UTD Professor Gets $250,000 Grant To Study
Streamlining Technology Production Schedules

 


RICHARDSON, Texas (Dec. 12, 2001) – A U.T. Dallas
School of Management professor has received a $250,000 National Science
Foundation (NSF) grant to support his research into finding new ways to
help electronics and hardware manufacturing companies streamline their
production schedules.

 

Dr. Chelliah Sriskandarajah, a professor of operations management, is
collaborating on the project with Professor Rasaratnum Logendran of the
Oregon State University Department of Industrial and Manufacturing. Dr.
Logendran is a co-recipient of the grant.

The NSF grant funds the two professors’ work to develop solutions –
based on mathematical models and algorithms – for companies seeking to
incorporate new technology into their manufacturing operations in the
most efficient way possible.

“When technology changes, machinery changes, and so companies
search for new ways to make it all work efficiently,” Sriskandarajah
explained. “This is an ongoing process. We are looking for solutions
companies can use over the next five years to allow them to incorporate
new technologies into their manufacturing systems.”

The solutions the professors are developing are based on mathematical
models that can predict how far from optimal performance a system will
produce. “We may never reach the perfectly scheduled, or optimal,
operation. The challenge is to come as close as possible,”
Sriskandarajah said.

The professors will receive their NSF funding over a two-year period
that ends June 30, 2003.

 

About UTD

The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the
convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex
of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom
Corridor, enrolls more than 7,000 undergraduate and 5,000 graduate
students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the
forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores.
The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and
doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please
visit the university’s web site at www.utdallas.edu.