On Friday, April 5, the UMass INFORMS community had the pleasure of attending a lecture by Professor Chandra Bhat, Joe J. King Endowed Chair Professor in Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and the Editor of Transportation Research B. The talk was part of the Boyer Lecture Series, organized by Professor Mike Knodler, the Boyer Professor and Director of the UMass Transportation Center. Professor Knodler invited UMass INFORMS and its faculty advisor, Professor Anna Nagurney, to help coordinate the event, and we were more than glad to have the opportunity to collaborate in hosting such an insightful talk.
The talk was scheduled for after lunch, but beforehand, the UMass Transportation Center treated Professor Bhat to a tasty meal at the cozy Commonwealth Restaurant here at UMass, accompanied by professors and students from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Professor Nagurney of the Isenberg School of Management.
Professor Bhat had previously been a faculty member at UMass before moving to UT Austin. This visit was nostalgic for him and all his old friends and colleagues at UMass. Professor Nagurney shared fond memories of Professor Bhat’s days here at UMass. Noteworthy is that right before kindly making the long journey to Amherst, Professor Bhat was at Chile attending a conference.
Professor Bhat’s lecture was titled “A Study on Telemedicine Adoption, with Implications for Healthcare, Telecommunications, and Land Use Transportation Planning.” Throughout the talk, he discussed multiple research projects conducted by himself and his PhD students, emphasizing the interdisciplinary approach necessary for transportation research today. The lecture focused on telemedicine adoption in the post-COVID era and provided insights for various sectors.
After the lecture, attendees enjoyed delicious food provided by UMass Catering while chatting with Professor Bhat and other faculty and students present at the event. Professor Nagurney captured a beautiful photo of three of our officers, Dana, Ismael, and Samira, with Professor Bhat and Professor Knodler.
Sadly, this was the last seminar coordinated by UMass INFORMS for the spring semester. However, we look forward to hosting an end-of-semester party with plenty of food and great company, and we are excited to return with many more exciting events next fall.
As always, please keep checking our blog posts and follow our social media accounts to stay updated on our upcoming events.