Operations Management

Concentration in Operations Management

A doctoral degree in Operations Management from the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business provides the unique experience and expertise needed to excel in an academic career. We are a top-ranked program with an exceptional record of research publications and an excellent history of Ph.D. student placement.

Our sizable and prominent faculty are dedicated to educating the next generation of researchers and educators on a broad set of topics. We conduct pioneering research in various areas such as empirical analysis of supply chain performance, innovation and technology management, sustainable operations, healthcare, and cultural operations. Beyond holding key editorial positions in leading operations management journals, our faculty work closely with industry, applying their research to impact practice.

Operations Management Concentration Overview

Morvarid Rahmani, Associate Professor of Operations Management, gives an overview of the Operations Management concentration within the Scheller Ph.D. program.

Program Highlights

Our Ph.D. curriculum distinguishes us from other doctoral programs in operations management in several ways.

First, we leverage the substantial size of our faculty to offer unparalleled breadth and depth in operations management Ph.D. seminars (two to four topics are covered each year).
Second, we strongly endorse diverse research methods including modeling, empirical analysis, and behavioral experiments to address different managerial challenges in operations management. Rigorous training on a variety of operations research methods is obtained from ISyE (ranked No.1 industrial engineering program in the world).
Additionally, we leverage the expertise of other Georgia Tech faculty offering courses on a wide spectrum of empirical, behavioral, and computational methods..

Facilitating Ph.D. Student Academic Growth

Ph.D. students are immersed in research starting in the first year of the doctoral program, accelerating their growth as scholars. Students are encouraged to develop their own research “voice”, leveraging their background, academic training, and past experiences.

Our culture embodies freedom and flexibility for students to select their research topics and advisors. To ensure focus and forward momentum, faculty engage with Ph.D. students on goal setting and provide clear direction for students to attain those goals.

In addition to one-to-one mentoring, we offer teaching effectiveness seminars. Ph.D. students are provided funding to attend conferences and workshops and funding is guaranteed for five years (subject to a student remaining in good standing).

Our Vibrant Community

The operations management Ph.D. program is a close-knit group that invests in community building and professional development. Ph.D. students thrive in the vibrant social and cultural communities at Georgia Tech and the Atlanta metropolitan area. Additionally, Georgia Tech has a large and diverse graduate student community. Atlanta has a very favorable cost of living compared to many other large metropolitan areas.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Tech Square and Atlanta

Recent Placements

Name	Academic Area	Term	Year	Placement
Safaya, Shikha	Operations Management	Summer	2025	California State University Long Beach
Shubham, Abhinav	Operations Management	Summer	2025	University of Cincinnati
Wang, Zeya	Operations Management	Summer	2024	University of Dayton
Ding, Li	Operations Management	Spring	2024	Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)
Kulkarni, Swanand	Operations Management	Summer	2023	Dartmouth University (Denmark) (Post-Doc)
Green, Christopher	Operations Management	Spring	2023	United States Army - Battalion Commander
Chhabra, Param Pal Singh	Operations Management	Summer	2021	University of Alberta (Canada)
Palit, Shubhobrata	Operations Management	Summer	2021	ESADE Business School (Spain)
Mahmoudzadeh, Mahdi	Operations Management	Summer	2020	Unviersity of Auckland (New Zealand)
Arora, Priyank	Operations Management	Summer	2018	University of Massachusetts - Amherst
Lee, Jaeseok	Operations Management	Summer	2018	University of Auckland (New Zealand)
Fu, Wayne	Operations Management	Summer	2017	University of Michigan - Dearborn
Huang, Ximin (Natalie)	Operations Management	Summer	2016	University of Minnesota
Bellamy, Marcus	Operations Management	Summer	2015	Boston University
Singh, Narenda	Operations Management	Summer	2015	Indian School of Business - Mohali (India)

Research, Faculty, Awards and Rankings

Empirical Analysis of Supply Chain Performance

Specific topics include contracts and global outsourcing; managing risk and failure; alliances; revenue management. Faculty who most contribute to this area include Soumen Ghosh, Manpreet Hora, and Vinod Singhal.

Innovation and Technology Management

Specific topics include new product development; collaboration and teamwork; entrepreneurship. Faculty who most contribute to this area include Cheryl Gaimon, Karthik Ramachandran, and Morvarid Rahmani.

Sustainable Operations

Specific topics include closed-loop supply chain management, corporate sustainability, and environmental legislation. Faculty who most contribute to this area of research include Ravi Subramanian, Basak Kalkanci, and Beril Toktay.

Current Department Editorships

Operations Research

Beril Toktay (Environment, Energy and Sustainability Department)

Production and Operations Management

Cheryl Gaimon (Management of Technology Department)
Vinod Singhal (Supply Chain Management Department)
Ravi Subramanian (Sustainable Operations Department)

Current Associate (Senior) Editorships

Journal of Operations Management

Manpreet Hora

Management Science

Cheryl Gaimon (Entrepreneurship and Innovation Department)
Vinod Singhal (Operations Management Department)

Manufacturing and Service Operations Management

Vinod Singhal
Beril Toktay

Production and Operations Management

Soumen Ghosh (Empirical Research Department)
Manpreet Hora (Management of Technology Department; Supply Chain Management Department)
Karthik Ramachandran (Management of Technology Department)

Priyank Arora (Ph.D.)

