Bansal Named Director of Research for CSCR
Bansal, who joined the Penn State Smeal College of Business faculty in 2010, brings to the position a strong academic foundation and deep industry collaboration experience in the areas of forecasting, decision-making under uncertainty, and prescriptive analytics.
His research and teaching examine three key dimensions of supply chain and operations management: how business managers perceive and estimate uncertainties; how they respond to those uncertainties; and how they can optimize their decisions to improve outcomes. Through his work, Bansal has partnered with firms to develop data-driven models that enhance forecasting accuracy and optimize performance.
“I’m honored to serve as CSCR’s director of research,” Bansal said. “The center has a long-standing reputation for bridging industry needs with academic insight. I look forward to expanding our research collaborations with corporate supporters and using analytics-driven approaches to help organizations better navigate uncertainty and risk across their supply chains.”
Donna Palumbo, executive director of CSCR, expressed gratitude for Zhao’s contributions and enthusiasm for Bansal’s new leadership role.
“We are incredibly grateful to Hui for her leadership in advancing the center’s research initiatives over the past two and a half years. Her work has laid a strong foundation for the future,” Palumbo said. “We are thrilled to welcome Saurabh to this role. His academic expertise and breadth of experience is a valuable asset as we continue to grow our research collaborations and impact in the field.”
In addition to his academic contributions, Bansal was recently named one of three Penn State faculty members selected as Administrative Fellows for the 2024–25 academic year. The program offers faculty the opportunity to gain senior leadership experience within the University.
Bansal holds a PhD in risk analysis and decision-making from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Technology in industrial engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology.
As director of research, Bansal will help lead CSCR’s mission to generate impactful supply chain research, support faculty-student-industry collaboration, and further strengthen the center’s position as a hub for supply chain thought leadership.
