Kathryn Caggiano

Kathryn Caggiano joined the ORIE faculty in 2007 as Director of Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) Studies. Under her leadership, the ORIE M.Eng. program has been selected as a Finalist (2018 and 2012) and Semifinalist (2013) for the INFORMS UPS George D. Smith Prize, the field’s flagship award for outstanding practical preparation of students in OR and analytics. Prior to her current role, Professor Caggiano was a faculty member in the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Outside of academia, she has held positions with Price Waterhouse Management Consulting Services (now PwC) and PeopleSoft (now Oracle) in technology and supply chain consulting.

Research Interests

Kathryn's interests focus on developing practical mathematical models and solution approaches to enable better decision making in large-scale production and distribution systems. Companies she has worked with include Verizon Wireless, Cisco, Xelus, and NASA.

Teaching Interests

In the classroom, Professor Caggiano places a strong emphasis on developing and implementing models that are practical, reusable, and robust. ORIE 5110: Case Studies, her fall semester short course, prepares ORIE M.Eng. students for their subsequent capstone projects by engaging them in team-based project work to develop and communicate a practical solution to a complex business problem. Her elective course ORIE 4820/5820: Spreadsheet-Based Modeling and Data Analysis enables students to function quickly and effectively in a data-driven business environment using spreadsheet technology.

Professor Caggiano has won numerous teaching awards, including the Michael Tien ‘72 Sustained Excellence and Innovation in Engineering Education Award. She is also the author of Spreadsheet Modeling, a four-part eCornell Certificate Program that launched in March 2022.

Service Interests

Professor Caggiano is a member of INFORMS and MSOM. She served on the Editorial Review Board for Decision Sciences from 2004-2006 and has reviewed articles for a number of professional journals, including Operations Research, Management Science, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Naval Research Logistics, and Production and Operations Management.

Professor Caggiano served on the Cornell Engineering Alumni Association Board of Directors from 2009-2015. She currently serves on the ORIE Advisory Council as well as the Graduate Studies Advisory Board at William and Mary.

Selected Awards and Honors

• Michael Tien Sustained Excellence and Innovation in Engineering Education Award (2018)
• Sonny Yau ’72 Excellence in Teaching Award (2013)
• Sonny Yau ’72 Excellence in Teaching Award (2010)
• Professor with the Best in Class Presentation, UW-Madison Graduate Business Association (2007)
• AIIE Award for Excellence in Teaching, School of ORIE (2000)
• AIIE Outstanding TA Award, School of ORIE, (1997)
• AIIE Outstanding TA Award, School of ORIE, (1995)
• Chairman’s Client Service Award, Honorable Mention, Price Waterhouse (1991)

Education

• B.S. (Mathematics), College of William and Mary, School of Arts and Sciences, 1990
• M.S. (Operations Research), Cornell University, School of Operations Research and Industrial Engineering, 1997
• Ph.D. (Operations Research), Cornell University, School of Operations Research and Industrial Engineering, 1998