Daniel W. Apley

Daniel W. Apley is Professor of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, Northwestern University, where he has served since 2003. He is Editor-in-Chief-Elect of Technometrics and previously Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Quality Technology. He is also affiliated with Northwestern’s Master of Science in Machine Learning and Data Science Program.

Education

• PhD Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• MS Electrical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• MS Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• BS Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Research Interests

Professor Apley is an industrial statistician whose work sits at the intersection of engineering modeling, statistical analysis, and predictive analytics. His major thrusts include statistical modeling of complex engineering and enterprise systems, machine learning for manufacturing data, quality engineering and Six Sigma methodologies, and computer-experiment–based design optimization under uncertainty. Recent applications span healthcare risk modeling, credit-risk analytics, materials microstructure prediction, and autonomous process control.

Scientific Awards

• NSF CAREER Award
• IIE Transactions Best Paper Award (Quality & Reliability)
• Wilcoxon Prize for best practical application paper in Technometrics

Teaching & Advising

At Northwestern he teaches undergraduate courses in Statistical Methods for Quality Improvement, Introductory Statistics, and Statistical Tools for Data Mining, as well as graduate courses in Predictive Analytics, Engineering Applications of Data Mining, and Intermediate Statistics. His research has been supported by numerous industrial partners and federal agencies, underscoring a strong record of funded graduate and post-doctoral advising.

Leadership & Service

Beyond editorial roles, Professor Apley has chaired the Quality, Statistics & Reliability Section of INFORMS and served as Director of the Manufacturing and Design Engineering Program at Northwestern, shaping interdisciplinary curriculum and research initiatives.