Dr. Yildirim “Bill” Omurtag, a distinguished engineering educator, has joined the faculty at The University of Tennessee Space Institute for the months of June and July this summer as a visiting professor in the Engineering Management Department. Dr. Omurtag comes to UTSI from Robert Morris University near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he is currently a Professor of Engineering and Science and was the Founding Dean of the School of Engineering, Mathematics and Science, serving as dean from 1999 to 2005.

While at UTSI, Dr. Omurtag is helping Dr. Greg Sedrick, UTSI’s Engineering Management Program Director to develop a research plan for the Engineering Management program. He is also working with Dr. Sedrick to lay out the groundwork to begin offering a Ph.D. program in Engineering Management, as well as a thesis option for graduate students pursuing their Master’s degree in Engineering Management. In addition, Dr. Omurtag is working on some seminar topics and research papers, and is assisting the Engineering Management department by coming up with new ideas for student recruitment.

Dr. Omurtag graduated from Turkish and American public high schools, got his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University, his Master’s degree in Mechanical Eng. from Middle East Technical University in Turkey and his Ph.D. in Industrial Eng. from Iowa State. He is also a licensed professional engineer in Iowa and Missouri.

Starting from scratch at Robert Morris University, he established the School of Engineering, Mathematics and Science and obtained ABET (The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) accreditation for the Bachelor of Science programs in Engineering. He also established the Masters and Ph.D. programs in Engineering, and the Center for Applied Research in Engineering and Science, launching the research agenda at Robert Morris in engineering and science. Other than Robert Morris University, he has served as a member of the faculty at several universities including: The University of Missouri-Rolla, where he was a professor and department chair in Engineering Management, Wichita State University, Istanbul Technical University, California State University School of Business, Iowa State University, and The Middle East Technical University in Turkey, where he was a co-founder of the first Industrial Engineering department in Turkey.

He has written over one hundred articles, reports and presentations, directed over 32 Masters’ theses and 55 Ph.D. dissertations, and has provided engineering services to NATO, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization(UNIDO), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Oman, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, Japan, China, Taiwan, the states of California, Hawaii, Colorado, Missouri, Oregon and Virginia, the Maytag Company and other international companies. In addition, he has externally funded research and service contracts valued at over $6.5 million by winning grants and contracts.

DR. OMURTAG AT UTSI AS VISITING PROFESSOR—Dr. Bill Omurtag, (right) is shown above with Dr. Greg Sedrick, UTSI’s Engineering Management Program Director. Dr. Omurtag is working at UTSI throughout June and July this summer as a Visiting Professor. He is helping out in the Engineering Management Department, working with Dr. Sedrick to develop a research plan for the Engineering Management program, along with several other areas of responsibility.

–UTSI Photo by Shanna Relford