Shanthi Muthuswamy

Shanthi Muthuswamy, Ph.D., serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering Technology at Northern Illinois University's College of Engineering and Engineering Technology. With academic credentials including a Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering from SUNY Binghamton, she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses while pioneering innovative teaching methods such as mindfulness exercises and the 5-Minute Solutions video series.

• B.E. in Mechanical Engineering (PSG College of Technology, India, 1996)
• M.S. in Industrial Engineering (Northern Illinois University, 1998)
• Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering (SUNY Binghamton, 2009)

Her research focuses on heuristic optimization, logistics, facilities planning, and project management, with applications spanning healthcare, manufacturing, and education technology. She has developed optimization frameworks for organ allocation and scheduling algorithms in flow shops.

The 5-Minute Solutions initiative demonstrates her commitment to innovative teaching, achieving measurable improvements in student performance metrics. Her work integrates simulation modeling and lean methodologies to enhance production systems.

• Faculty of the Year Award (2016)
• Excellence in Innovation Award (2015)
• Airbus GEDC Diversity Award Finalist (2018)
• Wilma D. Stricklin Award (2019)
• David W. Raymond Grant (2020)

As first woman of color VP of the College Industry Council for Material Handling Education (CICMHE), she champions diversity in engineering education while guiding curriculum development and industry collaborations.