FACULTY PROFILE
"I find it exciting that GSU embraces everyone who wants to learn regardless of age. The diversity in the classroom makes it truly possible to learn from each other – some of the insights regarding work or life are gained only through experience. GSU is the place to be whether you are considering a career change or simply advancing your academic goals.
I teach operations/supply chain management and statistics in the College of Business and Public Administration. I am particularly interested in the numeric and probabilistic areas in operations and supply chain management. Since that may not mean much to many who read this, here is an example: say that a service system can process six people in an hour on average, and the arrival rate of customers is five per hour on average. If customers arrive exactly twelve minutes apart, and if each service takes exactly ten minutes, there will be no waiting. But if the service times and arrival times are random, then a waiting line will build up, with about 4.2 people waiting on average, and each customer waiting for about 50 minutes on average. I find such analysis to be fascinating (if you need more information about this, search for “M/M/1 queue”).
I am also the advisor to the APICS club on campus, which is open to all who are interested in management of operations, supply chain, or resources. In the past several years GSU has participated in the regional student case competitions held by the APICS organization. The participants have benefited by sharpening their skills in analysis, writing and presentation, as well as by networking with students from other campuses and professionals from industry."
- John Simon, Ph.D.
Link to Dr. Simon's CV