News

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Sinan Onal, PhD, has been elected as the new president-elect of the Data Analytics and Information Systems (DAIS) Division of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE). His term will begin June 1, 2021, and he will serve through May 30, 2022.

“Dr. Onal is an outstanding member of our industrial engineering faculty,” said SIUE School of Engineering (SOE) Dean Cem Karacal, PhD. “His recognition for such a key leadership role in the industrial engineering (IE) community is a testament to his professional accomplishments. This is an important recognition for Dr. Onal, our IE program, School of Engineering and SIUE.

Onal is an associate professor in the SOE Department of Industrial Engineering. As DAIS president, Onal expects to continue implementing and strengthening activities and novel practices that support the meaningful work of the data analytics and information systems community. His objective is to create special interest groups that will attract research expertise into the heart of DAIS activities.

“DAIS is the largest division within IISE and aims to bring together members from academia, industry and government who share a common interest in topics related to the research and practice of data analytics and information systems,” Onal said.

DAIS is primarily interested in the theory, methodology and practice in all technical areas that develop or apply DAIS, including network science and complex systems, data analytics and statistical learning, system informatics and optimal control, machine learning and artificial intelligence, and decision support systems.

“DAIS envisions becoming the leading division in IISE by increasing networking and partnership between its members and promoting forums to engage, share and recognize innovative ideas in the field of data analytics and information systems,” Onal said.

In March 2019, the SIUE Graduate School presented its 2020-22 Hoppe Research Professor Award to Onal. The Hoppe Award recognizes and supports faculty members whose research or creative activities have the promise of making significant contributions to their fields of studies.

Onal’s latest research endeavor, entitled Gait Alterations in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), uses the University’s state-of-the-art motion capture and analysis system, along with kinematic, kinetic and electromyography data to investigate whether the gait cycle or muscle activity in children with ASD is distinct from that in other children.

Photo: SIUE’s Sinan Onal, associate professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering.