Anahita Khojandi

Title

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Heath Endowed Faculty Fellow in Business & Engineering
Professor
Industrial and Systems Engineering
University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK)

Education

Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, 2014

M.S., University of Pittsburgh, 2009

B.S., Sharif University of Technology, 2008

Professional Experience

AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow, Rapid Response Cohort in AI, AY 2024-2025

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2014–Present

Selected INFORMS and Related Activities (Member since 2009)

  • 2024-Present: Vice President, Membership and Professional Recognition
  • 2022-Present: Faculty Advisor, INFORMS Student Chapter at UTK
  • 2022-2024: Chair, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (DEIC)
  • 2022, 2020: Cluster Co-chair, Health Applications Society (HAS) Track, INFORMS Annual Meeting
  • 2021, 2020: Vice Chair and Ambassador Program Subcommittee Chair, DEIC
  • 2021, 2016: Organizing Committee, INFORMS Annual Meeting
  • 2019: Volume Co-editor, INFORMS Editor’s Cut, Diversity & Inclusion: Analytics for Social Impact
  • 2018: President, Junior Faculty Interest Group (JFIG)

Selected Professional Honors and Awards

  • Executive Leadership in Academic Technology, Engineering and Science (ELATES) Program, AY 2025-2026
  • Best Application Paper, IISE Transactions, Focus Issue on Operations Engineering and Analytics, 2025
  • AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship, Rapid Response Cohort in AI, AY 2024-2025
  • Teaching Award, Data Analytics & Information Systems (DAIS) Division, IISE, 2024
  • INFORMS Senior Member, 2024
  • NIH AIM-AHEAD Fellowship Program in Leadership, AY 2023-2024
  • First Place, Harvey J. Greenberg Research Award, INFORMS Computing Society, 2022
  • Volunteer Service Award, INFORMS, 2022
  • Best Paper Award of the Year, OMEGA – The International Journal of Management Science, 2021, 2020
  • Honorable Mention, George B. Dantzig Dissertation Award, INFORMS, 2014

Selected National Service Activities

  • Associate Editor, IISE Transactions, 2020-Present
  • Associate Editor, Optimization Letters, 2022-Present
  • Topic Editor, Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 2021-2022
  • Proposal Reviewer for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy (DOE)

Selected Publications

More details here: https://tickle.utk.edu/ise/faculty/anahita-khojandi/

My research interests include decision-making under uncertainty and partial information, machine learning, and reinforcement learning, with applications in a wide range of areas.

Candidate Statement

I have had the privilege of serving as the INFORMS Vice President (VP) of Membership and Professional Recognition starting in 2024. During this time, I have gained valuable insights into INFORMS’ operations and the responsibilities of the role. I would be honored to build upon these experiences and continue serving INFORMS’ membership and our profession for the next two years.

During my term as INFORMS VP of Membership, I have had the privilege of collaborating with my staff partner and other volunteers to assess the distinct needs of our member segments –academic vs. industry, full-time vs. student, U.S. vs. international, and more. Together, we have worked to understand what creates value for each group and how best to serve them. This has led to several initiatives, including the launch of Senior Membership and the deployment of the 2024 INFORMS Stakeholder Survey. Senior Membership gained strong traction from the start, enabling us to acknowledge and celebrate the vibrant volunteer spirit within our community. Similarly, the survey garnered a robust response from both members and nonmembers, offering us valuable quantitative insights into member sentiment and needs. These findings will help us enhance current offerings and develop new products to better serve our members. Currently, we are organizing focus groups to gather additional qualitative data and working closely with INFORMS Ambassadors to analyze the survey results. This will enable us to provide actionable insights that will create more value for our members and support expanded opportunities and achievements.

Similarly, during my term as INFORMS VP of Professional Recognition, I had the opportunity to collaborate with my staff partner and other volunteers to celebrate our members’ successes and acknowledge their outstanding achievements. We led several initiatives, including the launch of the INFORMS Early Career Practitioner Award, designed to engage and recognize early career professionals in OR/MS/analytics for their exceptional contributions to business, government, consulting, and service to the profession. This award was established in response to the need for recognizing the accomplishments of our industry members. We are currently evaluating the INFORMS award portfolio to determine if additional awards – potentially in collaboration with other institutions – can be created or revitalized to better honor the achievements of our various member segments.

One of the central themes across all my activities as INFORMS VP of Membership and Professional Recognition has been my focus on expanding opportunities for our members. On both fronts, we have actively worked to create new volunteer positions, such as introducing observer roles on INFORMS Award Committees to provide junior members with valuable experience and exposure. Additionally, we have been among the first groups to trial new platforms aimed at spreading the word about various volunteer opportunities, thereby increasing involvement and bringing fresh perspectives to our committees. Volunteering is at the heart of INFORMS, offering members the chance to grow professionally and build their networks. As such, I have consistently worked to champion opportunities for all of our members.

In my second term as INFORMS VP of Membership and Professional Recognition, I aim to build on the current momentum and collaborate with fellow volunteers on the INFORMS Board to strategically shape the future of the organization. I plan to continue deepening our understanding of both current and potential members – learning about their professional backgrounds, aspirations, and what creates value for them. This includes ensuring that all members feel welcome, seen, and included. I am committed to helping INFORMS advance the science and technology of decision-making, while also championing our profession and purposefully expanding opportunities for all our members. My goal is for all of us to proudly consider INFORMS our professional home.

For more information, please visit: https://tickle.utk.edu/ise/faculty/anahita-khojandi/.