Body of Knowledge Governing Board 2024 - 2025

Omar Ashour

BoK Governing Board Chair, 2022-2025
Professor of Industrial Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University, The Behrend College

Dr. Omar Ashour is a Professor of Industrial Engineering at Pennsylvania State University, The Behrend College. Dr. Ashour received a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering/Manufacturing Engineering and an M.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) in 2005 and 2007, respectively. He received his M.Eng. degree in Industrial Engineering/Human Factors and Ergonomics and a Ph.D. degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from The Pennsylvania State University (PSU) in 2010 and 2012, respectively. Dr. Ashour was the inaugural recipient of William and Wendy Korb Early Career Professorship in Industrial Engineering in 2016. Dr. Ashour’s research areas include data-driven decision-making, modeling and simulation, data analytics, immersive technologies, and process improvement. He contributed to research directed to improve design and engineering education. Dr. Ashour currently serves as a Technical Vice President (TVP) on the Technical Operations Board (TOB) of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE).

Guiping Hu

Incoming Chair, 2024-2027
Professor and Head, School of Industrial Engineering and Management, Oklahoma State University

Dr. Guiping Hu is the Professor and Head of School of Industrial Engineering and Management at Oklahoma State University. She is also the Donald & Cathey Humphreys Chair. During 2021-2022, She served as the Head of the Department of Sustainability at Rochester Institute of Technology. During 2022-2023, she served as the associate chair of Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering at Iowa State University where she was a faculty from 2009-2023. Dr. Hu serves as a Technical Vice President (TVP) on the Technical Operations Board (TOB) of the I nstitute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE)

Michael Graul

Director, 2023-2025
Sr. Director of Engineering Professional Education, Associate Professor of Engineering Practice, Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station

Michael Graul, PhD PE has spent 33 years as a practitioner in the field of Industrial and Systems Engineering; 31 (1992-present) of those years have been spent with Knowledge Based Systems, Inc. (KBSI) in College Station, Texas. He served as Principal Investigator (PI), Senior Scientist, and Project Manager (PM) for several systems design, analysis, and engineering efforts at KBSI. His primary industrial focus is that of production system design, planning, implementation, operation, and sustainment. His applied research focus is on design and development of production system architectures. He continues to serve, part-time, as a Senior Scientist and Engineer supporting KBSI technology integration and analytics efforts. In 2013, he joined the faculty of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Texas A&M University on a part-time basis. In 2018, he joined the department full-time and was named the Assistant Department Head for Undergraduate Affairs. He was promoted to Associate Department Head in the spring of 2021. In June 2022, he was named Sr. Director of TEES Professional Education. He is a licensed Professional Engineer (TX) and served for six-years as the national PE Exam Committee Chair; now as past chair. He currently serves as Director for the IISE Society of Engineering and Management Systems.

Steve Kiester

Director, 2023-2025
Sr Integrated Program Scheduling Specialist, Bell - Textron

Steve’s career as an ISE has allowed him to work in diverse roles, primarily through the aviation industry. After graduation from Oklahoma State University (BSIE), he began his career at Texas Instruments in NC machining, facilities planning, and material handling systems design / implementation. He later transitioned to various ISE roles in manufacturing / assembly support at Bell-Textron and General Dynamics (now Lockheed-Martin). Since 1993, he has served in a variety of project / program management support and teaching roles at Bell-Textron for both government and commercial aircraft development initiatives. He holds a Green Belt certification with a focus on Design for Six Sigma (DFSS). A member of IISE since 1991, he was inducted as a Fellow in 2022. In the IISE Dallas-Fort Worth chapter, Steve served as Director of Student Chapter Relations, Director of Programs, President, and Past President. He currently serves on the Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM) Industry Advisory Board and The Cowboy Academy at Oklahoma State University. As a volunteer in the Civil Air Patrol (United States Air Force Auxiliary), he serves in management roles in Education & Training, Personnel and Administration.

Asela Kulatunga

Director, 2023-2025
Lecturer in Industrial Systems, Department of Engineering, Faculty of Environment, Science and Econony, University of Exeter, UK

Dr. Kulatunga received his BSc in 2000 from University of Peradeniya Sri Lanka and my PhD in 2013, from the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. His research focuses on sustainability aspects of Industrial Engineering and Supply Chain Management. Prior to joining the University of Exeter, he served as a Fulbright Advance Research and Teaching Scholar at Institute of Sustainable Manufacturing, the University of Kentucky USA in 2023. Dr. Kulatunga also served as an Erasmus Mundus Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Bremen, Germany in 2015/2016.

Sasanka Prabhala

Director, 2023-2025
Director of UI/UX Design Group, McKesson

Dr. Prabhala earned his PhD in Human Factors Engineering and his MS in Electrical Engineering & Human Factors Engineering from Wright State University. He is currently the Director of User Research and Design at McKesson. Previously, he worked as Senior Manager of Design Research and Human Experience at Crown Equipment Corporation, Staff UX Researcher at GE Aviation, Executive Director of Strategic Information and Business Intelligence group at Wright State University, and as an UX Researcher/Manager at Intel Corporation. Dr. Prabhala is a committee member and reviewer for a number of journals and conferences and a recipient of 2017 Affiliate Society Council of Dayton Outstanding Engineers & Scientists Award for Technical Leadership amongst others.

Steve Vijayan

Director, 2024-2026
Research and Reporting Analyst, Biomedical Research Informatics Center (BRIC), Nemours Children's Hospital

Chen Zhou

Director, 2024-2026
Associate Professor and Asscoiate Chair of Undergraduate Studies, Georgia Insititute of Technology

Dr. Zhou received a B.S. degree from Tianjin University (China) in 1982, an M.S. in mechanical engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1984, and a Ph.D. in industrial engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1988. Dr. Zhou's research focus includes sustainable supply chain, distribution system design and manufacturing systems. Dr. Chen is a member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, Society of Manufacturing Engineers and American Society of Engineering Education.