2019
| [December] The Society of Women Engineers, advised by Dr. Nurcin Celik, hosted their annual Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day. This full day event includes education and engineering activities to help young women learn more about engineering and gain interest in the field. Click here to see a recap of the event. |
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[December] Dr. Nurcin Celik attended the Winter Simulation Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. There, she and a group of experts held a panel discusssion about the challenges and opportunities for developing simulation platforms for cyber risk management. |
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[November] Haluk, Omer, and Mizelle's paper entitled "Recovering Value from Single Stream Material Recovery Facilities - An Outbound Contamination Analysis in Florida Waste Management" has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Waste Management, the top journal in this area of research.
Our second paper on “Particle Filtering-based Low-Elevation Tracking with Multipath Interference” has also been accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems.
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[October] Dr. Nurcin Celik attended the REMADE Member Meeting at the Rochester Institute of Technology. There, the Project Call Notice of Intent was released, and the 2019 Impact Report was distributed. The meeting had almost 100 individuals representing over 80 member organizations. |
| [July 2019] Dr. Nurcin Celik got featured on the National Academy of Engineering's Frontiers of Engineering Website in the FOE Alumni Spotlight. Please click here to see Dr. Celik's page at the FOE Alumni Spotlight. Congratulations Dr. Celik! |
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[April] Mizelle Hornilla and Rachel De Paz presented at the 2019 Research, Creativity, and Innovation Fair. Mizelle presented her poster on the impact of single stream recycling on material recovering facilities, and Rachel on using a CART analysis to evaluate solid waste worker injuries in Florida. Congratulations! |
| [March] Mizelle Hornilla has been awarded the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) Society for Health Systems (SHS) scholarship. The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) Society for Health Systems Scholarship is awarded to outstanding students pursuing a course of study in industrial engineering and operations research with a definite interest in the area of healthcare. Congratulations!! |
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[March] Dr. Nurcin Celik received the coveted 2020 Provost's Award for Scholarly Activity. The award recognizes select members of the University of Miami faculty for their excellence in research. Congratulations Dr. Celik! |
| [March] Haluk Damgacioglu presented at the University of Miami's annual Graduate Research Symposium on March 7, 2019. Congratulations! He also won the 2018 Toppel Graduate Student of the Year award! |
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2018
| [August] Dr. Celik had an interview for the University of Miami News@TheU. She explained her and her research team's ongoing projects to make cities more resilient, advancing smart-energy technology against natural distasters like earthquakes and storms. Please click here for the details. |
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[July] One of the SimLab's collaborator, Raimundo Rodulfo, Director of Information Technology for the City of Coral Gables, will discuss the technical challenges that the city faced when it was creating a resistant, reliable communications network to safeguard its infrastructure and ensure uptime of critical services on Thursday, August 16, 2018 at 2 pm ET. Please click here for the details. Congratulations Mr. Rodulfo! |
| [May] The paper of Haluk Damgacioglu, Dr. Emrah Celik and Dr. Nurcin Celik with the title of “MR2: A Two-stage Feature Selection Algorithm in High-throughput Methylation Data for Max-relevance and Min-redundancy,” was awarded as the Data Analytics and Information Science (DAIS) Best Student Paper in the Annual Industrial and Systems Engineering Research Conference 2018, Orlando, U.S. Congratulations! |
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[May] Dr. Nurcin Celik and SimLab attended 2018 Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineering (IISE) Research Conference. Haluk Damgacioglu, a PhD Candidate of SimLab under advisory of Dr. Celik, presented his paper entitled “MR2: A Two-stage Feature Selection Algorithm in High-throughput Methylation Data for Max-relevance and Min-redundancy,” at the IISE Annual Conference in Orlando during May 19-22. |
| [March] Our second TAG meeting on SIMWASTE project (Year 6: Assessment and Evaluation of Contamination in Single Stream Recycling Systems Due to Broken Glass and Other Non-recyclables) was held on March 9, 2018, at University of Miami, College of Engineering, Room 289 (Dean's Conference Room). |
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[March] Dr. Nurcin Celik submitted a joint proposal with the City of Coral Gables entitled “Smart Energy for the Smart Cities: the City of Coral Gables.” The proposal has been selected for funding by the 2018 Bloomberg Challenge, a nationwide competition that encourages city leaders to uncover bold, inventive ideas that confront the toughest problems cities face. |
2017
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[December] Mehrad Bastani successfully defended his thesis entitled "Simulation and Optimization Approaches for Demand Side Management in Smart Grids" on July 5th. He joined Stanford University as a postdoctoral fellow. Congratulations Dr. Bastani!
