Biography

Bing Yao is an assistant professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. Before joining UT, she was an assistant professor in the School of Industrial Engineering and Management at Oklahoma State University from Fall 2019 to Summer 2022. She received her dual-title PhD degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from the Pennsylvania State University. Her research focuses on developing innovative physical-statistical models for decision optimization in complex systems. This research has broad applications in both advanced manufacturing and healthcare.

Education

• Dual-Title PhD, Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, The Pennsylvania State University, 2019
• MS, Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, 2015
• BS, Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, 2012

Courses Taught

• Optimization for Big Data
• Design of Experiments
• Advanced Engineering Economic Analysis
• Introduction to Maintainability Engineering

Professional Service

• Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, 2025 ~ 2028
• President-Elect, IISE DAIS Division, 2026 – 2017
• Director, IISE DAIS Division, 2025 – 2026
• Area Chair, the 28th International Conference on Pattern Recognition (ICPR), 202
• Track Chair, the Health Systems Track, IISE Annual Conference, 2022

Awards & Recognitions

• Honorable mention for the T-ASE 2025 Best Application Award
• IEEE Robotics and Automation Society 2026
• Dr. Kenneth E. Kirby Endowed Faculty Award, The University of Tennessee Knoxville, 2026
• Best Paper Finalist, QSR Best Refereed Paper Competition, INFORMS Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, 2025
• Best Paper Finalist, DAIS Best Track Paper Competition, IISE Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA, 2025
• Best Healthcare Automation Paper Award, IEEE 18th International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE), Mexico City, Mexico, 2022