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Industrial Engineering: University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering

Faculty Larry J. Shuman - Professor & Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, School of Engineering

  • Education: Ph.D. (Operations Research): The Johns Hopkins University
  • Areas of Expertise: Operations Research, Health Care Delivery System, Engineering Education
Larry J. Shuman

Dr. Shuman joined the department in 1969. He is currently Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh. He is also Professor of Industrial Engineering and recently served as the Interim Dean. His three primary areas of interest are: improving the engineering educational experience, the application of operations research to health delivery systems, and the study of the ethical behavior of engineers and engineering managers.

Dr. Shuman is co-chair of the 1997 Frontiers in Education Conference which will be held in Pittsburgh. He is also co-editor of the Journal of the Society for Health Systems. Dr. Shuman directed a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded study to redesign the freshman engineering experience at the University of Pittsburgh This project has resulted in methodologies for assessing changes in student attitudes and predicting those students most likely to leave engineering, which have been adopted by several other engineering programs. In the health delivery area, Dr. Shuman has been involved with the design and simulation of prehospital care systems, the evaluation of care delivery processes, and the design of particular hospital subsystems including simulation studies of diagnostic imaging, emergency departments, operating rooms, nurse scheduling and staffing.

Dr. Shuman directed the NSF funded study: "The Ethical Behavior of Engineers - an Analysis of the Space Shuttle Program". Its primary objective was to better understand the role of ethical decision making in the practice of engineering by examining how engineers perceive, articulate and resolve ethical dilemmas which arise when complex, advanced technologies are developed.

He has been principal or co-principal investigator on over twenty sponsored research projects funded from federal and state government agencies, and private foundations. He has also served as a consultant to Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania, the Western Pennsylvania Emergency Physicians, and numerous hospitals.

Recent Publications

  • Nicholls, GM, H. Wolfe, M. Besterfield-Sacre, LJ Shuman and S. Larpkiattaworn, (2007) "A Method for Identifying Variables for Predicting STEM Enrollment," Journal of Engineering Education, to be published in 96(1).
  • Bidanda,B.; Arisoy, O. and Shuman, L.J. "Offshoring Manufacturing: Implications for Engineering Jobs and Education: A Survey and Case Study," Robotics and Computer Integrated Manufacturing, 22 (2006); pp. 576-587.
  • Shuman, LJ, ME Besterfield-Sacre and RL Miller, "The State of the Art in Assessment Tools: Looking Down the Road Ahead," 2005 ABET Annual Meeting Proceedings, Oct. 2005, pp. 90-104.
  • Shuman, LJ, ME Besterfield-Sacre and BM Olds, "Ethics Assessment Rubrics," in the Mitcham, C., L. Arnhart, D. Johnson and R. Spiers, editors, the Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics, Macmilliam, 2005, Vol 2, pp. 693-695.
  • Shuman, LJ , ME Besterfield-Sacre and J. McGourty, "The ABET "Professional Skills" – Can they be Taught? Can they be Assessed?" Journal of Engineering Education, 94(1), pp. 41-56, 2005.
  • Larpkiataworn, S., O. Muogboh, MB Besterfield-Sacre, LJ Shuman and H. Wolfe, "Special Considerations When Using Statistical Analysis in Engineering Education Assessment and Evaluation," Journal of Engineering Education, 92 (3), 2003, pp. 207-216.

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