Tommaso Giovannelli, Ph.D. | tog220@lehigh.edu

Profile: Dr. Tommaso Giovannelli is a postdoctoral researcher at Lehigh's Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Tommaso received his Ph.D. in Operations Research in May 2021 from Sapienza University of Rome, where he obtained his BSc and MSc in Management Engineering in 2015 and 2017, respectively. From January 2020 to May 2021 he stayed at Lehigh ISE as a visiting scholar. Tommaso's research and teaching interests lie in the fields of nonlinear optimization, derivative-free optimization, and simulation-based optimization. His research work spans various application domains, with a focus on machine learning, transportation systems, and healthcare operations. He won a doctoral award from the EURO Working Group on Operational Research Applied to Health Services (ORAHS) of the International Federation of Operational Research Societies (IFORS) at the Doctoral Consortium ORAHS 2019, Karlsruhe, for his research proposal titled A simulation-based optimization approach for the improvement of the emergency department management. Tommaso has been actively contributing to the academic community by serving on the local organizing committee for ICCOPT 2022 and chairing the organizing committee for the MOPTA 2023 conference.

 
Charalambos A. Marangos, Ph.D. | cm00@lehigh.edu

Profile: Dr. Marangos serves as a Senior Fellow at the Enterprise Systems Center at Lehigh University having taught SAS, simulation, and CAD courses at Lehigh University. He has served as the Associate Director of the NSF funded Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution (CELDi) at Lehigh. Currently a Principal in the Pennsylvania-based consultancy Zephyros, Inc., he has worked internationally as a project engineer and consultant, specializing in heuristic optimization, scheduling, simulation, database design and maintenance, factory layouts, testing and validation of new software and machines, CAD/CAM, and internet communications.

 
Robert McDonald, B.S., M.S. | rbm216@lehigh.edu

Profile: Robert, former Managing Director, led the healthcare practice vertical at ipCapital Group. He has a long track record of success in providing advice to and helping solve complex problems for the healthcare industry. Prior to joining ipCapital Group, Robert led the internal consulting practice for the hospital group at the MAYO Clinic. Robert helped to build a health consulting practice at the Deloitte Firm in Minneapolis. Robert was recruited to rebuild the health practice for Coopers and Lybrand with 130 consultants located in five different practice locations. Robert was also asked to serve as the healthcare industry chair for the entire Cooper's Healthcare practice including audit, actuarial, tax and consulting services.

Robert has a lifelong interest in applying industrial engineering, process improvement and structured processes to accelerate innovation, resulting in reduced costs and improvements in clinical results. He has a demonstrated record as a highly effective business leader, teacher, coach and strategic thinker.

Robert holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Vermont and a Master of Science in Health Administration from Trinity University. Robert has done post-master's study at Harvard University, The University of Michigan and The University of California, Los Angeles.

 

Amy Nyberg, B.A., MBA amn321@lehigh.edu

ProfileAmy is the SVP of Ambulatory Services for Lehigh Valley Health Network and President of Coordinated Health, now part of LVHN following acquisition in 2019. She previously served as CH's Chief Integration Officer leading the organization’s expansion in Northeast Pennsylvania and Western New Jersey, and introducing innovative approaches to care coordination resulting in high quality patient outcomes and significant reduction in cost.

Her career has been focused on strategy and process innovation and she is passionate about transforming health care delivery in order to simplify processes, improve quality and reduce cost. She received early training as a consultant at Phase 2, a health care economic and management firm, working with many health systems on strategy, practice management, analytics, and IT implementation. She subsequently worked as VP of Strategy and Innovation for Centura Health in Colorado, and led a $1 billion expansion including the development of 3 new hospitals, replacement of the system’s flagship facility, and the expansion of 6 other hospitals within the system; in parallel she led the company’s process improvement strategy which drove the design of new facilities. She also worked with Allina Health in Minnesota to redesign their implementation of Epic and later returned to consulting with a physician practice strategy and analytics firm working with health systems building large physician groups.

After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature at Arizona State University, Ms. Nyberg earned an MBA in Health Administration from the University of Colorado. She is also actively involved in the community and has volunteered with the American Heart Association, and served on the board and as chair of two independent schools.

 

Rafael Paredes, ’03 MBA, ’00 M. Eng. Industrial Engineering (Fulbright) | rap520@lehigh.edu

Profile: Rafael is a Lehigh alumnus having earned his MBA with distinction in 2003 and M.Eng. in Industrial Engineering through a Fulbright Scholarship in 2000. He is the current Director, Technical and Commercial Plant Manager, at Bosch Rexroth Corporation. His broad industry experience includes Air Products, Masco Corporation, Motorola, Maytag, Agere, and West Grand. Rafael has extensive knowledge and experience in operations, lean manufacturing, supply chain, project management, advance and big data analytics, and continuous improvement. He has a passion for developing strong teams and talent. Rafael is a Fulbright Scholar and certified in Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.

 

Terrill Theman, M.D., M.S., FRCSC | tet212@lehigh.edu

Profile: Dr. Terrill Theman, enjoyed 5 years of surgical practice at an academic medical center (Memorial University of Newfoundland, Health Sciences Center) following medical school and surgical training. In 1983, when the opportunity arose to initiate a Cardiac Surgery Program at St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem, PA, Dr. Theman could not resist the challenge and moved his family to the USA. Over the ensuing years this program became a successful model for other hospital-based programs at this institution.

With more than 30 years of medical experience he retired from active medical practice. In 2014, he completed the requirements for a Masters degree in Healthcare Systems Engineering at Lehigh University. The skills that he acquired will enable him to collaborate with others, in hopes of tackleing some of the most challenging problems that face Healthcare Institutions today -- particularly problems with the efficient delivery of cost-effective health care. Since acquiring his M. Eng. degree in Healthcare Systems Engineering, he is serving as an adjunct professor for the program and advisor for the mandatory capstone project.