People

Erica L. Gralla

Associate Professor
Engineering Management and Systems Engineering
The George Washington University

email: egralla@gwu.edu

Dr. Erica Gralla is an Associate Professor of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering at the George Washington University. She completed her Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Engineering Systems Division and her B.S.E. at Princeton University in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering. Dr. Gralla studies decision-making in real-world contexts, to develop knowledge and tools for better decisions in the design and operation of complex systems. She draws on methods from systems engineering and operations management to examine how system structure and human behavior affect performance in sociotechnical systems. Recent application areas include disaster response, international development, and engineering design, with partners including USAID, FEMA, and NASA.

Lauren Bateman

Lauren Bateman is a Ph.D. student in Engineering Management and Systems Engineering. Her research interests include information management in international humanitarian response and humanitarian coordination. Lauren has 10+ years of experience working in disaster and humanitarian response, focusing on public health, monitoring and evaluation, and information management.

Lauren received an MPH from the University of Virginia and a BA in International Development Studies from McGill University.

Matthew Beigh

Matt Beigh is a Ph.D. student in Engineering Management. He is interested in the modeling of decentralized systems to explore strategies for coordination in emergency situations. He is an active duty US Army Officer, with previous assignments as an OH-58 Kiowa Warrior pilot, Troop Commander, West Point Instructor, and Operations Research Analyst. He most recently served as a manpower and personnel analyst at the Headquarters, Department of the Army. Matt earned an MS in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan and a BS in Engineering Management from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Kathryn Gilligan

Katie is a Ph.D. student in Systems Engineering. Her research interests are in humanitarian information management and emergency supply chain resiliency. Katie received a MS in Engineering Management from George Washington University and a BS in Operations Research and Computer Analysis from the United States Coast Guard Academy.

Zaid Kbah

Zaid is a Ph.D. student in Engineering Management and Systems Engineering. His research focuses on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in humanitarian operations, particularly in supply chain and logistics. He has gained extensive experience in supply chain management through his work as a National Supply Chain Planner for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and by leading the Logistics Preparedness Project for the United Nations World Food Programme (UN-WFP). Zaid received his master's degree in Engineering and Operations Management from the University of New Haven and his BA from the University of Technology in Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

Haneen Al-Rashid

Haneen is a Ph.D. student in Systems Engineering. She is interested in human-AI interaction and decision-making. Her research focuses on the process of sensemaking and decision-making in disaster relief situations and how using AI might impact this process. Haneen has 10+ years of work experience, most of which was in international development. She received an MS in Computer Engineering from George Washington University and an MBA from SUNY Buffalo.

Nikolai Joseph

Nikolai (Nik) is a D.Eng. student in systems engineering. Nik's research interests focus on space technology development, international space cooperation, and concurrent engineering. He works with Professor Gralla and Professor Szajnfarber, focusing on using NASA's concurrent design teams to develop ways to measure "fit" between technical and organizational architectures and understand the implications of varying fit. Nik studied at GW's Space Policy Institute and holds a M.A. in International Science and Technology Policy from the Elliott School of International Affairs, and a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of New Mexico. His master's thesis focused on space technology roadmapping and strategy formulation. Nik has also worked as a Technology Analyst for Bryce Space and Technology, where he focused on early-stage technology development and strategy integration within NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). Prior to working at Bryce, Nik interned with NASA's Office on Interagency and International Relations, and held positions in the field of biophysics, economic development, and health and social policy.

Lewis Boss

Lewis Boss completed his Ph.D. in Engineering Management in 2023. His thesis focused on "Exploring the Influence of Decentralization in System Architecture". He is currently a United States Air Force Officer.

Megan Peters

Megan Peters completed her Ph.D. in Systems Engineering in 2023. Her thesis focused on "Smallholder Market Systems: Understanding System Behavior and the Role of Relationships," based on research with USAID in Uganda. She is currently at LMI working on supply chain resilience. Prior to her Ph.D., Megan worked as a transportation logistics engineer for J.B. Hunt, and earned her bachelors degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Arkansas. Megan is passionate about engineering solutions to increase quality of life for people.

Brandon Greenberg

Brandon Greenberg completed his Ph.D. in Engineering Management in 2020. His thesis focused on information seeking and sharing in flexible disaster response organizations. He is currently at LMI as a Fellow in Readiness and Resilience. His career is dedicated to improving how organizational and technical systems are designed to support disaster management. He has over 15 years of experience helping public, private and non-profit clients plan for and operate in uncertain, urgent, complex, and emergent conditions. Brandon received a Master of Public Administration degree from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service and holds a Graduate Certificate in Community Preparedness and Disaster Management from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at the University of Denver.

