or if a more general model that the researchers had developed matched their behavior better.

“It was an interesting and satisfying process to develop the experiment, which had no direct analogs in the literature, and to find results that suggest that some widely assumed features of human behavior may not always hold after all,” he says.

This year Holloway will teach Principles of Economics (EC 2001), Economic Decision Analysis (EC 3400), Mathematical Economics (EC 4100), and Market Failure and the Environment (EC 5650/4650).

Holloway earned a PhD and MS in Economics at the University of Oregon, and a BS in both Business Economics and Finance from Iowa State University.

“My favorite part of the area so far has to be the proximity to Lake Superior,” Holloway says. “Being able to walk along the Portage Canal every morning and visit the Lake Superior lakeshore any time I want to have been wonderful.”

Read more about Steven Holloway in his faculty profile.

The Michigan Tech College of Business prepares tomorrow’s business professionals through STEM-infused, AACSB-accredited degree programs and minors. The college’s bachelor of science programs are in accounting, business analytics, construction management, economics, engineering management, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing; master of science programs are in accounting and analytics, applied natural resource economics, engineering management, and the TechMBA®.

Follow the College of Business on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

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College of Business Welcomes New Faculty Members

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The Michigan Tech College of Business is pleased to introduce its new faculty members: Giridhar Reddy Bojja, assistant professor of information systems and analytics, and Steven Holloway, assistant teaching professor of economics. Both bring a wealth of research and teaching experience to the college.

Giridhar Reddy Bojja, Assistant Professor of Information Systems and Analytics

Giridhar Reddy Bojja, Assistant Professor of Information Systems and Analytics

Giridhar Reddy Bojja brings academic expertise in management information systems, analytics, and computer science, as well as industry experience as a data scientist and engineer.

Bojja started his career as a business intelligence developer at Sanford Health, where he was drawn to the vastness of the healthcare sector, which eventually became his primary research stream. He also worked as a data engineer at Johnson & Johnson and Sharecare and as an engineer for Amazon Business Upstream Analytics.

In his health information technology research, Bojja investigates IT capabilities and outcomes and design science research to build IT artifacts. In his data science research, he explores social network analysis and predictive analytics.

Read more about Giridhar Reddy Bojja.

Steven Holloway, Assistant Teaching Professor of Economics

Steven Holloway, Assistant Teaching Professor of Economics

Steven Holloway’s primary research investigates intertemporal choice through a behavioral economics lens, an interest that stems from his fascination with the human mind. “I love developing models that attempt to approximate the complex processes our brains use to make decisions,” Holloway explains.

Holloway’s teaching philosophy is based in his desire for inclusion and equity in his field, and helping students find their passion is one of teaching’s biggest rewards. “I feel very privileged to be able to impart knowledge to students, knowing that some lesson of mine may be the spark that shapes the path of someone’s academic and professional career,” Holloway says. “It’s an added bonus when I get to see that passion firsthand.”

Read more about Steven Holloway.

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Bo Xiao, Construction Management, is PI on New NSF Grant

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Bo Xiao (CEGE/COB/ICC), Assistant Professor, Construction Management, is the PI on a project that has received a $287,667 research and development grant from the National Science Foundation.

The project is titled “Cyber Training: Pilot: Cognitive and Generative AI-driven Cyber-Infrastructure Training Platform for Construction Education.”

Shane Mueller (PHF/ICC) is a co-PI on this potential two-year project.

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Remembering Paul Nelson, Emeritus Professor of Economics

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Paul Nelson

Paul Nelson, emeritus professor of economics, served the University with pride and distinction for 45 years until his retirement in 2018. He helped shape the lives and careers of thousands of Michigan Tech students, many of whom have gone on to find great success. Nelson passed away August 5 at the age of 78.

Nelson received his B.S. in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a M.S., M.A., and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 1972, he joined Michigan Tech, where he served as assistant and assistant professor.

Nelson was on the cutting edge of supporting women who were interested in studying business and engineering, directing a career management program for young women in the 1970s, which was featured in Time magazine. Nelson also had a significant impact on MTU’s entrepreneurship programs, becoming involved in a number of campus enterprises and teaching entrepreneurship-focused short classes from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s.

A story in the College’s 2017 Impact Magazine estimated that from his start date in 1972 to his retirement in 2017, Nelson amassed an amazing 55,600 student credit hours. He maintained the same office in the Academic Office Building for 45.5 years.

Nelson made numerous contributions to public service, generously sharing his economic expertise through continuing education, summer precollege programs, unpaid consultations with business, industry, or government, and professional appearances.

Nelson was faculty advisor to the Michigan Tech Veterans Club and the College Republicans student organizations for more than two decades. He was a longtime member and officer for the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the American Legion, and the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.

Emeritus professor of economics B. Patrick Joyce, who retired in 2012, shared an office with Nelson in the 1970s and early 1980s. He says that Nelson was an excellent colleague and always willing to help a colleague with technical questions in his area of his expertise.

“Paul was widely involved with the workings of the College of Business, often serving on and chairing college committees,” Joyce says. “And he was very conscientious about his office hours and working with students on class materials.”

“Paul’s desk was super organized, and he was always professionally dressed,” Joyce says “He was a real neatnik and the only faculty member I have ever known who kept a vacuum cleaner in his office!”

“Overall, Paul was a great guy. We were privileged to have him as a member of the COB,” Joyce says.

“I considered Paul a great colleague and scholar as well as a good friend. He was the economics anti-trust and public utility expert in the College of Business,” says James Gale, emeritus professor of economics, who retired in 2008. “If I asked him about a court case against a large corporation, he would give the background, underlying economic theories, and future implications of the case. I always enjoyed discussions with him about economic issues.”

Gale also recalls that Nelson had the neatest and most organized office of any faculty members he knew, even keeping his own vacuum cleaner in his office. Gale says he could immediately pull obscure articles from his economics journals or Michigan Tech history from his cabinet files.

Tom Merz, emeritus professor of economics, worked with Nelson for more than 35 years. He recalls Nelson’s generosity in sharing the harvest from his vegetable garden. “Realizing Paul’s generosity, my wife Mimi and I never had a reason to have a vegetable garden,” he says. “We, along with other faculty, staff, and their families, were free riders at the expense of a valued colleague.”

Junhong Min, associate professor of marketing, also remembers the home-grown vegetables that Nelson shared. “I will miss Paul,” he says.

Manish Srivastava, professor of strategic management and innovation, says, “Paul will surely be missed. I always enjoyed talking to him and learned so much from him, especially about social and political affairs. He was an absolute gentleman.”

“Paul Nelson will indeed be missed,” says Emanuel Oliveira, associate Professor of Economics. “I always appreciated my conversations with him, particularly those within the realm of economics, and especially when we had conflicting opinions, like economists often do. A gentleman is gone, but not forgotten.”

“Paul will be missed. He was engaged in the community and the lives of the youth and others in so many ways,” says Jeff Wall, associate professor of management information systems: data analytics, “I always enjoyed my talks with him, and he was a great example of service”

Read more abut Paul Nelson.

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