Maria Mayorga

Maria Mayorga is a Professor and the Goodnight Distinguished Chair in Operations Research at North Carolina State University’s Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering within the College of Engineering. She also serves as Director of the Operations Research Program. Her work focuses on applying operations research and predictive modeling to improve healthcare systems, emergency response, and public health policy.

Educations:

• Ph.D. (2006): Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, University of California at Berkeley
• M.S. (2002): Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, University of California at Berkeley
• B.S. (2000): Mechanical Engineering (Summa Cum Laude), George Washington University

Research Interests: Dr. Mayorga’s research integrates mathematical modeling, simulation, and machine learning to address challenges in healthcare systems, emergency medical services, and disaster response. Key areas include:

• Predictive modeling of health outcomes and patient preferences
• Optimal resource allocation in healthcare and emergency systems
• Policy analysis for reducing health disparities
• Agent-based modeling of epidemics and human behavior

Awards & Leadership: A recipient of the NSF CAREER Award and IISE Fellow, she leads initiatives such as the Colorectal Cancer Screening Simulation and COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub. She is also a member of the Research Leadership Academy and a 2025 ELATES Fellowship awardee.

Grants & Collaborations: Her work is supported by NIH, NSF, and partnerships with institutions like Christiana Care Health System and Mayo Clinic. Projects include optimizing K-12 school pandemic strategies, improving colorectal cancer screening, and detecting human trafficking via data analytics.

Labs & Teams: Collaborates with interdisciplinary teams on projects such as the S.E.P.S.I.S. group (focusing on sepsis detection) and initiatives to enhance volunteer coordination in disasters.