Elif Kongar

Dr. Elif Kongar is Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research in the School of Engineering at Fairfield University. She also holds a Lecturer position at Yale School of Management. Prior to these appointments, Dr. Kongar was Professor of Technology Management and Mechanical Engineering and Chair of the Technology Management Department at the School of Engineering at the University of Bridgeport (UB). During her tenure at UB, she established several research programs, graduate concentrations and coursework in interdisciplinary areas including predictive analytics, data visualization, statistical analysis, supply chain management and logistics, simulation and modeling, economic and environmental sustainability, and service management and engineering.

Dr. Kongar is the Founding Director of the Ph.D. Program in Technology Management at UB–the only Ph.D. program of its kind in the Northeast; and one out of a handful of such programs in the U.S–and has served in this role since the inauguration of the program in September 2014.

Dr. Kongar utilizes quantitative and qualitative methods in her interdisciplinary and technology-driven research. She has published over one hundred well-cited papers in scholarly journals and conference proceedings. Her research areas include economically and environmentally sustainable waste recovery systems and operations, disassembly sequencing and planning, electronic waste, performance evaluation, big data and data analytics, quality improvement, engineering education programs, female participation and efficiency in engineering disciplines and in K-12 STEM education.

Dr. Kongar is the Department Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management and an active member of various national and international technical committees, advisory boards, program committees and editorial boards. She is an elected member of the IEEE Technology and Engineering Management Society (TEMS) Board of Governors, and has served as Chair of the IEEE TEMS Professional Training and Education Adhoc Committee.

Dr. Kongar earned her Ph.D. in industrial engineering from Northeastern University and her BS and MS in industrial engineering from Yildiz Technical University, Turkey.

Education

• PhD, Northeastern University
• MS, Yildiz Technical University
• BS, Yildiz Technical University