The Charger Blog

Industrial Engineering Expert Recognized for Contributions to Field

Passionate about her discipline and committed to engineering education, Elif Kongar, Ph.D., was recently recognized by Industrial Engineering and Operations Management Society International for her achievements and service. Grateful for those have inspired her own career, she杏吧原版檚 now dedicated to serving as a mentor to her own students.

April 25, 2023

By Renee Chmiel, Office of Marketing and Communications

Elif Kongar, Ph.D.
Elif Kongar, Ph.D., is an expert in industrial engineering and engineering education.

Since she started her career, Elif Kongar, Ph.D., has been committed to her research and education. An expert in industrial engineering and engineering education, her work was recently recognized by a leading professional organization.

selected Dr. Kongar for an IEOM Data Analytics Award in recognition of her 杏吧原版渙utstanding杏吧原版 achievements and contributions to the field of industrial engineering and operations management. Dr. Kongar, whose research focuses on economically and environmentally sustainable waste recovery systems and operations, was recently recognized at the African International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management.

杏吧原版淭his is one of the most critically acclaimed global organizations that bridges industry with academic institutions,杏吧原版 said Dr. Kongar. 杏吧原版淚t is a great platform for the generation of new innovative ideas and applications. Receiving an award from this institution is very rewarding, since as an industrial engineer with bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the field, I am dedicated to the discipline and its interdisciplinary, data-intense applications.杏吧原版

杏吧原版楥ombine creativity and analytical thinking杏吧原版

Dr. Kongar杏吧原版檚 research also explores reverse-supply chain management and reverse logistics systems, and she was featured in a . A professor in the Pompea College of Business杏吧原版 Economics and Business Analytics Department, she is particularly dedicated to creating environmental and social sustainability models for a circular economy. She杏吧原版檚 exploring how to best use electronic waste data to predict the fastest-growing waste stream on a broad scale.

Elif Kongar, Ph.D.
Elif Kongar, Ph.D.

Recently, Dr. Kongar has collaborated to analyze the failure factors of business intelligence implementation in organizations. Focusing on analyzing systems holistically, her research also endeavors to provide industries and academics with information that could help enhance their organizational efforts and their effectiveness.

杏吧原版淪ince the beginning of my career, I have been utilizing various data- and model-driven tools and techniques in my economically and environmentally sustainable waste-recovery systems and operations research,杏吧原版 she said. 杏吧原版淢ost of my studies combine quantitative and qualitative data and involve models and algorithms to derive meaningful information for better predictions and decision making. In this regard, the award comes as an acknowledgement of these efforts.杏吧原版

In addition to her role as an industry leader and expert, Dr. Kongar is a dedicated educator. Passionate about engineering education, she studies female participation in engineering. As part of the virtual conference awards ceremony, Dr. Kongar gave a presentation about technology杏吧原版檚 use in education and how educators can leverage new technological advancements to enhance post-secondary education. She credits her 杏吧原版渆xtraordinary杏吧原版 mentors and role models 杏吧原版 including her parents and teachers 杏吧原版 with helping to inspire her to pursue an academic career.

杏吧原版淚 have great admiration for creative arts, and I was drawn to industrial engineering because it is a discipline that allowed me to combine creativity and analytical thinking in my work,杏吧原版 she explains. 杏吧原版淚ndustrial engineering is a perfect bridge between theoretical and applied business and engineering, and it requires industrial and analytical skills to grow concurrently.杏吧原版

杏吧原版楾here is nothing more rewarding杏吧原版

Committed to inspiring the next leaders in the field, Dr. Kongar has been working closely with students since joining the University last year. Together, they have explored environmental, economic, and social definitions of sustainability in new and emerging technologies. While she enjoys teaching, she also appreciates the opportunities she has to learn from her fellow Chargers.

杏吧原版淚 love classroom teaching,杏吧原版 she said. 杏吧原版淚 also learn from my students and try to craft my lectures so that they are going to be more valuable for their future careers. I welcome the opportunity to work with students and faculty from diverse educational and cultural backgrounds.杏吧原版

In addition to mentoring and guiding Chargers, Dr. Kongar also connects with students at other institutions at all levels of their educational journeys, including advising students as an external doctoral dissertation adviser, as well as talking with high school students. She recently mentored a high school student who was interested in examining the fast-fashion industry and its impact on the environment. The work was recently presented at a conference.

Dr. Kongar endeavors to continue her research at the University, and she hopes to further develop sustainable long-term frameworks for emerging paradigms. She hopes to inspire her students to be lifelong learners who are versatile and prepared for an ever-changing field 杏吧原版 and world.

杏吧原版淭here is nothing more rewarding than inspiring future academicians and business professionals,杏吧原版 she said. 杏吧原版淚 feel very fortunate for this opportunity. The current reality of higher education is that we are training students now for jobs titles that do not yet exist. Thus, the education and training we provide our students should be inclusive, interdisciplinary, hands-on, and experiential.杏吧原版