Akhil Kumar
Professor
Department Supply Chain & Information Systems
Phone Number
814-863-0034
Email Address
akhil@psu.edu
Akhil Kumar
Professor
Department Supply Chain & Information Systems
Phone Number
814-863-0034
Email Address
akhil@psu.edu
Akhil Kumar joined the Smeal faculty at Penn State in June 2002. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley and has previously been on the faculties at Cornell University and University of Colorado and has spent a sabbatical year as a scientist at Bell Labs, Murray Hill, NJ. He has published more than 125 papers in academic journals and international conferences. He was a recipient of the Fulbright Scholar Award in 2022-23. He was also selected as the Faculty Marshal for the Smeal College of Business in Penn State’s Fall 2020 Commencement.
Akhil currently serves as an associate editor for ACM Transactions on Management Information Systems. He has previously been an associate editor for IEEE Transactions on Services Computing, INFORMS Journal on Computing and Information Systems Research. He was a co-program-chair of BPM 2017 Conference. He also served as a co-program chair of CoopIS'11 and as a co-chair of Workshop on Information Technologies and Systems (WITS'07). He has been a principal investigator for National Science Foundation, and also received support from IBM, Sun Microsystems and other organizations for his work. He is a senior member of IEEE and a member of ACM.
He was a coauthor of a paper which received the best paper award at the INFORMS Conference on Information Systems and Technology in 2001. He has collaborated extensively with researchers in US, and also internationally with several co-authors at the Technical University of Eindhoven, Netherlands; Ulm University, Germany; Tsinghua University, China; Queensland University of Technology, Australia.
Akhil published a book on Business Process Management in 2018 . This book introduces students to business process management, an approach that aims to align the organization's business processes with the demands of the marketplace. Blending a strong grounding in current research with a focus on concepts and tools, Business Process Management is an accessible textbook full of practical examples and cases that will appeal to upper level and graduate students.
Akhil has taught various courses at Penn State.
MIS479W: Enterprise Resource Planning
SCIS505: Information Systems Research Seminar
MIS431: Database Systems
MIS434: Internet Technologies
MIS436: Business Data Communications
BA523: Introduction to Information Technologies
MIS597: PhD seminar course
Expertise
His current research interests are in Blockchain technology, Business analytics, Deep learning, Health IT and Healthcare forums, BPM and workflow systems, and process mining.
Education
Ph D, Information Systems, University of California, Berkeley, 1988
MS, Computer Science, The University of California, Berkeley, 1986
Information Systems, Indian Institute of Management, 1980
BS, Electrical Engineering, Indian Institutes of Technology, 1978
Courses Taught
MIS 479W – Entrprse Info Sys (3)
Management and implementation of enterprise information systems for business integration and supply chain management. MIS 479 Management of Operations Information/ERP ( 3) This course examines enterprise-wide information systems architecture for the business setting and examines current commercial systems, with a special focus on SAP R/3 development tools and techniques. Topics include: - The acquisition, installation and operation of integrated Enterprise Information Systems [EIS], formerly referred to as Enterprise Resource Management [ERP] systems- The strategic decisions regarding approaches business organizations select for the acquisition and integration of EIS components and how executive level support for such endeavors is obtained- The overall management and coordination techniques used in the design, development and implementation of an organization's EIS, including the role that software vendors and other third party's play in the acquisition and implementation of enterprise systems- The coordination and control of multi-party relationships. Specific analysis and design techniques are taught, including tools and methodologies for analyzing business processes in preparation for implementation of EIS, as well as database and data warehousing requirements.- The methods of determining data communication network requirements- The practical implementation concerns are addressed, such as preparing internal organizational units for migration to a new EIS architecture and to the maintenance and operation of EIS including concerns involving security and control.- The managerial and technical issues involved in the developing and testing of applications and user interfaces and customization of commercial packages.- The career planning issues and ways of obtaining training for specialization and advancement in careers involving EIS. This course will be writing intensive. As such, student evaluations will consist of, at a minimum: examinations, position papers, case studies (written and oral), and homework assignments. Both individual and group assignments will be used. The objective is to enhance writing ability relevant to students preparing for careers in business. Group report writing, brief technical writing, technical documentation, end-user documentation, and memo writing will be covered. The major group writing assignments will be required throughout the semester, as well as individual assignments that will be prepared in preparation for the group. Peer assessments and instructor feedback and evaluation will be provided on a regular basis. This is a prescribed course for the M I S major and will be provided in fall and spring semester in sections of nor more than 30 students.
MIS 494H – Research Project (Variable)
Supervised student activities on research projects identified on an individual or small-group basis.
