Prof. Shirley Shmerling
About the instructor

Dr. Shmerling has returned to the academic life after working for over 10 years as an independent consultant, advising entrepreneurs in the area of operations, technology assessment and integration, and the deployment of on-line services.  Prior to that, she owned a software and consulting company that specialized in efficiency measurement and performance evaluation.

Dr. Shmerling’s research in complex routing problems applies to many business challenges such as the deployment of large distribution systems, design of large communication networks, and manufacturing logistics.  Other research areas include optimization of distributed databases and the use of technology in education.

“The MBA class gives me the opportunity to teach via discussion and exchange of ideas rather than one-way lecturing.  I enjoy the interaction with students from diverse backgrounds and the ability to learn from real life experiences.”

Highlights from past classes

Art Coviello, CEO and president of RSA Security, was a guest speaker in the full time MBA Information Management class in Amherst (Feb 24, 2005).  He discussed with students IT technology, the internet, and security issues.

Art Coviello about IT	Video Clip (Windows Media Player)
Art Coviello about the Internet	Video Clip (Windows MediaPlayer)

Choots Humphries, presidents and co-founder of linkconnector.com, was a guest speaker in the full time MBA Information Management class in Amherst (March 2, 2006).  He shared with students his experience with building IRS.COM and how his internet entrepreneurial spirit lead him and his partner to develop an innovative technology that redefines affiliated marketing.  In addition he shared insights from the recent Search Engines Strategies Conference and Expo (2006).

Shane Hughes, co-founder and CEO of Pyxis Mobile was a guest speaker in the full time MBA Information management class (march 9, 2006). Click here for a 9-minute clip from his talk.

Brian Roughan from Boston Consulting Group discussed the "Role of Business Strategy and Operations" with MSA students in the information management class (July 28, 2006).  Click here for a 10-minute clip from his talk.

First year MBA students in the Information Management course took a look at cutting-edge work being conducted by industry professionals while visiting IBM’s Innovation Center in Waltham, MA on Wednesday, February 28, 2007.  Click here for more details.