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[December] Dr. Nurcin Celik was Visiting Professor at Bogazici University in Turkey for the Fall 2017 semester. Dr. Celik thought Advanced Data-driven Simulations course for Master and PhD students. She also had an interview with Bogazici Univeristy, Department of Corporate Communications. Please click here for the details. |
| [September] Nurcin Celik, an associate professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering, attended the 2017 US Frontiers of Engineering Symposium hosted by United Technologies Research Center in East Hartford, Connecticut, September 25-27. The intensive 2-1/2 day symposium brings together about 100 of the country’s best and brightest engineers (under the age of 45) to discuss cutting-edge developments in four areas: Machines That Teach Themselves, Energy Strategies to Power Our Future, Unraveling the Complexity of the Brain, and Mega-Tall Buildings and Other Future Places of Work. Please click here for the details. Congratulations Dr. Celik! |
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[July] Our first TAG meeting on SIMWASTE project (Year 6: Assessment and Evaluation of Contamination in Single Stream Recycling Systems Due to Broken Glass and Other Non-recyclables) was held on July 14, 2017, at University of Miami, College of Engineering, Room 289 (Dean's Conference Room). |
| [June] Nurcin Celik, an associate professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering, will be the first University of Miami College of Engineering invitee to take part in the National Academy of Engineering’s (NAE) 23rd annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering (USFOE) symposium. Congratulations Dr. Celik!!! |
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[May] Alyssa Guller won the third place in the people's choice award in Senior Design Expo 2017 with her project titled as "A Distance-based Network Simulation for Airport Runway and Priority Scheduling". This award was voted on by all attendees at the expo based on their favorite projects. Congratulations!!! |
| [April] Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) scholarship and fellowship program is in place to recognize graduate and undergraduate industrial engineering students for academic excellence and campus leadership. Haluk Damgacioglu, a PhD Candidate of SimLab under advisory of Dr. Celik, has received the IISE Gilbreth Memorial Fellowship Award for the 2017-18 academic year. Congratulations! |
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[February] Our second TAG meeting on SIMWASTE project (Year 5: Assessment of the Impact of Single Stream Recycling on Paper Contamination in Recovery Facilities and Paper Mills) was held on February 3rd, 2017, at University of Miami, College of Engineering, Room 289 (Dean's Conference Room). |
| [January] President Obama honored Dr. Nurcin Celik, associate professor in the University of Miami (UM) College of Engineering’s Department of Industrial Engineering, with a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). This award is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. Congratulations! |
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2016
| [October] Talal Alyamani has successfully defended his thesis entitled "A Multiple Perspective Modeling and Simulation Approach for Renewable Energy Policy Evaluation" on October 21st. Congratulations Dr. Alyamani! |
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[August] Twenty-eight newly tenured faculty members, including Dr. Nurcin Celik were honored last week at a dinner hosted by the Office of Faculty Affairs. Congratulations to our promoted and tenured advisor, Dr. Nurcin Celik. |
| [May] Dr. Celik received the "IAMOT 2016 Young Investigator Award" from the International Association for Management of Technology in Orlando, Florida, 2016. Congratulations Dr. Celik!! |
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[May] Dr. Celik and Duygu Yasar had a site visit on May 27th 2016, at Reuter Transfer Station located in 20701 Pembroke Road Pembroke Pines, FL 33029 . During this visit, Our project was explained to John Perry, Process Improvement Manager and valuable information about single stream recycling was obtained. |
| [April] Graduate School Association Academic (GSA) Excellence, Leadership, and Service Award: The GSA Academic Excellence, Leadership, and Service Award was created to award monetary support to highly qualified graduate students who excel in the areas of scholarship, leadership, and service. Haluk Damgacioglu, a PhD Candidate of SimLab under advisory of Dr. Celik, has received the Academic Excellence, Leadership, and Service award in 2015/2016 academic year. Congratulations!! |
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[April] The paper of Xiaoran Shi, past member of SIMLAB, entitled "Relative Entropy-based Density Selection in Particle Filtering for Load Demand Forecast" has been accepted in IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering Journal. Congratulations Xiaoran!!!
