Drs. Abdullah Konak and Sadan Kulturel-Konak Receive ICDS-sponsored Research Grant
Posted on July 30, 2024Penn State researchers Dr. Abdullah Konak, Distinguished Professor of Information Sciences and Technology, and Dr. Sadan Kulturel-Konak, Professor of Management Information Systems, both of Penn State Berks, are the 2024 recipients of a grant sponsored by ICDS as part of the Inter-Institutional Program for Diversifying Research (IPDR). Dr. Ryan Hassler, Teaching Professor of mathematics, Penn State Berks, is also a co-principal investigator on the project.
The project titled “Food Bank Operations Optimization: Data-driven Societal Impact Approach (FOODSIA)” is focused on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of local food banks.
With about 12% of the population in Berks and Schuylkill Counties living in poverty, food banks are a critical resource for those who struggle to afford food. More than 110,000 individuals in both counties qualify for food assistance, presenting signiļ¬cant operational and logistical challenges for food pantries to offer support. The researchers from Penn State Berks and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCAT) will collaborate with Helping Harvest, the Feeding America food bank serving Berks and Schuylkill Counties, to tackle significant challenges in food distribution logistics. This project leverages NCAT’s experience in modeling food bank operations and Penn State’s strategic capabilities to enhance both institutions’ research and teaching capacities at the intersection of predictive analytics, decision sciences and operations research with tangible societal impacts. Hassler is also on the board of directors for Helping Harvest.
Additionally, this community-engaged research project will yield new methods for integrating social justice and equity into complex decision-making processes within food distribution networks. We aim to develop innovative predictive models and optimization techniques that account for both societal impacts on underserved communities and traditional cost-based performance metrics.
The project relied on critical research and support from Dr. Lauren Davis, Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering, and Dr. Steven Jiang, Associate Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering, both of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCAT).