The Ultimate Collaboration

It is quite common for faculty members to collaborate with each other on a variety of different projects. But, two of the Operations Research Program’s faculty members have taken that to an entirely new level. Everyone in the program would like to congratulate faculty members — and spouses — Leila Hajibabai and Ali Hajbabaie, as they welcomed their son Nikan into the world on June 24th.

Leila Hajibabai

Leila Hajibabai is an assistant professor in the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Before joining NC State in 2019, she was an assistant professor in the Civil Engineering Department at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and a faculty member at Washington State University.

Her research lies in systems analytics and optimization and supply chain logistics, focusing on the transportation industry. See New Model Finds Best Sites for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations for more information about how she is changing the electric vehicle industry.

Ali Hajbabaie

Ali Hajbabaie is an assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering. He started his career as a postdoctoral research scholar at NC State’s Institute for Transportation Research and Education until he took a position as an assistant professor at Washington State University. He returned to NC State in 2019 with Leila.

His research lies in the areas of transportation systems and computing and systems. His research pushes our understanding of cooperative traffic control systems and the development of future mobility systems, including connected and automated vehicles.