Singla Wins Best Dissertation Award at Supply Chain Analytics Conference
Northwestern Engineering postdoc Akhil Singla was honored for his research on designing resilient supply chains and service operations amid global disruptions
Akhil Singla (PhD ’24), a postdoctoral researcher in Northwestern Engineering’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences, earned first place in the Best Dissertation Competition at the 2025 Supply Chain Analytics Institute Annual Conference, held June 12-13, at Rutgers University.

Advised by Professor Seyed Iravani, Singla’s dissertation was “Design and Control Principles for Supply Chains and Service Operations.” His research explored how supply chains and service operations can be better designed and managed in the face of major disruptions, ranging from misinformation on digital platforms during global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic to widespread logistical breakdowns.
The selection committee said “this is a solid operations research-oriented dissertation, using multiple methods and models, including the fork-join queueing model, game-theoretic model, and dynamic programming models.”