معرفی
Professor Maria Paola Scaparra is a Professor of Management Science and Associate Dean for Research and Innovation at the University of Kent's Kent Business School. She holds a PhD in Mathematics Applied to Economic Decisions from the University of Pisa and an MSc in Engineering-Economic Systems from Stanford University. Her research focuses on operational research (OR) applications in disaster management, healthcare, transportation, and sustainable development, particularly in developing countries. She leads projects funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) addressing challenges in Southeast Asia.
She has held leadership roles including Head of the Management Science Group and Programme Director for the MSc Business Analytics. Her work spans consultancy for organizations like the NHS, Eurostar, and the Vietnam Ministry of Transport. She is a member of the UK Operational Research Society’s Education Committee and the editorial boards of IISE Transactions and International Regional Science Review.
Research interests include disaster resilience, infrastructure protection, and OR contributions to UN Sustainable Development Goals. Notable grants include CREST-OR (GCRF-EPSRC, 2020–2022) and OSIRIS (GCRF-British Academy, 2018–2019). Her advisory work involves optimizing healthcare systems, transportation networks, and emergency response strategies. She has supervised over 10 PhD students focusing on disaster mitigation, healthcare logistics, and infrastructure resilience.
Key achievements include developing optimization models for flood mitigation in Hanoi, railway network protection, and telehealth integration in Brazilian primary care. She actively contributes to international conferences and editorial boards, emphasizing interdisciplinary solutions for complex societal challenges.