MIS 479 – Entrprse Info Sys (3)
Management and implementation of enterprise information systems for business integration and supply chain management. MIS 479 Management of Operations Information/ERP ( 3) This course examines enterprise-wide information systems architecture for the business setting and examines current commercial systems, with a special focus on SAP R/3 development tools and techniques. Topics include: - The acquisition, installation and operation of integrated Enterprise Information Systems [EIS], formerly referred to as Enterprise Resource Management [ERP] systems- The strategic decisions regarding approaches business organizations select for the acquisition and integration of EIS components and how executive level support for such endeavors is obtained- The overall management and coordination techniques used in the design, development and implementation of an organization's EIS, including the role that software vendors and other third party's play in the acquisition and implementation of enterprise systems- The coordination and control of multi-party relationships. Specific analysis and design techniques are taught, including tools and methodologies for analyzing business processes in preparation for implementation of EIS, as well as database and data warehousing requirements.- The methods of determining data communication network requirements- The practical implementation concerns are addressed, such as preparing internal organizational units for migration to a new EIS architecture and to the maintenance and operation of EIS including concerns involving security and control.- The managerial and technical issues involved in the developing and testing of applications and user interfaces and customization of commercial packages.- The career planning issues and ways of obtaining training for specialization and advancement in careers involving EIS. This course will be writing intensive. As such, student evaluations will consist of, at a minimum: examinations, position papers, case studies (written and oral), and homework assignments. Both individual and group assignments will be used. The objective is to enhance writing ability relevant to students preparing for careers in business. Group report writing, brief technical writing, technical documentation, end-user documentation, and memo writing will be covered. The major group writing assignments will be required throughout the semester, as well as individual assignments that will be prepared in preparation for the group. Peer assessments and instructor feedback and evaluation will be provided on a regular basis. This is a prescribed course for the M I S major and will be provided in fall and spring semester in sections of nor more than 30 students.
SCIS 505 – M I s Res (3)
Research problems and issues in supply chain and information systems. SC&IS 505 Management Information Systems Research (3) This is a Ph.D. level course designed to familiarize students with information systems theories and research methodologies. Special emphasis is given to the design science paradigm and, specifically, to process and data modeling of information systems problems using techniques like UML, XML, and Petri-nets. In addition, workflow systems as an application of process modeling will be studied. After completing this course, students will have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to discuss and critically reflect on:a) Information system research paradigms b) Information system modeling techniques c) Coordination theory d) Workflow models, management and architectures e) Information systems in supply chainsThis is a prescribed research foundation course. Student evaluations are based on class participation, individual and group assignments, and exams. This course will be offered during Fall semester for 5-10 students.
SC&IS 505 – Management Information Systems Research (3)
Research problems and issues in supply chain and information systems.
MIS 434 – Internet Technologies (3)
Technical foundations of the eBusiness environment and web applications development to support internet-based commerce.
SC&IS 596 – Individual Studies (variable)
Creative projects, including nonthesis research, that are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses. A specific title may be used in each instance and will be entered on the student's transcript.
M I S 434 – Internet Technologies (3)
Technical foundations of the eBusiness environment and web applications development to support internet-based commerce.
SC&IS 496 – Independent Studies (variable)
Creative projects, including research and design, that are supervised on an individual basis and that fall outside the scope of formal courses.
B A 574 – Business Research (variable)
A project paper, comparable in quality and scope of work to a graduate thesis, on problems of a company.
SC&IS 597E – Information Systems (3)
Formal courses given on a topical or special interest subject which may be offered infrequently; several different topics may be taught in one year or semester.
M I S 597A – Foundations of Information Systems (3)
Special topics course.
SC&IS 494H – SC&IS Senior Honors Thesis (variable)
Supervised student activities on research projects identified on an individual or small-group basis.
M I S 436 – Business Data Communications (3)
Introduction to the principles and techniques of business data communication encompassing transmission concepts, network analysis, design, implementation, and administration.
M I S 496 – Independent Studies (variable)
Creative projects, including research and design, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.
MS&IS 496 – Independent Studies (variable)
Creative projects, including research and design, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.
MS&IS 596 – Individual Studies (variable)
Creative projects, including nonthesis research, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.
Selected Publications
This article was published in a new journal from Peking University, China. The journal is published in Chinese but the manuscript was prepared in English and the final English version is provided.
Not ranked by department.
Published online in Articles in Advance, March 10, 2011. DOI: 10.1287/ijoc.1100.0444http://joc.journal.informs.org/cgi/content/abstract/ijoc.1100.0444v1
The 5-year impact factor of this journal is more than 2.
acceptance rate: 16 % (27 out of 170)
Published online: 20 October 2009. http://www.springerlink.com/content/h328hjq7686t1673.
Papers are peer reviewed. Acceptance rate approx. 35%Proceedings are informally publishedThis paper was 1 of 5 finalists for the ***Best Paper Award***
Papers are peer reviewed. Acceptance rate approx. 35%Proceedings are informally published
Research Impact and Media Mention
Editorships
The aim of this special issue is to highlight novel and high-quality research in blockchain technology and applications, and to examine the current and future impact of blockchain systems, and related technologies including data verification before block confirmation, authentication of data ownership, and dataflow across blockchain systems. Considering the decision-making focus of DSS publications that bridge the gap between managerial and technical perspectives, this special issue is open to all manuscripts that make a significant research contribution to blockchain systems and applications in business sectors such as finance, insurance, healthcare, manufacturing, supply chain, education, and government