Society of Columbia Graduates

2017, Columbia Engineering

Today, the Society of Columbia Graduates honors you for your outstanding teaching accomplishments in the field of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research and for your commitment to shaping undergraduate education at the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science.

After receiving your Bachelor’s Degree from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, India in 1991, you earned your M.Sc. degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science in 1994 and your Ph.D. in Operations Research in 1999 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. You joined the Columbia faculty in 2000 and presently hold the title of Vice Chair of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research.

Your scholarly research in the areas of scheduling theory and its applications, discrete optimization and its applications, game theory and applied probability has impacted a multitude of organizations concerned with public policy decisions as well as start-up companies attempting to provide solutions in this realm. You have received numerous research grants, a National Science Foundation Career Award, IBM University Partnership Awards and a prestigious Columbia Provost teaching grant to develop a hybrid class on Mathematical Programming. Your success as an accomplished research scientist has been passed on to your students, one of whom has said, “Professor Sethuraman’s taste for problems made research a hobby rather than a chore for me.” Another one of your students has said, “You are a great advisor who serves as a constant source of light, guiding our way through the unknown. I am blessed to have you as my advisor.”

You have been deeply involved in many aspects of undergraduate life, mentoring undergraduate students, and inspiring then to reach further with their research endeavors. You are known to spend time insuring that your students understand your lectures and feel engaged in the learning process. You are known for having keen insight and great sensitivity, being able to “read” your students, knowing when to slow down to teach difficult subject matter. Your students clearly recognize and deeply appreciate this gift of great teaching. You also play an important role in assisting transfer students in making the adjustment to learning at a large research university, like Columbia, when they matriculate into the 3-2 Combined Program.

You teach four different courses, two of which you introduced into the curriculum as your signature courses, Game Theoretic Models of Operations and Operations Research in Public Policy. Your commitment to updating them continuously to incorporate new developments in your field is reflected by student comments like this one, “Professor Sethuraman explains concepts really patiently and tries to bring us real world cases along with his lectures.”

In recognition of your outstanding accomplishments as a gifted and inspirational teacher, your deep devotion to undergraduate education and your contributions to curriculum development, the Society of Columbia Graduates is honored to present you with its 2017 Great Teacher Award.