Four young Industrial Engineers focused on improving healthcare. We met while studying at the University of Wisconsin - Madison (Go Badgers!).
Erkin Otles is currently pursuing a Masters in Industrial Engineering (focused on Decision Science and Operations Research (DSOR) ). In addition conducting DSOR research he is an active member of I-PraCTISE.
He received his Bachelors degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. After graduating in 2011 he worked for a large EHR vendor until he returned to scholarly pursuits.
His interests lie in using the myriad analytic techniques used in OR to help improve healthcare delivery and clinical decision making. Treatment optimization using data mining and mathematical modeling is of particular interest to him. Aside from shuffling around 1s and 0s he enjoys traveling, eating and cooking, and chocolate.
Aaron Zimmel currently works as an Operations Improvement Specialist for a large health care system in southeastern Wisconsin. There, he works to ensure viability of the organization by helping hospitals achieve and maintain a performance level in the top quartile of hospitals in a nationally benchmarked database.
He received both a Masters and Bachelors degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he focused on health systems and project management. As a graduate student he also worked as a Research Assistant for the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics.
His interests include everything about Wisconsin: the food, the outdoors, and especially the sports. Getting married late this past August has kept him busy and he is looking forward to the next chapters in life.
Katie Hanson currently works as an Analyst for a management consulting firm in their healthcare division.
She received her Bachelors degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) from the University of Wisconsin Madison and completed her Masters degree in ISyE focused on health systems and project management.
Her interests include process improvement, system operations, the healthcare industry, travel, and the outdoors.
Jake Gafner currently works at the University of Chicago Medicine where he focuses on improving the processes and systems in Supply Chain. He is part of a team that is designing and implementing an organization-wide pull system utilizing RFID technology. He also works on improving throughput and delivery quality of material within the organization.
He received his Masters degree in industrial engineering from the University of Wisconsin where he studied health systems, project management, change management, and business strategy. He also received a Bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Wisconsin.
His interests include Lean, web development and design, adventuring, and all things business. In the near future he will become a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and he is passively attempting to learn Spanish.
