News for alumni & friends
March 2020
Greetings from Ann Arbor -

Together with the University of Michigan, the Tauber Institute has taken precautions to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Our leadership team, faculty and staff are working remotely with our students and sponsors to help facilitate virtual interactions that promote teamwork and effective operations problem-solving while maintaining social distance. 

We are committed to keeping our community safely connected, and will continue to issue news updates, host web events, and provide online services for our alumni and friends. Please reach out to the Tauber Institute with your insights, ideas, and requests. We are grateful for your contributions to our community and for your continued support in uncertain times.

Stay safe and stay connected.
Business Co-Director
Industry Director
Engineering Co-Director
Virtual scoping visits underway as team projects adjust to COVID-19
The Team Project Kickoff Dinner held March 10 in the Tauber Colloquium became the last in-person social event of the Tauber Institute academic year. On March 11, Tauber staff, faculty, students and sponsors quickly pivoted from making travel plans to employing an array of digital tools to facilitate virtual project scoping visits.
Let's save lives by optimizing operations
"We have a large body of research that has traditionally been used to site retail stores, to optimize inventory and production, to manage stock levels as demand for products varies by season," says IOE professor and former Tauber advisor Siqian Shen, "From a mathematical perspective, the COVID-19 pandemic presents a very similar set of challenges but on a much larger scale."
Coming soon!
Join the Tauber Institute Alumni Forum
Share your operations insights and make meaningful connections in the Tauber Institute Alumni Forum, a new online community created through the Michigan Alumni Association exclusively for the Tauber Institute. To ensure this new platform meets our needs, please take a moment to complete a brief survey.
IPD Online Trade Show | April 15-21
Vote for the best new products!
Now more than ever, we want to make the most of our living spaces. This semester's Integrated Product Development teams of business, engineering, information, and art&design students are building brand new tech products to maximize small homes.

Michigan grad programs earn high ranks
In the U.S. News & World Report most recent graduate program rankings, Michigan Engineering earned 5th place among the  Best Engineering Schools  and the Ross School of Business placed 12th among the  Best Business Schools .
Jerry Davis wins responsible research award
Tauber Executive Committee membe r and Associate Dean for Business+Impact Professor Jerry Davis is one of three distinguished winners of the Award for Responsible Research in Management. His winning article asks: What organizational factors distinguish corporations that are able to vouch for their supply chains from those that are not?
(L to R above): Juan Alfaro (MBA), Dell Vice President Global Operations Piyush Bhargava, Business faculty advisor Ravi Anupindi, and Charles Moore (EGL BSE-MSE/MSE-IOE) at the 2019 Spotlight! competition.
Alfaro and Moore outlined a plan to print over 40 million boxes using Pollution Ink by 2021, saving 17,000 kilograms of PM2.5 from entering the ecosystem and preventing the emission of 45 tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Tauber Solutions:
Pollution Ink Sustainability
"This project was the first time that the Pollution Ink technology was incorporated into a supply chain.... the Tauber team laid the groundwork for the potential for this technology to expand to the entirety of the packaging operations of Dell and other large companies."
Dell's Pollution Ink initiative uses harmful PM2.5 black carbon harvested from fossil fuel emissions as pigment for ink. With growth halted at 400,000 boxes annually in India, Dell employed a Tauber team to develop strategies to scale Pollution Ink.

Thank you Tauber Victors!
Your contributions ensure our students continue to be the Leaders&Best in operations. Thank you to alumni Susan Benkowski (MBA '01) and Lucius Clay (MBA '16) for your recent gifts, and to all our alumni and friends for your gifts throughout the year.
Retool your thinking with case studies based on team projects
Tauber Institute partners with WDI Publishing to provide real world case studies that inspire new ideas.
Show your spirit on your next video conference call!

The M Den is offering free shipping so you can be camera-ready in maize and blue while working from home.
University of Michigan COVID-19 resources
Access the most up-to-date information from the University of Michigan and explore excellent COVID-19 resources provided by our Michigan colleagues to can help you adapt to uncertain times.
Lead and inspire your virtual team
Our colleagues at the Sanger Leadership Center are hosting webinars and curating articles that will help you lead with confidence during the pandemic.
Empower the people in your organization
Bring out the best in your coworkers and take better care of yourself. Our colleagues at the Center for Positive Organizations present strategies to help you continue to thrive during trying times.
Hail to the hand washers!
The CDC recommends at least 20 seconds of vigorous hand washing to remove viruses and other harmful bacteria - and we know the perfect song to sing while you do it. GO BLUE!