Arzum Akkas

Dr. Arzum Akkas is an Associate Professor at the Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst. She holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Systems and a master’s degree in Supply Chain Management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Istanbul Technical University. Before joining the University of Massachusetts, Dr. Akkas taught at Boston University and MIT.

Before her academic career, Dr. Akkas spent eight years in industry, holding roles as management consultant at Archstone Consulting, operations manager at PepsiCo, and business systems consultant for Blue Yonder.

Dr. Akkas teaches graduate courses in Operations Management and Supply Chain Management. Her research focuses on food supply chains, with an emphasis on sustainability and retail food waste, and has been published in leading journals, including Management Science, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, and Production and Operations Management. She also serves as an Associate Editor for Manufacturing & Service Operations Management.

In addition, Dr. Akkas is an elected board member of the Production and Operations Management Society (POMS), serves on the advisory board of Pioneer Valley FoodWorks, a mission-driven nonprofit supporting the region’s food and agriculture economy, and co-organizes the annual Food Waste Workshop, which brings together scholars and industry practitioners, with participants primarily from Europe and the United States.