AY2025-2026 Position# 53269 Operation Research and Engineering Management: Professor and Endowed Department Chair

Description

The Lyle School of Engineering at Southern Methodist University (SMU), led by the newly appointed visionary, Mary and Richard Templeton Dean, Nader Jalili, invites accomplished candidates for the position of Full Professor and Endowed Department Chair of Operations Research and Engineering Management (OREM). The successful candidate for chair of the department will also hold an endowed professorship with the anticipated start date of August 1, 2025.

 The Lyle School of Engineering has embarked on an ambitious journey, successfully hiring 14 outstanding faculty members, including two department chairs, three center/institute executive directors, and several endowed professors during the 2023-24 academic year. Our culture of faculty growth thrives on innovation, fostering a dynamic and collaborative environment.

 

We are committed to cutting-edge research funded by competitive federal grants, industry-funded projects and philanthropic gifts, which advances our academic goals and provides students with a competitive edge in the industry and/or academia. Our mission is to lead in the digital transformation of engineering education, equipping students with cutting-edge knowledge and skills to emerge as confident, capable leaders. Through excellence and innovation, we aim to significantly impact the engineering landscape and beyond.

 The OREM department at SMU has experienced significant growth in faculty lines and research in the last several years. The department offers undergraduate degrees in Management Science (including the dual BS degree in Data Science-Management Science) and highly sought-after graduate degrees in Engineering Management (MS and DEng), Operations Research and Analytics (MS and PhD), and Systems Engineering (MS). The department is also home to MS in Engineering Entrepreneurship, a collaborative degree supported by Lyle School of Engineering and Cox School of Business. OREM’s graduate degree programs attract significant interest from industry professionals in the DFW metroplex. Historically, 65 to 75% of the student body is made of graduate students. Coupled with the increasing externally funded research, the department is well poised to continue making a deep and lasting impact on the broader field of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) and Operations Research (OR).  Our faculty are actively engaged in research programs that cover a wide spectrum of theoretical and applied areas, including Optimization Methods, Applied Probability, Stochastics, Machine Learning, the Interface of Operations Research and Data Science, Infrastructure and Engineered Systems, and Supply Chain and Service Systems. This diverse expertise forms a strong foundation, with a clear trajectory for expanding the department’s impact across all areas of ISE that align with our mission and degree programs.

 

We are seeking a visionary leader to further elevate the department’s intellectual, creative, and scholarly development. The successful candidate will hold an earned doctoral degree and have relevant academic experience, coupled with international recognition in their discipline(s).  They will possess demonstrated excellence in technical, academic, and professional achievements, with a proven capacity for leadership. This is a unique opportunity for a dynamic leader who can inspire continued growth in cutting-edge research and innovation within Industrial and Systems Engineering, with a strong focus on expanding collaborations with federal agencies, industry, and other external partners.

 More information about the department is available at https://www.smu.edu/Lyle/Academics/Departments/OREM

 

About the Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering

For nearly a century, Lyle has been nurturing exceptional engineers who are catalysts for global change. Our commitment to shaping bold leaders who innovate, pioneer, and tackle society’s toughest challenges is unwavering. Embedded in our mindset is a culture of ingenuity that resonates through our research and curriculum. With an impressive 9:1 graduate student-to-faculty ratio, coupled with robust scholarship offerings, we are dedicated to fostering meaningful mentorship and breaking engineering stereotypes. Lyle has proudly earned the American Society for Engineering Education’s Bronze Award for championing diversity and inclusivity. We celebrate a diverse student body, with close to 30% of our undergraduates identifying as an underrepresented group (Black and Hispanic/Latinx) in engineering and computer science.  Additionally, we have a long-standing tradition of female enrollment that surpasses the nat