23 July 2019

1993 YSSPer Susan Cholette

On 11 July 2019, 1993 YSSPer Susan Cholette visited IIASA to give back to the institute that hosted her two decades ago. She hosted an Alumni/AIR scientific seminar on "Modelling the Transportation Carbon Footprint of a Wine Supply Chain" and a IIASA Women in Science Club (WISC) Meet, Greet, and Eat. Below she shares advice to current and future YSSP participants.

Susan Cholette © San Francisco State University

Susan Cholette © San Francisco State University

Susan Cholette is Professor of Decision Sciences in the College of Business at San Francisco State University where she teaches graduate and undergraduate classes in operations, supply chain management and project management. Prior to her university appointment, she served as a project manager at Nonstop Solutions (now Manhattan Associates) and as a supply chain consultant for Aspen Technologies. She earned her Ph.D. in Operations Research at Stanford University and her BSE in Electrical Engineering at Princeton University.

Her primary research interests concern supply chain efficiency and sustainability, especially for the food and beverage sectors. At IIASA, she held a scientific seminar on the transportation carbon footprint for a wine supply chain and discussed with WISC moving between the academic and private sector, mentoring, and the importance of having a network.


How did the YSSP impact your career?

"I participated in the YSSP program in 1993 while I was a Ph.D. student at what was Stanford's Department of Operations Research. While my summer project did contribute towards my dissertation, I also benefited from discovering what other YSSPers were working on in adjacent areas. My career path has changed several times over the past 16 years: I initially took a job in industry and moved from macro-economic modelling to supply chain management. Eventually I returned to academia as a professor in the Lam Family College of Business at San Francisco State, where I've managed to infuse sustainability issues and solutions into my course curricula and make this a priority elsewhere on campus."  

Do you have any advice to current and future YSSPers?

"I encourage YSSPers to go to all the seminars and activities offered, even - or especially- if they are outside your narrow field of study: you will learn a lot and make valuable connections with others. Working at IIASA has truly helped me develop a systems perspective."



Susan Cholette with the IIASA Women in Science Club on 11 July 2019.





















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Last edited: 25 July 2019

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