Kalyan Pasupathy, Ph.D.
University of Missouri
Nominated by the Institute of Industrial Engineers

Dr. Pasupathy at work in his university office

Kalyan Pasupathy's college interest of combining engineering and health sciences became realized after completing his Ph.D. in industrial & systems engineering and joining the faculty of the University of Missouri's Health Management and Informatics Department in the School of Medicine. The son of a surgeon, he experienced first hand how clinicians struggle to improve hospital operations. While working at the American Red Cross he developed tools to evaluate disaster response, health & safety and emergency communication operations for efficiency and effectiveness, saving up to 40,000 human hours per year. A multidisciplinary professional, he has received funding from federal and state agencies to identify at-risk breast cancer populations and to improve cancer incidence surveillance systems.

More recently, he developed tools to improve pharmacy operations and reduce medication errors. He was part of a pioneering effort funded by the National Science Foundation to develop a curriculum in Healthcare Systems Engineering. He has also developed several innovative case studies for industrial engineering students and medical professionals seeking to solve healthcare problems. One of his recent publications has been recognized by the Operations Research Society as the most significant research contribution during 2007 making him a joint-awardee of the prestigious Goodeve Medal presented annually at the Royal Society in London.

Dr. Pasupathy who includes Tamil, Hindi, and Spanish among his languages, as well as English, attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, in Blacksburg, Virginia, earning both his master's and doctorate degrees in Industrial & Systems Engineering.

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