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| [March] Our first TAG meeting on SIMWASTE project (Year 5: Assessment of the Impact of Single Stream Recycling on Paper Contamination in Recovery Facilities and Paper Mills) was held on March 29, 2016, at University of Miami, College of Engineering, Room 289 (Dean's Conference Room). |
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2015
| [October] Dr. Celik is having an interview for WLRN Radio on October 7th, 7:43 AM, 9:35 AM, and 5:44 PM. The audio and text version of the story are available at: http://wlrn.org/post/payola-your-plastic |
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[September] Aristotelis Thanos is presenting two of our projects during Hinkley Center Colloquium, in Tallahassee, FL, USA.
- M. Bastani, A. E. Thanos, and N. Celik, Understanding the Occupational Health and Safety Risks in Florida Solid Waste System
- D. Yasar, M. Bastani, A. E. Thanos, and N. Celik, Assessment and Evaluation of Advanced Solid Waste Management Technologies for Improved Recycling Rates.
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[August] Mehrad Bastani, Aristotelis E. Thanos and Duygu Yasar has published three articles about our projects in the newsletter of the SWANA Florida Sunshine Chapter - Summer 2015.
- M. Bastani, and N. Celik, Assessment of Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety Risks in Solid Waste Systems.
- A. E. Thanos, M. Bastani, and N. Celik, Waste Collection Vehicle Routing.
- D. Yasar, and N. Celik, Assessment of Advanced Thermal Solid Waste Management Technologies.
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[June] The paper of Mehrad Bastani, Aristotelis Thanos and Gregory Collins with the title of “A Voronoi-based Genetic Algorithm for Waste Collection Vehicle Routing Problem,” was awarded as the CIS Division Best Student Paper in the Annual Industrial and Systems Engineering Research Conference 2015, Nashville, U.S. Congratulations!! |
| [May] Xiaoran Shi is attending the 2015 spring graduation commencement in the University of Miami. Congratulations Dr. Shi! |
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[April] Mehrad Bastani and Talal Alyamani are presenting two of our projects during 2015 Industrial and Systems Engineering Research Conference, in Nashville, U.S.
- M. Bastani, A. E. Thanos, G. Collins, and N. Celik, A Voronoi-based Genetic Algorithm for Waste Collection Vehicle Routing Problem, In Proceedings of the Annual Industrial and Systems Engineering Research Conference 2015, Nashville, U.S. May 30-Jun 2, 2015.
- H. Damgacioglu, T. Alyamani, and N. Celik, Evaluation of Texas Renewable Energy Policies using Agent-based Simulation, In Proceedings of the Annual Industrial and Systems Engineering Research Conference 2015, Nashville, U.S. May 30-Jun 2, 2015.
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[April] Graduate School Awards Celebration 2014-2015: The University of Miami Graduate School showcased the important contributions and achievements made by our graduate students and faculty in support of graduate education, and the teaching mission of our institution.
Three members of SimLab received an award:
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Dr. Nurcin Celik received the Faculty Mentor of the Year Award!
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Xiaoran Shi received the Graduate Student Exemplar Award!
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Aristotelis Thanos received the Outstanding Graduate Research Assistant Award!
Congratulations!!!
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[March] Xiaoran Shi has successfully defended her thesis entitled "State Estimation and Optimization of Large-Scale Dynamic Systems With Improved Particle Filters" Congratulations Dr. Shi! |
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[March] The paper of Mehrad Bastani, Aristotelis Thanos and Gregory Collins entitled “A Voronoi-based Genetic Algorithm for Waste Collection Vehicle Routing Problem,” is selected as the CIS Division Best Student Paper in ISERC 2015. Congratulations!!
