In This Issue
Kicking-Off Another Fall at CHEPS
It’s always exciting to kick-off a new semester at CHEPS. As was the case this summer, we’ve had to adjust what the start of a new semester looks like. We held our kick-off meeting over Zoom and though we missed the days when we all tried to squeeze into the conference room together, CHEPSters still all introduced themselves with name, major, new or returning to CHEPS, and a fun fact. This semester everyone shared their go-to karaoke song. Answers ranged from Frank Sinatra, ABBA, Disney songs, Macklemore, and the Backstreet Boys. While we weren’t all in the same room, we got to know one another a little better, share some laughter, and discuss the ins and outs of life as a CHEPSter.
Our seminar series has also gone virtual for the first time. An unexpected silver lining of that move is that speakers and attendees can join us from anywhere. It’s been wonderful to see friends, alumni, and colleagues from Michigan and beyond join us each week. If you’re not already on the list, you can see our future speakers and RSVP here. Already we’ve had excellent seminars with CHEPS alums discussing their work to fight COVID-19, Ekundayo Shittu of George Washington University discussing optimizing vaccine storage and hub location in a developing country, and Vikrant Vaze of Dartmouth using simulation to compare central laboratory testing and point-of-care testing. And we have many more to look forward to throughout the semester.
This is a stressful semester for our students and looks very different from what they likely expected from their college experience. However, it’s been wonderful to watch them come together not only to do their work but to support one another and to connect in other ways whether it’s planning game nights or sharing grocery runs. It’s inspiring to see them all working hard on their projects and helping us keep the CHEPS community strong!
Recent News
- Seminar on “CHEPS Alums and their Experience Fighting COVID-19” with Joe East, Pamela Martinez, and Bill Zhang, 9/21/20
- Seminar on “Improving Vaccine Access: Optimizing Storage and Hub Location in a Developing Country” with Ekundayo Shittu, 9/14/20
- CHEPSters Attend “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Operations Research and Analytics: A Research Agenda for Scholarship, Practice, and Service,” 9/10/20
- Seminar on “A Simulation Based Comparison of Point-of-Care Testing and Central Laboratory Testing” with Vikrant Vaze, 8/31/20
CHEPS Student Blog Posts
This summer CHEPS students blogged to share life at CHEPS from the student perspective. Stay tuned for blogs from our Fall 2020 students coming soon!
“I still remember the first day when I was in the CHEPS building to meet Dr. Amy. I was all up for answering the technical questions. Although that did happen, it was more about me telling her about myself. There was a welcoming feel in that meeting. While Dr. Amy was giving me a tour of the workspace, I saw a lot of students around. Now I am one of those people who cannot walk up to someone and introduce myself, forget about striking a conversation. I would usually find the corner and keep to myself even when I want to talk. But that is where CHEPS is very very unique, people are friendly and make you feel at home.” – Pushpendra “Ishu” Singh
- Pushpendra (Ishu) Singh, Industrial & Operations Engineering Master’s 2020
- Dean Golan, Industrial & Operations Engineering Undergraduate
- Matt Howard, Industrial and Operations Engineering Undergraduate
- Luke Liu, 2020 Industrial & Operations Engineering B.S.
- Renata Terrazzan, Public Health Undergraduate
- Alli VanderStoep, Industrial & Operations Engineering Master’s Student
- Ziqi Wang, IOE/HEPS Master’s Student
- Carolyn Wu, Informatics Undergraduate
- Kristine Wang, 2020 Computer Science B.S.
- Nicholas Zacharek, Industrial & Operations Engineering Undergraduate
- Matt See, 2020 Chemistry B.S.
Center for Healthcare Engineering & Patient Safety | University of Michigan
[email protected] | cheps.engin.umich.edu
