Assistant professor Ashlea Bennett Milburn has been named the 2017-2018 recipient of the John L. Imhoff Chair in Industrial Engineering. This title was established in 1983 to honor the memory of John L. Imhoff, founding head of the University of Arkansas department of industrial engineering.

Milburn joined the faculty of the Department of Industrial Engineering in 2010. She received a doctorate in industrial and systems engineering from Georgia Tech, after earning a master's degree from Virginia Tech and a bachelor's degree from the University of Arkansas.

Milburn's research interests include applying operations research tools and techniques to problems encountered in healthcare, humanitarian and transportation systems. She is especially motivated by the modeling and analysis of challenges associated with disaster relief and the delivery of home healthcare. She was recently the recipient of a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to find a way to effectively harness the power of social media to improve emergency response. The grant was awarded through the Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) to develop decision-support models that identify scenarios in which the integration of information posted to social media could improve emergency response.

Ed Pohl, head of the Industrial Engineering Department, commented, "Dr. John L. Imhoff was a role model to many and his influence lives on today in the IE community. He had a vision for global cooperation and understanding, excellence in teaching and research, and had a commitment to the success of students. Dr. Milburn has provided a creative and comprehensive plan to uphold this vision. Please join me in extending our heartfelt congratulations to her."

Milburn teaches courses in probability and statistics, healthcare systems, and transportation logistics. She and her husband, Michael, have two daughters and live in Fayetteville.