Shanbhag proposal earns NSF CAREER award

Uday Shanbhag, an assistant professor of industrial and enterprise engineering, has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award that will support research on stochastic and robust variational inequality problems.

“If successful, this project will lead to new and enhanced tools for the design and operation of networked systems, complicated by uncertainty, nonlinearity, nonsmoothness and competition, as arising in transportation, telecommunications, and energy sectors,” Shanbhag stated in his proposal. “More specifically, this research will lead to robust and reliable power markets, effected through ongoing interactions with the independent system operator in New England (ISO-NE).”

The project also incorporates a comprehensive education plan aggregated around high-school discovery courses, undergraduate research projects and graduate-level seminars and will be accompanied by efforts toward increasing diversity through student advising and mentoring.

Shanbhag received his PhD in operations research from the Department of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University in February, 2006. He also holds master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai. His research interests lie in optimization theory and algorithms, equilibrium programming and stochastic optimization. He is also interested in algorithms for the solution of nonlinear facility location problems. His application interests lie in planning/operations in deregulated electricity markets, inventory control and communication networks.

NSF’s CAREER Award is given to junior faculty “who exemplify the role of teach-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations.”
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Contact: Uday Shanbhag, Department of industrial and enterprise engineering, 217/ 244-4842.

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