MALVERN, Pa. — Ashkan Negahban, associate professor of engineering management at Penn State Great Valley, conducts research on simulation modeling, statistical data analysis and optimization techniques to improve decision-making. He also conducts research related to immersive simulations in STEM education.
His research has been supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, Google, Microsoft and several research institutes, and his educational video labs and simulation-based learning modules are used by faculty at various leading institutions around the world. Negahban is also the professor-in-charge of the master of engineering management program at Penn State Great Valley and World Campus.
In the Q&A below, Negahban shared why he enjoys research, the impact of his work and how he has seen students grow from conducting their own research projects.
Q: What is your research about?
Negahban: My research involves stochastic simulation methods, which involve creating computerized simulation models to mimic the behavior of systems with random, or stochastic, variables in order to predict the probability of certain outcomes and support decision-making under uncertainty. I primarily use agent-based and discrete-event simulation methods. I have used simulation for modeling, analyzing and optimizing complex systems in various contexts such as manufacturing, supply chain, marketing, communication and transportation systems.
In addition to my technical simulation research, I also conduct educational research to assess the effectiveness of immersive simulation-based learning environments in STEM education. The idea here is to represent a real-world system by a realistic, animated and immersive simulation model to serve as the context to help students learn contextually. This enables inquiry-based and experiential learning by providing learners with a low-cost and risk-free platform to develop knowledge and skills in a simulated environment.
Q: What motivates you to teach and conduct research?
Negahban: As for research, my one-word answer is “creativity.” I find creativity to be extremely rewarding. There is potential for creativity in all phases of a simulation project, from problem framing to modeling and analysis.
As for teaching, passing knowledge to the next generation of engineers and creating long-lasting connections with students are my top motivators.
Q: What impact does your research have?
Negahban: My simulation models can be used for performing what-if analysis and predicting system performance under different scenarios. Ultimately, the simulation results enable informed decision-making on the optimal design and operation of the system to achieve maximum efficiency, minimize cost and optimize other performance measures.
For example, my research on bike sharing systems has led to methods that enable better demand estimation and bike inventory management to minimize bike/dock outages. This would help enhance bike availability and customer satisfaction and minimize lost sales due to empty stations.
In another series of papers, I developed simulation and optimization methods for optimizing the entry time, production/inventory management and sales plan for new products such as the first generation of a novel technology. For such products, there is no historical demand data available, so traditional data-driven forecasting methods are not applicable. Instead, we use sophisticated simulations to model market dynamics and evaluate the performance of various strategies that firms can follow.
As for my educational research, we have shown in a series of papers that our proposed immersive simulation-based learning approach enhances student motivation, experiential learning, sense of presence and other learning outcomes.
In my simulation class, students get hands-on experience related to modeling and analysis of various kinds of systems. For example, as part of an assignment, students simulate a production line with the goal of maximizing throughput. In another assignment, they simulate an airport to optimize passenger flow and minimize waiting times.
Q: How have you seen students benefit from participating in research projects?
Negahban: There are many learning opportunities in doing research that you don’t get in a classroom. Through research activities, students learn about scientific inquiry and the discovery process. They learn how to build on existing knowledge to create new knowledge, how to break down a complex problem into manageable pieces and how to tackle new problems that no one has solved before. These skills, together with what they learn in their courses, will help prepare students for solving complex real-world problems.
Q: What advice do you have for students interested in conducting research?
Negahban: Discuss with your professors, take any research opportunity that presents itself to you and get started! Don’t expect to find a research project that perfectly matches your interests. Instead, try to come up with a way to integrate your interests and ideas into an existing research project. This is how you can add a new dimension to the problem and create a more comprehensive solution that no one else has thought of before!
Every semester, we have campus-funded research positions for our students here at Penn State Great Valley. I also recruit research assistants for my funded research depending on grant availability. If you are curious about research opportunities in my team, feel free to send me an email!