Yaren Kaya

Yaren Bilge Kaya is a lecturer and a researcher specializing in public service access and provision. Her research interests encompass the application of large-scale optimization, simulation modeling, queuing theory, and machine learning to address social justice, access, and equity issues within human trafficking, housing, and healthcare contexts. Given the complexity of these societal challenges, Yaren employs a community-based and interdisciplinary approach to her research, which incorporates perspectives from multiple stakeholders, including those who are most affected by the social issues.

Yaren holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering from Northeastern University’s Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department, an MSc in Industrial Engineering from the University of South Florida, and a BSc in Industrial Engineering from Ozyegin University in Istanbul. During her PhD studies, she has received several notable awards for her outstanding contributions to the field of industrial engineering, including the 2021 Northeastern University College of Engineering Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award, the 2023 Northeastern University College of Engineering Outstanding Graduate Research Award, and The Best Paper with Student Presenter Award at the Association of Computing Machinery Conference on Equity and Access in Algorithms, Mechanisms, and Optimization. Currently serving as a lecturer in the Industrial Engineering and Operations Research Department at Columbia University, Yaren imparts her expertise through teaching courses on healthcare and public sector operations research, optimization, and simulation modeling.