Renata Konrad

Renata Konrad is an Associate Professor of Operations and Industrial Engineering at the Foisie School of Business, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). She holds a PhD from Purdue University and MSc/BSc degrees from the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on applying operations research to combat human trafficking, improve healthcare delivery, and address social justice issues. Key achievements include a Fulbright Scholarship (2020-2021) at Ukrainian Catholic University and NSF grants for anti-trafficking and wildlife trafficking projects. She has served on UN and U.S. governmental committees, including the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Human Trafficking Advisory Committee.

Teaching and Advising: Konrad teaches courses in simulation, decision analysis, and healthcare operations. She advises numerous MQP projects, many recognized with WPI’s Provost MQP Awards. Awards include the Romeo L. Moruzzi Young Faculty Award (2018) and Board of Trustees Faculty Achievement Awards (2015, 2018).

Professional Roles: She serves on the Markets Working Group for the UN’s Delta 8.7 initiative, editorial boards for IISE Transactions and Operations Research in Health Care, and leadership roles in INFORMS’ Women in OR/MS and Diversity committees.

Research Themes: Her work spans mathematical modeling for anti-trafficking strategies, healthcare resource optimization, and data-driven policy analysis. Current projects include disrupting wildlife trafficking networks and improving LGBTQ+ youth shelter capacity via simulation.