Pohl Named Interim Department Head for Industrial Engineering

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Ed Pohl

Ed Pohl, professor of industrial engineering, has been named interim head of the department of industrial engineering.

Pohl came to the University of Arkansas in 2004, after spending 21 years in the Air Force. In his teaching and research, Pohl draws on his extensive military experience, and his education in industrial, electrical and systems engineering.

"I am very pleased to announce Dr. Pohl's appointment as interim department head,” said John English, dean of the College of Engineering.  “He is a dedicated teacher and a talented researcher. As director of programs such as our online Master of Science in Engineering, his service to the university has been exceptional. The department of industrial engineering has made great strides in the past few years, and I know he will be able to keep up this momentum." 

Pohl holds the John L. Imhoff Endowed Chair in Industrial Engineering. In addition to directing the Master of Science in Engineering program, he is the director of the Center for Innovation in Healthcare Logistics. Pohl has also been serving as the director of the Master of Science in Operations Management program. Greg Parnell, visiting professor of industrial engineering, will be serving as interim director of this program.

Pohl received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Boston University in 1984. He earned master’s degrees in engineering management from the University of Dayton and in systems engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1988. He received a master’s degree in reliability engineering in 1993 and a doctorate in systems and industrial engineering in 1995, both from the University of Arizona. He has also completed programs in the Squadron Officers School, the Academic Instructors School and the Air Command and Staff College.

Over the course of his military career, Pohl has taught at the Air Force Institute of Technology and the United States Military Academy at West Point and worked at the Pentagon in the office of the Secretary of Defense. He has been involved with several major Air Force acquisition projects, including the B2 bomber, the Advanced Extremely High Frequency Satellite program and the National Missile Defense System.

Pohl still conducts research for the Air Force in the area of reliability and maintainability. He also works with the National Transportation Security Center of Excellence on projects related to homeland security. In this area, Pohl uses reliability and optimization models to help design robust supply chains and help existing supply chain networks recover from natural or human-made disruptions. Pohl also conducts research in the area of healthcare logistics where he uses industrial engineering tools and techniques to explore opportunities for making the delivery of healthcare more efficient.