Business Prof Honored as Distinguished Alum

As a small child growing up in the 1950s in the rural village of Ladnun in the Nagaur district of Rajasthan, Dr. Suresh Sethi had never even heard of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IITB). In March, the highly regarded UT Dallas School of Management professor will be named an IITB Distinguished Alum.

The institute each year honors high-achieving alumni who have gained significant distinction in their fields. He joins an elite group of IITB alumni honored for making their mark in board rooms, industries and universities.

“IITB is a premier university, and I feel very honored and humbled to receive this prestigious award,” Sethi said. “It’s a confirmation by your peers that you’ve done well. It’s a nice feeling that they chose me.”

In a letter to Sethi, Ashok Misra, director of the IITB, said the university is proud to see IITB alumni reach “positions of eminence in industry, academia and business.”

“Your achievements have brought laurels to the Institute, and I am sure that by accepting this honor, you will permit your alma mater to endorse the excellent contributions you have made in your field of work,” the letter said.

Of the nearly 100 IITB alumni who have been named Distinguished Alumni during the last 50 years, most are business leaders, industry leaders and senior managers. Sethi is one of a select few academicians who have received this award.

The IITB Distinguished Alumni award is just one of the many honors Sethi, the School of Management’s Charles and Nancy Davidson Distinguished Professor of Operations Management and director of the Center for Intelligent Supply Networks, has received during his tenure at UT Dallas.

Internationally known for applying quantitative methods to manufacturing and operations management, finance, economics and marketing, Sethi has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the New York Academy of Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Sciences, the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences and the Production and Operations Management Society.

Sethi is departmental editor for the journal, Production and Operations Management, and associate editor for a number of journals including Automatica. He has published six books and more than 300 articles.

Sethi graduated with honors from IITB with a degree in mechanical engineering and earned an MBA from Washington State University. After receiving a master’s in administrative science and a Ph.D. in Operations Research from Carnegie Mellon University, he joined the faculty of the University of Toronto, where he worked for more than 25 years. He joined the UT Dallas School of Management in 1997.

ITTB will honor Sethi officially on March 10 at an awards ceremony presided over by India’s prime minister and held in conjunction with “Foundation Day,” the university’s celebration of its 50th anniversary.