School of Management celebrates PhD students’ research and accomplishments

By Matthew Biddle

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Corporate responsibility, supply chain integration and health information exchanges. These are just a few subjects that PhD students in the University at Buffalo School of Management have been researching over the past year.

On Feb. 16, they shared their findings and accomplishments with the school and university community at the sixth annual PhD Showcase and Celebration.

“The PhD Showcase is one of the few events when all School of Management scholars come together in a collaborative environment,” says Christopher Courtney of West Seneca, a PhD student and Western New York Prosperity Fellow. “At the end, we gather to announce the publications, awards and job offers that current students and recent graduates have earned. It inspires me to hear all of my peers’ amazing accomplishments.”

Courtney and Srikanth Parameswaran of Chennai, India, were each honored with the Dean’s Award and a $2,500 prize to support their dissertations. The Dean’s Award honors senior doctoral students who have demonstrated exceptional research and the highest potential as scholars, based on journal publications, research awards and presentations and papers at top conferences.

Courtney, BS ’04, MBA ’13, will earn his PhD in management with a concentration in operations management and strategy in June 2018. Parameswaran, MS ’11, will complete his doctorate in management with a management science and systems concentration this June.

Behzad Zahiri, who has a concentration in operations management and strategy, accepted the Rising Star award and a $1,000 prize to support future conference attendance. The award honors the first- or second-year doctoral student who has most exhibited exceptional early performance in the program through engagement with faculty on research, coursework and contributions to the intellectual atmosphere of the school.

Zahiri holds an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering from Iran University of Science and Technology and a master’s in industrial engineering from the University of Tehran.

In addition, Mohamed Abdelhamid and Katie Niblock received the Teaching Excellence award, established last year to honor students who demonstrate exceptional promise and performance as teachers. Each won $500 to support conference attendance.

Abdelhamid, of Baldwinsville, will earn his PhD in management with a concentration in management science and systems this year, while Niblock, of East Amherst, is working toward a doctorate in management with a concentration in organization and human resources.

During the event, 15 School of Management doctoral students across six disciplines presented posters highlighting their research accomplishments.

“It’s incredible to see the depth and breadth of research our students are working on,” says Paul Tesluk, professor and dean of the School of Management. “As they prepare to be productive scholars and excellent teachers, the work our students are doing right now will help organizations operate more efficiently and effectively.”

Two students were selected as poster competition winners based on overall presentation, clarity of research, strength of research design and methodology, and description and analysis of data and its implications.

Junghan Kim and Haekwon Lee, both of Seoul, Korea, took top honors and a $1,000 prize each to support future conference attendance.

Kim, who will complete his PhD this spring with a concentration in marketing, displayed his project, “Cyber-Empathic Design: Improving Product Design Process Using Embedded Sensors.”

Lee will complete his PhD in May 2018 with a concentration in finance. His poster showcased his research, “Unethical Behavior, Dis(trust) and Debt Contracting: Evidence from Backdated Option Grants.”

Judges for the poster competition were Molly Anderson, executive director of the School of Management’s Center for Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness (CLOE), and Michael Stefanone, PhD, associate professor of communication in the UB College of Arts and Sciences.