Azrah Azhar Anparasan

Azrah Anparasan completed her Ph.D. in Systems Engineering in 2017. Her thesis focused on "Humanitarian Cargo Transportation: Modeling Practice-Driven Network Topologies and Decentralized Planning Scenarios". She is currently at Accenture Strategy following her initial position as Supply Chain Analytics Manager at Cummings. Azrah earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka in Production Engineering and master’s degree from the University of Tokyo, Japan specializing in international technology management. She spent her summer of 2012 attached to the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford, UK as an Oxford Santander Scholar. Azrah also has experience in working as a project researcher for the United Nations University (UNU) headquarters, Japan and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Sri Lanka.

Aditya Singh

Aditya Singh earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Systems Engineering. He supported a research project using discrete event simulation to improve cervical cancer screening operations in Amazonian Peru. He went on to do a Ph.D. at GW with Prof. Szajnfarber as a Fellow in the Designing Trustworthy AI Systems Program.

Jad El Hage

Jad El Hage earned his M.S. degree in Systems Engineering. His research focused on discrete event simulation models for improving COVID-19 testing operations.

Kai Friesecke

Kai Friesecke earned his B.S. and M.S. in Systems Engineering. His research focused on discrete event simulation modeling for cervical cancer screening in Peru. He joined Leidos after graduating from GW.

Madison Reinker

Madison earned her M.S. in Systems Engineering with a concentration in Operations Research and also earned her undergraduate degree in Systems Engineering at GW. She worked with Professor Gralla on the USAID Market System Monitoring activity, measuring systemic change in agriculture in Kampala, Uganda. She was also a Graduate Teaching Assistant, and as an undergraduate student, she was a member of the George Washington University Varsity Swim Team, the co-Founder of a professional development organization, Women in STEM, and an academic support tutor. She left GW for a supply chain role at AB InBev.

Julia Moline

Julia Moline completed her masters degree in MIT’s Technology and Policy Program. Her research focused on resource allocation decision making in emergency response, examining the ways quantitative data can be used to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness in post-disaster operations. Julia received a BS in Civil Engineering and a BA in Economics from Columbia University and is a licensed Professional Engineer. Prior to MIT, she worked for Dewberry in natural hazard mitigation and building resilience. After graduation, she joined the Federal Emergency Management Agency and is now a Deputy Assistant Administrator at FEMA.

Phillip Graeter

Phillip completed his masters degree in the GW Engineering Management department in Environmental and Energy Management. He holds a bachelor's degree from the George Washington University in Systems Engineering with minors in mathematics and statistic. His research was on humanitarian logistics and emergency response. After graduation, he joined an energy consulting firm.

Alejandro Medina Mora, Eliese Ottinger, Kaveena Patel, and Islay Van Dusen

Alejandro, Eliese, Kaveena, and Islay formed a senior design team to support the Washington metro system by estimating response times to emergency incidents from a series of potential emergency response bases. Their work was presented to WMATA senior leadership and won the 2023 IEEE Systems and Information Engineering Design Symposium conference Best Paper Award in the Decision Analysis Track.

James Ferguson

James is earning his B.S. degree in Systems Engineering from GW. He worked with Prof. Gralla in Summer 2022 on analyzing organization structures in international humanitarian response.

Finley Wetmore

Finley earned her B.S. degree in Systems Engineering from GW. She worked with Professor Gralla on the USAID Market System Monitoring activity, measuring systemic change in agriculture in Kampala, Uganda. After GW, she continued as a consultant for international development projects.

Victoria Nilsen

Vicky earned her B.S. degree in Systems Engineering from GW. She worked with Prof. Gralla and Prof. Szajnfarber on patterns of communication in NASA design teams. After GW, she went to work for Deloitte and then NASA.

Anya Welch

Anya earned her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Systems Engineering from GW. She spent a summer as an undergraduate researcher, focusing on cervical cancer screening processes in Amazonian Peru.

Connor Forsythe

Connor earned his bachelors degree in Systems Engineering in 2018. He worked with Professor Gralla and Professor Szajnfarber, observing NASA's concurrent design teams and visualizing and analyzing their communication patterns. After GW, he attended graduate school at Carnegie Mellon University's mechanical engineering program.

Jillian Miles

Jillian earned her bachelors degree in Systems Engineering in 2018, with minors in Psychology and Computer Science. She worked with Professor Gralla on the USAID Market System Monitoring activity, measuring systemic change in agriculture in Kampala, Uganda. After GW, she spent several years with Deloitte, then went to earn her Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon University.

Sophie Steinberg

Sophie earned her bachelors degree in Systems Engineering from GW, with a minor in economics and business. She worked with Professor Gralla on the USAID Market System Monitoring activity, measuring systemic change in agriculture in Kampala, Uganda.

Paule Voevodsky

Paule was an undergraduate student at GW majoring in Systems Engineering and minoring in Spanish. She worked with Professor Gralla on the project "Developing a Capabilities-Based Framework for Designing and Evaluating Oil Spill Response Exercises."

Liam Cusack

Liam completed his bachelors degree in the GW School of Engineering and Applied Science in the area of Systems Engineering. His research was on the optimization of humanitarian logistics and emergency response with a focus on the discovery of patterns that can be applied to operational planning. After graduation, he joined The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.