معرفی
Halit Uster is Professor of Operations Research & Engineering Management at SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering and Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering (by courtesy). A 2025 IISE Fellow, he also serves as Fellow of SMU’s Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity, where he leads large-scale optimization research with strong societal impact.
Education
- Ph.D. in Management Science/Systems – McMaster University, Canada
- M.A. in Business Administration (Production/Operations Management) – Hacettepe University, Turkey
- B.S. in Mechanical Engineering – Middle East Technical University, Turkey
Research Interests
Uster develops optimization models and efficient algorithms for the design and analysis of networked systems. His work spans:
- Electric-vehicle charging and wireless power-transfer networks
- Emergency logistics and disaster-preparedness planning
- Bio-energy and biomass supply-chain networks
- Closed-loop supply chains with recycling and remanufacturing
- Relay and multi-commodity transportation networks to mitigate driver shortages
- Wireless sensor networks for environmental monitoring
Publication Trends
Over the past decade Uster has published extensively in Transportation Science, IISE Transactions, Transportation Research Part E, and Annals of Operations Research. His recent articles collectively advance decomposition-based exact algorithms (notably Lagrangean and Benders schemes), bilevel and robust optimization, and stochastic modeling of supply and demand uncertainty, all applied to socially critical infrastructure systems.
Scientific Awards & Honors
- IISE Fellow (2025)
- Caterpillar Teaching Excellence Award, Texas A&M University (2011)
- Eshbach Society Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Northwestern University (2009)
- Faculty Appreciation Awards, INFORMS Student Chapters (2004, 2009)
- Multiple research features in IE Magazine (2008, 2010, 2017)
- Daniel H. Wagner Prize Finalist (2008)
- Moving Spirit Award, INFORMS (2007)
- Outstanding Faculty Member – University of Alabama (1999-2000)
- NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship (1997-1999)
Grants & Doctoral Advising
Uster has secured over $2 million in funding from NSF, USDA and industry, including four NSF grants since 2015 focused on disaster-preparedness logistics, EV-charging infrastructure, and biomass supply chains. He has graduated 17 PhD students who now hold positions in academia (IIM Udaipur, ITESM Mexico, St. Mary’s University) and industry (ExxonMobil, Norfolk Southern, FedEx, Sabre, NetJets, JD.com, BNSF Railway, etc.).
Professional Service & Editorial Roles
He is Department Editor of IISE Transactions on Supply Chains and Logistics (2024–present) and Associate Editor of Transportation Science (2018–present), previously serving on the editorial boards of IISE Transactions on Scheduling and Logistics and Sustainability Analytics and Modelling. He has chaired or co-chaired numerous INFORMS committees and conferences, including the upcoming TSL 2026 meeting at MIT.
