Dear friends:
This summer, my family and I are spending time in Busan, South Korea, enjoying the beautiful Gwangalli Beach and other sites. By the way, if you’re ever there on a Saturday night, the drone show is out of this world!
Speaking of drones, I’m pleased to introduce you to the work of Amirhossein Moadab, a doctoral student studying operations and management science. Our feature article describes his efforts to harness the potential of aerial drones to deliver swift assistance to those in need of humanitarian aid after natural disasters or other crises. He’s no stranger to the devastating impact of natural disasters, having experienced severe earthquakes in his home country of Iran when he was a young boy. Moadab is using his industrial engineering background and WSU training in operations and management science to help save lives. He also has a forthcoming research paper in which he proposes a mathematical model geared at enhancing the supply chain network for COVID-19 PCR diagnostic tests.
Moadab is just one example of how Carson doctoral students develop technology and business insights for social good. Another is the work of operations and management science doctoral student Shirin Shahsavand, who is highlighted in the PhD Corner achievements section. She received third place in the communication and political science category of the GPSA Graduate Research Exposition this past spring. Shahsavand is exploring the fast fashion industry and some retailers’ efforts to provide monetary incentives for customers to return used clothing to stores for recycling rather than sending their clothing to the landfill.
Back in Korea, it feels so safe to walk around Korean cities, day or night, which causes me to ponder the rising homelessness, pervasive drug addiction, and other issues that are impacting cities in our nation and world. It’s time for more of us, collectively, to get involved. With donor support and seed funding, I’m confident Carson doctoral students and faculty possess the talent to develop new models that can not only improve business practices but also impact larger humanitarian efforts such as emergency services, sustainable housing, food security, basic health care, and drug rehabilitation.
If we work together, Washington State University can be the leading source of insights for social good through the study of business and power of community.
Chuck Munson,
PhD Program Director