Nachtmann Named Chancellor's Academic Fellow

photo of Dr. Heather NachtmannHeather Nachtmann, Associate Dean for Research, Professor and Director of MarTREC, has been selected as a Chancellor's Academic Fellow. She and three others have been selected for the 2019-2020 academic year to lead campus engagement around the university's Signature Research Areas.

The four fellows will work with faculty across campus to develop a plan on how to build excellence in four specific fields within the university's three signature research areas announced earlier this year. The signature research areas are Advancing the Data Revolution, Improving Human Health and Community Vibrancy, and Innovating for a Resilient and Sustainable Future, and their goal is to distinguish the U of A from other institutions while inspiring collaborative research with partners across the campus, state and nation.

"The Chancellor's Academic Fellows program is an effective mechanism to involve the faculty and the campus at large in making strategic decisions that will have long-term benefits for the U of A," said Daniel Sui, vice chancellor for research and innovation. "These four fellows will play a crucial role in defining what excellence looks like in our signature research areas."

Nachtmann has been with the College of Engineering since 2000, starting as an Assistant Professor in the Industrial Engineering Department. Her service and research has brought her significant accolades throughout her tenure with the College, including the 2018 Wellington Award from the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE). The Wellington Award recognizes outstanding long-term contributions and service in the field of engineering economy that enhance the visibility of the Engineering Economy Division of IISE.

In 2013, she led efforts to secure $4.2 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to create the Maritime Transportation Research and Education Center (MarTREC) to increase economic competiveness through efficient, resilient and sustainable transportation systems on U.S. navigable waterways (martrec.uark.edu). The consortium received an additional grant in fall 2016 for an anticipated $7.5M from USDOT to be acknowledged as the Nation’s premier source for expertise on maritime and multimodal transportation research and education. As a result of this external research funding, the office of the Provost and Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Arkansas recognized Nachtmann as one of the “Top 15 of 2015 and 2016.”

In fall 2018, she was appointed to the Earl J. and Lillian P. Dyess Endowed Chair in Engineering. She also holds the title of Fellow in the American Society for Engineering Management and the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers.

Her recent service includes; President and Past President of the American Society for Engineering Management, Advisory Council for Transportation Research for the Arkansas Department of Transportation, Engineering Research Council Member for the American Society for Engineering Education, Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Engineering Management Journal, and an Associate Editor of The Engineering Economist.

Full Newswire article can be viewed here.