Faculty Publication: Dr. Mun

March 2021

What is your research/publication about?

My principal areas of research lie in Supply Chain Management / Analytics and Operations Research with applications in the energy sectors (such as hydro, coal and other renewables of emerging economies), and the sustainable development of natural resources.

In particularly, I apply supply chain management concepts and optimization techniques to the energy
sector. The model addresses the long-standing concern by determining the optimal way to build up
energy supply chains strategically under limited budget. Pakistan government has applied my models for
the sustainable energy plan, and I have continued to collaborate with more developing countries.

What was your reason behind choosing that topic?

My goals are to develop innovative theories and rigorous methodologies to solve real-life problems (in the areas of operations management, project management, business strategy, technology, and economics) of high social and/or economic impact. United Nations and G20 countries have addressed the importance of energy/natural resources as a solution of challenges we face (figure 1). Water food and energy are interconnected issues that should be solved for would. Specifically, for less developed
and developing countries. 

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I have also interested in Data Analytics in the areas of logistics and healthcare, and I have industry partners who provide real life industry problems and datasets. Upon the onset of a serious (life threatening) disease, such as ischemic stroke or distant metastases of cancer, can we back-track the patient's medical history to identify statistically significant indicators that can provide early signals? To answer this question, I plan to fit the data (patients’ medical history) mathematically into a Markov Chain model which can be used to predict the progression of a disease over time and calculate the chance of the onset of a major symptom within a certain time window. The model can also be used to assess the impact of various treatment on the progression of the disease, and tell, for example, how the treatment may affect the chance of death within a certain time window. Using Markov chain analysis, I can model the transition of a disease among different stages (ex. breast cancer) and predict the progress of a major symptom over time. It is the objective of this project to develop new mathematical models,
solutions and guidelines to help doctors to better predict outcomes for patients and assess the effectiveness of various treatments (ex. Various protocols of Radiation Therapy).

What do you think is the most important business insights or implication from this piece of
work?

My current work focuses on designing and managing energy supply chains in less developed or developing countries. Many of these countries like Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Nigeria, are facing severe energy deficiencies despite their ample reserves of natural resource (e.g., coal, gas/oil and hydro) because their poor economic status and meager budgetary conditions barely meet the financial demands of energy infrastructure. A lack of investment in the energy sector further jeopardizes their economy (Figure 2). I apply supply chain management concepts and optimization techniques to the energy sector and present a new class of mathematical models for designing energy supply chains for various resources, such as coal, hydro and renewables. Applying the model to emerging countries' reallife situations, I show that the solutions drastically differ from the current practices planned by governments, and significantly outperform the latter by reducing the energy gaps faster, boosting the economy stronger with much less greenhouse gas emissions.

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