Shanthi Muthuswamy, Ph.D.

Education

• B.E. in mechanical engineering, PSG College of Technology, India
• M.S in industrial engineering, Northern Illinois University
• Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering, State University of New York at Binghamton

Research Interests

• Intelligent and sustainable manufacturing
• Optimization and simulation
• Data-driven logistics and supply chain systems
• Mindfulness and well-being in engineering education

Selected Projects

• Research projects
• Pricing and digitization at Trigo
• Improving warehouse operations, Chalmers St. Consulting
• Investigating the effects of a consistent mindfulness practice on curiosity in students in STEM courses at NIU
• Improving repackaging operation for Trigo
• Patients discharge process optimization, funded by Edward Elmhurst hospitals
• Case-Based eLearning for Six Sigma, funded by Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center
• Analyzing K-Series Wheel Loader Assembly Lines, funded by Caterpillar Inc.
• Analyzing process flow for an HVAC, plumbing and sprinkler system design company, funded by RTM & Associates
• Optimizing process flow for an intelligent assembly division that designs and assembles ultrasonic and laser welding machines, funded by DuKane Precast Inc.

Awards and Honors

• Distinguished Teaching Professor, 2026 – Present.
• Presidential Teaching Professorship award, 2022 – 2026;
• David W. Raymond Grant for the Use of Technology in Teaching, Northern Illinois University, 2020.
• Wilma D. Stricklin award for exemplary leadership/service to improve campus climate for women, Northern Illinois University, 2019.
• Top 10 finalist of the global award - Airbus GEDC Diversity Award for engineering education, 2018.
• Faculty of the year award for excellence in undergraduate education, College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, Northern Illinois University, 2016.
• Excellence in Innovation award, Northern Illinois University, 2015.

Professional Associations

• Member - Alpha Pi Mu, Industrial Engineering Honor Society
• Member - Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE)
• Member - Society of Women Engineers (SWE)

Selected Publications

• Sivakami, B. U., Suresh, M., Muthuswamy, S., & Rehman, A. Ur., 2026, “Towards Sustainable Safety 4.0 Adoption in Manufacturing Organizations: Enabler Modeling and Readiness Assessment.” Scientific Reports. Accepted for publication.
• T. A., Suresh, M. Rehman, A. Ur., and Muthuswamy, S., 2025, "Lean Implementation in Sustainable Energy Entrepreneurship: Key Drivers for Operational Efficiency," Sustainability, DOI: 10.3390/su172410936.
• Sreenivasan, A., Ma, S., Rehman, A. Ur., and Muthuswamy, S., 2023, "Assessment of Factors Influencing Agility in Start-Ups Industry 4.0.," Sustainability, DOI: 10.3390/su15097564.
• Thomas, A., Ma, S., Rehman, A., Ur., and Muthuswamy, S., 2023, "Ergoecology Factors Influencing Healthy and Sustainable Workplace in Healthcare Organization," Sustainability, DOI: 10.3390/su152014669.
• Upaddhyayula, S.R., Muthuswamy, S., and Damodaran, P. 2020, "A Simulated Annealing Approach to Minimize Makespan in a Hybrid Flowshop with a Batch Processing Machine," International Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering, DOI: 10.1504/IJISE.2020.10032492.
• Kondate, R., Muthuswamy, S., Rojas-Santiago, M. 2020, "Process Improvements using Lean Methodologies in a Subassembly Line," International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage, special issue: ICFMMP Lean Six Sigma for Quality Improvement, DOI: 10.1504/IJSSCA.2020.10032021.
• Ghrayeb, L., Muthuswamy, S., and Damodaran, P. 2020, "Minimizing Makespan of Batch Processing Machine with Unequal Ready Times," International Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering, DOI: 10.1504/IJISE.2020.10032044.
• Mohammadi, M., Koli, V., Gentili, M^., and Muthuswamy, S. 2020, "An Optimization Framework to Determine an Optimal Local Sharing Variance for Organ Allocation," Operations Research for Health Care, Vol. 24, 100242.
• Rojas-Santiago, M., Muthuswamy, S., Hulett, M., 2020, "An ACO Algorithm for Scheduling a Flow Shop with Setup Times" International Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering, DOI:1504/IJISE.2020.10023650.

Conferences

• Rojas-Santiago, M., Muthuswamy, S., and Hulett, M., "Scheduling a HFS with Identical Machines and Setup Times," Proceedings of the 2020 Industrial and Systems Engineering Research Conference, New Orleans, LA, November 2020.
• Jayaraman, H.^{(Student co-author)}, Sivakumar, P.^{(Student co-author)}, Damodaran, P., and Muthuswamy, S., “Scheduling Batch Processing Machines in a Flow Shop with Two Objectives and Limited Waiting Time Constraints,” Proceedings of IISE Annual Conference and Expo, Atlanta, Georgia, June 2025.
• Ghrayeb, L.^{(Student co-author)}, Damodaran, P., and Muthuswamy, S., “GRASP for Makespan Minimization of a Batch Processing Machine with Unequal Ready Times,” Proceedings of Computers and Industrial Engineering, Sydney, Australia, December 2024.
• Damodaran, P., and Muthuswamy, S., “A Column Generation Heuristic to Schedule Batch Processing Machines in a Two-Stage Flowshop,” Proceedings of Computers and Industrial Engineering, Sydney, Australia, December 2024.
• Nepal, S^{(Student co-author)}., Muthuswamy, S., and Damodaran, P., “Scheduling Batch Processing Machines in a Flow Shop with Limited Time Waiting Constraints,” Proceedings of the 2024 Industrial and Systems Engineering Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada, May 2024.
• Sampathi, D.^{(Student co-author)}, Muthuswamy, S., and Damodaran, P., “Comparing two formulations to schedule a batch processing machine with two objectives and unequal ready times,” Proceedings of Computers and Industrial Engineering 50, Sharjah, UAE, November 2023.
• Waqas, M.^{(Student co-author)}, Roshan, S.^{(Student co-author)}, Muthuswamy, S., Damodaran, P., Lindley, B., and Iyer, R., “Improving patient delays at an immediate care facility using lean methodologies,” Proceedings of the 2022 Industrial and Systems Engineering Annual Conference, Seattle, WA, May 2022.
• Slouka, M.^{(Student co-author)}, Waqas, M.^{(Student co-author)}, Arun C.S.S.^{(Student co-author)}, Damodaran, P., Muthuswamy, S., Lindley, B., and Iyer, R., “Cardiac observation patient length of stay improvement,” Proceedings of the 2022 Industrial and Systems Engineering Annual Conference, Seattle, WA, May 2022.
• Rojas-Santiago, M., Muthuswamy, S., and Hulett, M., "Scheduling a HFS with Identical Machines and Setup Times," Proceedings of the 2020 Industrial and Systems Engineering Research Conference, New Orleans, LA, November 2020.

Work Experience

• Department of Technology, NIU
• i2 Technologies Inc.
• Sabre Inc.