Doctoral Student Profiles

Timothy Clancy is Founder & CEO of Dialectic Simulations Consulting, LLC and a researcher focused on reducing the violence and instability. Prior to attending WPI Timothy enjoyed a 25 year career as a consultant to Fortune 100 and government agencies, including two years spent in Afghanistan supporting counter-roadside bomb analysis and retrograde for the Department of Defense. 

Jim is pursuing an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Business Innovation and Complex Systems Modeling. His research is focused on system dynamics models and simulations for policy and decision making in technology firms. A particular interest is in improving technology innovation in healthcare and medtech. Jim has over 30 years of experience in R&D developing and managing complex technology for medical devices, military systems, computer storage devices, and manned/unmanned air vehicle systems. Jim presently is an R&D Digital Strategy Lead in the Data Sciences Institute (DSI) at Takeda ...

Avery is a doctoral student in the Learning Sciences & Technologies Ph.D. program, advised by Erin Ottmar and Ivon Arroyo. Originally from Virginia, Avery received her B.A. from the University of Richmond where she studied cognitive psychology. After teaching English as a Second Language for a couple years, she joined the LS&T program at WPI. In 2019, Avery completed her M.S. degree and received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to pursue her doctoral research related to perception, embodiment, and the use of educational technologies for mathematics. In addition to her research, ...

Fadi is first year PhD student in Business- Information Technology. Fadi works with his advisor Professor Eleanor Loiacono. His research focuses on Business and Social Media Analytics.

Zhuowen Chen is a PhD candidate at the Business School of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, specializing in circular economy, operations management, supply chain management, sustainability, and blockchain. Her research explores the intricate intersections of safety and environmental factors within these domains, with a specific emphasis on the framework of a circular economy. Employing advanced modeling techniques and strategic decision-making, her work addresses the dynamic nature of these systems. Zhuowen has contributed to publications including Resource Conservation and Recycling, Global ...

Sahar Ebrahimi Bajgni is a Ph.D. candidate with a passion for developing sustainable supply chain network models and exploring the transformative potential of blockchain technology. Her research focuses on investigating the challenges of adopting blockchain technology in supply chains plagued by counterfeit issues. She designs supply chain networks to simulate real-world scenarios and examines how cooperation between supply chain participants can sustain blockchain technology as a profitable solution.In addition to her work on blockchain technology, Sahar is conducting empirical research aimed ...

Prateek Jain’s PhD research focuses on User Experience. His research interests are augmented reality, internet of things (IoT), accessibility and eye tracking. He is working on multiple research projects focusing on use of augmented reality to improve user experience of products and services. Along with that, he believes augmented reality itself needs to have a great user experience since it is changing the way we interact with the world around us. Prior to entering the PhD program, he received MS in Information Technology from WPI and BE in Electronics and Communication from Sanghvi ...

Kexin Lin has a Master's degree in Management Science and Engineering from the University of Science and Technology of China and a Bachelor's degree in Engineering Cost from North China Electric Power University. Her research includes sustainability and big data analytics, and has appeared in Computers & Industrial Engineering and Journal of Cleaner Production. Her current research seeks to develop big data performance evaluation and benchmarking tools for blockchain technology and its applications.

Shimi Zhou is currently pursuing PhD degree in Information Technology at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Prior to entering the PhD program, she worked for Professor Eleanor T. Loiacono as a graduate assistant and received MS in Information Technology from WPI. Her research interest is about the intersection of technology and people.