Sait Tunc

Sait Tunc has been appointed assistant professor in the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech.

Tunc's research focuses on application-driven theoretical problems and utilizes large-scale real-world databases, with particular emphasis on medical decision making and operational efficiency in health care delivery systems. His methodological interests include queueing theory, game theory, simulation and dynamic programming

Prior to joining Virginia Tech, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. There, he designed nudge mechanisms to decrease organ wastage, developed a clinically detailed simulation model for the entire U.S. kidney transplant system, studied the problem of systematic gaming in heart transplantation, and worked on the strategic decisions of kidney transplant centers under competition.

Tunc received a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from Bogazici University in Turkey; a master’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from Koc University in Turkey; and a second master’s degree and doctoral degree in industrial and systems engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Research Areas

Main Area: Operations Research

Methodologies:

• Queuing theory
• Markov decision processes (MDPs)
• Stochastic modeling and simulation
• Game theory
• Information theory

Applications:

• Medical decision making
• Healthcare operations
• Portfolio investment

Education

• Ph.D., Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2016
• M.S., Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2015
• M.S., Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey, 2012
• B.S., Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey, 2010

Professional Affiliations

• Member, Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS)
• Member, Manufacturing and Service Operations Management Society (MSOM)
• Member, Production and Operations Management Society (POMS)
• Awards and Honors
• Gustafson, Rea C & David H Scholarship, 2016
• Finalist for the Doing Good with Good OR Student Paper Competition, 2016
• The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK)
• Graduate Fellowship, 2010 – 2012
• Undergraduate Scholarship, 2005 – 2010
• International Mathematical Olympiads (IMO) Silver Medal, 2005; Bronze Medal, 2004
• National Mathematical Olympiads of Turkey Gold Medal, 2004; Silver Medal, 2003

Publications

S. Tunc, B. Sandikci, B. Tanriover, ‘‘Expanding the Donor Pool: The Use of Marginal Organs for Transplantation’’, under revision at Management Science

S. Tunc, B. Sandikci, P. Afeche, W. F. Parker, ‘‘Treating to the Priority in Heart Transplantation,’’ working paper

B. Sandikci, S. Tunc, B. Tanriover, ‘‘A New Simulation Model for Kidney Transplantation in the United States’’, Proceedings of the 2019 Winter Simulation Conference, in press

S. Tunc, B. Sandikci, B. Tanriover, ‘‘Strategic Decisions of Kidney Transplant Centers under Competition,’’ working paper

S. Tunc, O. Alagoz, E. B. Burnside, ‘‘A New Perspective on Breast Cancer Diagnostic Guidelines to Reduce Overdiagnosis,’’ under review at Operations Research – Finalist for the Doing Good with Good OR Student Paper Competition, 2016

S. Tunc, O. Alagoz, E. B. Burnside, ‘‘Sequential Analysis of Information Gain by Additional Tests in Breast Cancer Screening,’’ working paper

S. Tunc, O. Alagoz, L. Wilke, A. Trentham-Dietz, E. B. Burnside, ‘‘Estimating the Progression Rates of DCIS Subtypes into Invasive Cancer,’’ working paper

N. D. Vanli, S. Tunc, M. A. Donmez, S. S. Kozat, ‘‘Growth Optimal Investment in Discrete-time Markets with Proportional Transaction Costs,’’ Digital Signal Processing, 48:226-238, 2016

H. Ozkan, M. A. Donmez, S. Tunc, S. S. Kozat, ‘‘A Deterministic Analysis of an Online Convex Mixture of Experts Algorithm,’’ IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems, 26(7):1575-1580, 2015

S. Tunc, O. Alagoz, E. B. Burnside, ‘‘Opportunities for Operations Research in Medical Decision Making,’’ IEEE Intelligent Systems, 29(3):59-62, 2014 -invited paper

S. Tunc, M. A. Donmez, S. S. Kozat, ‘‘Optimal Investment Under Transaction Costs: A Threshold Rebalanced Portfolio Approach,’’ IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, 61(12):3129-3142, 2013