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[February] SimLab organized a Simulation BootCamp in College of Engineering. School students had the opportunity to meet the simulations/games/how they can learn about them! |
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[February] Gregory Collins received the second place award for his paper titled "Simulation Optimization of a Hybrid Renewable Energy System" into the 2015 Institute of Industrial Engineers Southeast Conference Technical Paper competition. Congratulations Greg!!
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[February] Our first TAG meeting of 2015 on SIMWASTE project (Assessment and Evaluation of Advanced Solid Waste Management Technologies for Improved Recycling Rates) is taking place at UM. |
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[January] Xiaoran Shi attended the Girl Talk One-On-One Conference, hosted by Miami Dade College on January 7, 2015. She gave a presentation of "Game of life", and shared her experience as a woman engineer with the young girls.
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[January] Dr. Celik received the "2014 Eliahu I. Jury Early Career Research Award" from the College of Engineering at the University of Miami. Congratulations Dr. Celik! |
2014
| [December] Aristotelis Thanos is presenting one of our projects during 2014 Winter Simulation Conference, in Savannah, Georgia, USA. |
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[November] Congratulations to the College of Engineering's Society of Women Engineers (SWE) who received a National Professional Development Award!
This is the 8th award in the past 3 years!! The repeated national recognition of our SWE chapter is well deserved. These achievements are the result of hard work and dedication on the part of all members. We are proud of their efforts and contributions to the College and the community.
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| [October] Our third TAG meeting on SIMWASTE project (Year 3: Assessment of Occupational Health and Safety Risks in Solid Waste Systems) is taking place at UM. |
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[October] Dr. Celik is giving a seminar on data and computation-aware modeling for resilient power grids at the Texas State University, San Marcus, TX. |
| [October] Dr. Celik is giving a seminar on data and computation-aware modeling for resilient power grids at the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. |
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[August] Dr. Celik is giving two talks on our research in Buffalo, NY.
- DDDAMS-based Real-time Assessment and Control of Electric Migrogrids, Invited Seminar, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University at Buffalo.
- ASME-IDETC 2014, Dynamic Dtata Driven Systems (DDDAS) in the age of Big Compute and Big Data, Panelist, NY.
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| [July] Mehrad Bastani is presenting poster with the title of "Understanding the Occupational Health and Safety Risks in Florida Solid Waste System" in SWANA Conference. |
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[July] Mehrad Bastani is giving the 3rd (Last) TAG meeting on SIMWASTE project (Year 3: Assessment of Occupational Health and Safety Risks in Solid Waste Systems) at University of Miami. |
| [June] Dr. Celik is giving a seminar at Yildiz Technical University, Besiktas, Istanbul, Turkey. |
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[June] DeLante Moore is presenting two of our projects during 2014 Industrial and Systems Engineering Research Conference, in Montreal, Canada.
- D.E. Moore and N. Celik, DDDAS-based Communication in Distributed Smartgrid Networks, In Proceedings of the Annual Industrial and Systems Engineering Research Conference 2014, Montreal, Canada. May 31-Jun 3, 2014.
- M. Bastani, N. Celik, DeLante E. Moore, Case Studies on Quantification of Occupational Health Risks for Solid Waste Workers in Floridian Counties, In Proceedings of the Annual Industrial and Systems Engineering Research Conference 2014, Montreal, Canada. May 31-Jun 3, 2014.
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| [May] Dr. Celik is presenting before the Research Selection Committee of the Hinkley Center. |
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[April] DeLante E. Moore has won the University of Miami Graduate Student Examplar Award. Congratulations DeLante!!
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| [April] Our second TAG meeting on SIMWASTE project (Year 3: Assessment of Occupational Health and Safety Risks in Solid Waste Systems) is taking place at UM. |

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[February] Dr. Chun-hung Chen from George Mason University is giving a special seminar at UM and visiting SimLab!! |
2013
| [December] Our first TAG meeting on SIMWASTE project (Year 3: Assessment of Occupational Health and Safety Risks in Solid Waste Systems) is taking place at UM. |
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