{"69852":{"#nid":"69852","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Researcher Combines Work with Her Passion","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThere\u2019s nothing better than finding a way to combine work with a personal passion \u2014 and Pinar Keskinocak has managed to make this happen.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy passion for having real impact in practice through my research has continued since my graduate school days and has shifted from focusing on the for-profit sector toward the health and humanitarian sectors,\u201d said the Joseph C. Mello Professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE). \u201cThe main motivation for this shift was that I wanted to have more of a direct \u2014 or positive \u2014 impact on people\u2019s lives.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile at Georgia Tech, Keskinocak met two other professors, Ozlem Ergun and Julie Swann, who shared this passion for helping others. The three established the Center for Health and Humanitarian Logistics in 2007.\u0026nbsp; In a short time, the center has become a key global player in helping to ensure that disaster relief supplies \u2014 food, clean water, and medicine \u2014 arrive as quickly and efficiently as possible to those in need.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThrough her work as co-director of the center, Keskinocak has collaborated with a number of governmental and nongovernmental organizations, including the American Red Cross, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CARE and Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI consider the establishment of this center and its activities to be the most enjoyable and rewarding of my professional activities,\u201d Keskinocak added. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecently, The Whistle had an opportunity to learn more about Keskinocak and her time at Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you get to your current position? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EWhen I completed my PhD, I worked at IBM\u2019s T.J. Watson Research Center in the area of supply chain and revenue management for two years. I joined the ISyE faculty in 1999.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us a little bit about your research.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003ERecently, my research focus has been in the health and humanitarian sectors. For example, in a joint project with CARE, we looked at pre-positioning emergency supplies with the goal of shortening response times after a disaster.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat do you do to make learning more engaging for students?\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI try to use real-world examples. One example of this is a case study that I co-authored that focuses on the distribution of limited resources for indoor residual spraying for malaria prevention. We developed an Excel-based classroom game that works with the case study to provide students with a comprehensive modeling exercise, enabling them to apply various methods learned in ISyE classes. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat piece of technology could you not live without as an instructor?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI use email, PowerPoint and have a web page, but I don\u2019t rely too much on technology in the classroom. I still like to use an old-fashioned board coupled with PowerPoint and printed exercises that I distribute. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBest place to grab lunch? \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI like to go to Ferst Place with colleagues or students, since it always has something I can eat \u2014 I\u2019m a pescaterian, so I eat seafood but no other meat\u2014 and it\u2019s an easy walk from my office. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EName a few books you\u2019ve read recently. \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThree Cups of Tea\u201d by Greg Mortenson, \u201cLittle Bee\u201d and \u201cIncendiary\u201d by Chris Cleave and \u201cPearl of China\u201d by Anchee Min, to name a few. Also, I love to read children\u2019s books recommended by my 9 year old so that he and I can talk about them. Most recently, we read the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer and the Mysterious Benedict Society series by Trenton Lee Stewart. \u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIf you weren\u2019t in your current line of work, what would you be doing?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ERealistically, I\u2019d work for a nonprofit organization or be an executive in a company. In a surreal scenario, I would be a dancer.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThere\u2019s nothing better than finding a way to combine work with a personal passion \u2014 and Pinar Keskinocak has managed to make this happen.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"There\u2019s nothing better than finding a way to combine work with a personal passion \u2014 and Pinar Keskinocak has managed to make this happen."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2011-09-07 09:33:37","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:05","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-09-06T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-09-06T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"69851":{"id":"69851","type":"image","title":"Pinar Keskinocak","body":null,"created":"1449177275","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:14:35","changed":"1475894611","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:31","alt":"Pinar Keskinocak","file":{"fid":"192847","name":"pinar.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/pinar_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/pinar_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":941709,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/pinar_1.jpg?itok=tjZlxDbp"}}},"media_ids":["69851"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"8884","name":"Center for Health and Humanitarian Logistics"},{"id":"1202","name":"H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering"},{"id":"426","name":"isye"},{"id":"14230","name":"Joseph C. Mello Professor"},{"id":"1239","name":"Pinar Keskinocak"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}