Dr. Manuel D. Rossetti Named 2012-2013 Imhoff Chair

Photo of Manuel RossettiManuel Rossetti, professor of industrial engineering, has been selected as the John L. Imhoff Chair in Industrial Engineering beginning in January 2012. Rossetti will be the fourth recipient to hold this title, and he plans to use the appointment to make significant contributions in three key areas: faculty programs leading toward teaching excellence, further advancement of the department’s global studies initiative for undergraduate students and graduate student development through the formation of a student chapter of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences.

This chair was established in 1983 to honor the memory of John L. Imhoff, founding head of the University of Arkansas department of industrial engineering.

“Dr. Imhoff was a role model to many and his influence is still alive today,” said Kim Needy, head of the department of industrial engineering. “He had a vision for global cooperation and understanding, excellence in teaching and research, and had a commitment to the success of students. I believe that he would be very excited about these initiatives and proud of Dr. Rossetti’s appointment to this chair that bears his name.”

Dr. Rossetti joined the industrial engineering faculty at the University of Arkansas in August 1999. He was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor in August 2003 and promoted to full professor in August 2010. He was also appointed associate department head for the department of industrial engineering in August 2010. He previously served as the chair of graduate studies (2009-2010) and the chair of undergraduate studies and ABET coordinator (2001-2009) for the department.

Dr. Rossetti has compiled a record of technical accomplishments, significant results, and service that numbers him among the nation’s leading contributors to industrial engineering—particularly in the areas of simulation and supply chain modeling.

His research interests include the design, analysis, and optimization of manufacturing, health care, logistics, and transportation systems using stochastic modeling, computer simulation, and mathematical modeling techniques. Dr. Rossetti has published over 85 journal and conference articles in the areas of transportation, manufacturing, health care and simulation and he has obtained over $3.4 million dollars in research funding. His research sponsors have included the Pine Bluff Arsenal, The Arkansas Science and Technology Authority, the Defense Logistics Agency, the Naval Systems Supply Command, the Air Force Research Laboratory, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the Transportation Research Board, US Department of Transportation, and the National Science Foundation. He has advised 6 Ph.D. dissertations, 21 master of science theses, and 24 bachelor of science theses. In 2001, he received the Outstanding Researcher Award for the Department of Industrial Engineering. In 2008, he received a best paper award for the modeling and simulation track at the Industrial Engineering Research Conference.

Dr. Rossetti has served on numerous departmental and college level committees and is currently a university faculty senate representative for the College of Engineering. He has served as a reviewer for over 20 different professional journals and serves as an associate editor for the International Journal of Modeling and Simulation. Dr. Rossetti is a senior member in the Institute of Industrial Engineers, and is active in the Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences, and the American Society for Engineering Education. He served as co-editor for the 2004 and 2009 Winter Simulation Conference and will be the program chair for the 2015 conference. Dr. Rossetti serves as a regular panelist for the National Science Foundation’s Small Business Innovative Research program and has reviewed for the Vietnamese Research Council, the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, the Austrian Science Fund, and the Academy of Finland.

Dr. Rossetti is the author of Simulation Modeling and Arena published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. He teaches undergraduate courses in the areas of computer simulation modeling, probability and statistics, and database systems and graduate courses in computer simulation and inventory modeling. He was selected as a Lilly Teaching Fellow funded by the Lilly Endowment in 1997/98 and won a University of Arkansas Baum Teaching Enhancement Grant in 2002. Dr. Rossetti has won the University of Arkansas Industrial Engineering Outstanding Teaching Award in 2002, 2008, and 2011. He has also been voted as the best IE teacher by IE students in 2007 and 2009. Dr. Rossetti is passionate about improving engineering education and providing improved access to Arkansans for undergraduate and graduate education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Dr. Rossetti grew up in Canton, Ohio. He received his Ph.D. and MSIE degrees in Industrial and Systems Engineering from The Ohio State University and his BSIE degree from the University of Cincinnati. He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Arkansas.


Release date: 12/7/2011