The H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) announced that A. Russell Chandler III Chair and Professor Pascal Van Hentenryck has assumed the role of associate chair for innovation and entrepreneurship (ACIE). This is a new position within ISyE’s leadership structure.

As ACIE, Van Hentenryck will lead the development of “blue sky” initiatives, foster and nurture a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, facilitate translational research, and build strategic partnerships.

“I am happy that Pascal has agreed to serve as ACIE. In this role, he will be responsible for stimulating strategic thinking, innovation, and entrepreneurship within ISyE,” said School Chair Edwin Romeijn. “Pascal has the energy and drive needed for this role, and he will provide tremendous value to ISyE. I look forward to working with him in this capacity.”

Van Hentenryck’s own research complements this new position. His work centers on artificial intelligence, data science, and operations research. His current focus is to develop methodologies, algorithms, and systems for addressing challenging problems in mobility, energy systems, resilience, and privacy. In the past, his research focused on optimization and the design and implementation of innovative optimization systems, including the CHIP programming system (a Cosytec product), the foundation of all modern constraint programming systems, and the optimization programming language OPL (now an IBM Product).

“I am deeply honored – and also delighted – to take on this new role. There is a convergence of technologies at the union of AI and OR that promises to fundamentally change industrial and systems engineering, and even engineering as a whole,” said Van Hentenryck. “ISyE is ideally positioned to pursue these opportunities, given its strength in methodologies and its domain expertise in a number of disciplines. It is an exciting time, and I look forward to working with the faculty to pursue them.”

Van Hentenryck’s tenure as ACIE began in early October.