Scheller College of Business’ Ashford Watson Stalnaker Memorial Award for Ph.D. Student Excellence

Jennifer Bailey (Ph.D.)

Best Paper Award, Product Development and Management Association Annual Conference
Best Dissertation Award Finalist: “Synchronizing Exploration and Exploitation: Knowledge Creation Challenges in Innovation,” Technology, Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship Section, Institute of Operations Research and Management Science

Marcus Bellamy (Ph.D.)

Best Student Paper Award, Academy of Management Conference, Orlando, Florida
Best Student Paper Award at International Decision Sciences Institute Annual Conference, Bali, Indonesia

Ioannis Bellos (Ph.D.)

Young Researcher Prize, Runner Up (Second Place) for the "The Potential of Servicizing as a Green Business Model,'' Energy, Natural Resources and the Environment Section, Institute of Operations Research and Management Science

Janice Carrillo (Ph.D.)

Intel Ph.D. Student Fellowship
Best Student Paper Award, Portland International Conference on Management and Engineering Technology

Cheryl Gaimon (Faculty)

Brady Family Award for Faculty Research Excellence
University Faculty Research Award for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Advisor, Georgia Tech
Distinguished Fellow, Production and Operations Management Society
President, Production and Operations Management Society

Soumen Ghosh (Faculty)

Distinguished Fellow, Decision Sciences Institute

Manpreet Hora (Faculty)

Brady Family Award for Faculty Teaching Effectiveness
Class of 1940 W. Roane Beard Outstanding Teaching Award
Undergraduate Elective Professor of the Year Award and Class of 1934 Course Survey Teaching Effectiveness Award
Division Chair Elect, Academy of Management Operations and Supply Chain Management Division

Xixin (Natalie) Huang (Ph.D.)

Ashford Watson Stalkner Memorial Prize, Georgia Tech
Runner-up, Sustainable Operations Student Paper Competition, Production and Operations Management Society

Basak Kalkanci (Faculty)

Georgia Power Professor of Excellence
Treasurer, Behavioral Operations Section, Institute of Operations Research and Management Science

JJ Kovach (Ph.D.)

Chan Hahn Best Paper Award, Operations Management Division, Academy of Management Conference, Orlando, Florida
Finalist Best Student Paper Competition, “Sales Force Compensation for Remanufactured Products,” Energy, Natural Resources, and the Environment Section, Institute of Operations Research and Management Science

Carrie Queenan (Ph.D.)

POMS College of Service Operations Most Influential Paper Award

Morvarid Rahmani (Faculty)

Brady Family Award for Faculty Teaching Effectiveness

Vinod Singhal (Faculty)

Distinguished Fellow, Production and Operations Management Society

Ravi Subramanian (Faculty)

Paul Kleindorfer Award in Sustainability
Brady Family Award for Faculty Teaching Excellence
James F. Frazier, Jr. Award for Teaching Excellence
Outstanding MBA Core Professor of the Year Award

Ravi Subramanian (Faculty) and Priyank Arora (Ph.D.)

Best Paper Competition Winner, Public Sector Operations Research Section, Institute of Operations Research and Management Science

Beril Toktay (Faculty)

Brady Family Award for Faculty Research Excellence
Ernest Scheller Jr. Award for Service Excellence
Women of Distinction Award, Georgia Tech
Management Science Best Paper in Operations Management
Distinguished Fellow, Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, Institute of Operations Research and Management Science
President, Manufacturing and Service Operations Management Society
Treasurer, Production and Operations Management Society

Murat Unal (Ph.D.)

One of the two finalists, POMS College of Product Innovation and Technology Management 2017 Student Paper Competition, "Help or hindrance? The role of familiarity in collaborative product development"

Cheryl Gaimon

Keynote Plenary, 4th International Conference of Operations and Supply Chain Management, Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China

Manpreet Hora

Basak Kalkanci

"The Greening of the Supply Chain"
"Supply Chain News: CSCMP 2012 Full Review and Comment" Dan Gilmore (10-5-12)

Vinod Singhal

Keynote Plenary, 30th National Congress on Operational Research and Industrial Engineering, Sabanci University, Turkey
Keynote Plenary, Electronic News, Seoul, Korea
Keynote Plenary, 3rd International Conference in Operations and Supply Chain Management, Wuhan, China

Beril Toktay

Keynote Plenary, Symposium on Innovations and Sustainability, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong

Based on the Supply Chain Management Journal List ranking of journals that are primarily analytically-focused, Georgia Institute of Technology is ranked No. 6 worldwide.
Based on the U.S. News & World Report MBA rankings, the Scheller College of Business has been ranked No. 6 in production/operations.