Biography

Starting June 2025, Heng Chen will join the Department of Management at Kansas State University. His new email address will be hengchen@ksu.edu.

Heng Chen is an Assistant Professor in Supply Chain Management in the College of Business at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

His primary research interest is in the application of stochastic methods and data analytics for efficient, sustainable, and equitable operations in the public sectors, specializing in applications such as transportation and agriculture. His approach to these problems considers multiple stakeholders, including those who are often underrepresented. His overarching objective is to address equity issues, particularly for small stakeholders, and to examine the influence of public policies and government interventions in these sectors. Additionally, He incorporates uncertainty and the learning effects resulting from such uncertainties into his research models. His work has been published in several journals, including Production and Operations Management and Transportation Science. He has won several awards, including a best dissertation award and an outstanding paper award.

Selected Publications 

• F. Song, Y. Xu, H. Chen, K. Zhang, "Better to Deliver Tomorrow Morning than Late Today? The Time-of-Day Effect in Customer Perception of Online Sellers' Logistics Service Quality," Transportation Journal, accepted (2024).
• Z. Hu, H. Chen, E. Lyons, S. Solak, M. Zink, "Towards Sustainable UAV (Drone) Operations: Balancing Economic Optimization with Environmental and Social Considerations in Path Planning," Transportation Research Part E, 181, p.103314 (2024).
• H. Chen, J. Ryan, "Optimal Specialty Crop Planning Policies with Yield Learning and Forward Contract," Production and Operations Management, 32(2), pp.359-378 (2023).
• H. Chen, Z. Hu, S. Solak, "Improved Delivery Policies for Future Drone-based Delivery Systems," European Journal of Operational Research, 294 (3), pp. 1181-1201 (2021).
  
• H. Chen, S. Solak, "Lower Cost Departures for Airlines: Optimal Policies under Departure Metering," Transportation Research Part C, 111, pp. 531-546 (2020).
• S. Solak, H. Chen, "Optimal Metering Point Configurations for Optimized Profile Descent Based Arrival Operations at Airports," Transportation Science, 52 (1), pp. 150-170 (2018).
• H. Chen, S. Solak, "Value of Extended Time-Based Metering for Optimized Profile Descent–Based Arrival Operations," Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, (2600), pp. 27-38 (2016).
• H. Chen, S. Solak, "Lower Cost Arrivals for Airlines: Optimal Policies for Managing Runway Operations under Optimized Profile Descent," Production and Operations Management, 24 (3), pp. 402-420 (2015).
• S. Solak, E. Baker, H. Chen, "Convexity Analysis of the Dynamic Integrated Model of Climate and the Economy (DICE)," Environmental Modeling & Assessment, 20(5), pp. 443-451 (2015).

Under Submission/Revision

• H. Chen, Y. Zhang, "Outcome-based Pricing for Precision Agriculture Services."

Grants and Research Awards

• Selected Participant, POMS Emerging Scholars, Production and Operations Management Society, 2019
• Best Dissertation Prize, INFORMS Aviation Applications Section, 2017
• Best Paper Award on Air Transportation, INFORMS Transportation Science and Logistics (TSL) Society, 2016
• Eugene M. Isenberg Scholar Award, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2015, $10,000
• Dissertation Research Award, Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2015
• Outstanding Doctoral Student Research Award, Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2014
• Best Student Presentation Award, INFORMS Section of Aviation Applications, 2014
• Graduate Research Award, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), 2014, $10,000
• First Place, Central Connecticut Chapter Scholarship Competition, Institute of Industrial Engineers, 2015
• NSF Travel Award, National Science Foundation (NSF), 2014, $500
• FAA Travel Award, Federal Aviation Administration, 2014, $2,000
• China National Scholarship, Chinese Ministry of Education, 2007
• Best Paper Award in Mathematical Modeling, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 2006

Undergraduate Courses

Operations and Supply Chain Management (SCMA 331) - Analytical management techniques for: ascertaining demand for the organization's goods and services; justifying and acquiring the necessary resources; and planning and controlling the transformation of resources into goods and services. Application in both large and small organizations, private and public enterprise, service, and manufacturing organizations.

Global Sourcing and Distribution (SCMA 439) - Sourcing strategies, concepts and tools in the context of integrated supply chains. Specific issues include make or buy decisions, supplier evaluation and selection, total cost of ownership, contracts and legal terms, negotiation, and purchasing ethics. Discussion of supply chains in the context of international trade. Purchasing options, to include benefits and risks in outsourcing. Information technology for control and coordination in international supply chains.

Teaching Interests

• Supply Chain Management
• Transportation and Logistics
• Stochastic models

Professional Service

• Vice Chair/Chair Elect, INFORMS Transportation Science and Logistics (TSL) Society Air Transportation Special Interest Group, 2023-2024
• Member, INFORMS Student Affairs Subcommittee, 2020-2021
• Chair, Aviation Applications Best Student Presentation Competition Award Committee, 2019
• Cluster Chair, Aviation Applications Cluster, INFORMS Annual Meeting 2018, 2018
• Judge, Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) Student Awards, 2017
• Social Media Coordinator and Webmaster, INFORMS Section on Aviation Applications, 2013-2018
• Member, Aviation Applications Best Student Presentation Competition Award Committee, 2016
• Secretary, UMass Amherst Student Chapter of INFORMS, 2014-2015
• Cluster Chair, Aviation Applications Cluster, INFORMS International Conference, 2012

Institutional Service

• Member, College Scholarship and Awards Committee Committee, 2022-present
• Seminar Organizer, SCMA Seminar Series with Guest Speakers 
• Member, Department of Supply Chain Management and Analytics Grade Appeals Committee, 2019-present
• Member, Department of Supply Chain Management and Analytics Faculty Search Committee, 2016-2018
• Member, Department of Supply Chain Management and Analytics Professor of Practice Search Committee, 2016-2017

Awards

• Best Dissertation Prize, INFORMS Aviation Applications Section, 2017
• Best Paper Award on Air Transportation, INFORMS Section of Transportation Science and Logistics, 2016

Selected Media Placement

• "Holiday Shopping Expected to be Affected by Distortion of Supply Chains", The Daily Nebraskan, 2021
• "Chen Produces Leading Research on Airline Industry Practices", The Nebraska College of Business News, 2018