Recent doctoral graduate named assistant professor

Recent doctoral graduate from the Auburn University Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE), Oguz Toragay, has recently been named an assistant professor at Lawrence Technological University in Detroit, Mich.

Toragay, who has dual nationality in Turkey and Iran, received a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics in 2004 from Khayyam University in Iran and a master’s degree in industrial engineering in 2011 from Gazi University in Ankara, Turkey. He recently finished his doctoral degree at Auburn in July.

“Since I was a college student, I felt a deep connection with teaching as a profession that I wanted to have in the future,” Toragay said. “Thanks to Auburn University’s Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, that future is here now. I am so excited about being a faculty member at Lawrence Technological University.”

Toragay said he accepted the position in the Department of Mechanical, Robotics, and Industrial Engineering because it will offer him the opportunity to collaborate with researchers from other disciplines and enhance his research area, while helping them implement industrial engineering concepts, such as optimization, in their projects.

“Located in the Detroit metro area, LTU is perfectly placed close to the large manufacturing facilities, such as big automotive companies,” Toragay said. “One of the applications of my Ph.D. research is in the automotive industry and being a faculty member at LTU, I can use this opportunity to make the connections between academia and industry that pave the way for funded research and proposals.”

Toragay’s doctoral thesis at Auburn focused on the optimization of lightweight structures that are designed for additive manufacturing. He enjoyed the story-telling aspect of his dissertation.

“This story is important because it shows how an engineering problem can be seen from an interdisciplinary point of view and can be handled using different tools and skillsets that an industrial engineer can bring to the table,” he said. “On the other hand, I believe additive manufacturing as a new technology will have a huge impact on the future of the manufacturing industry and so the design of parts for this technology is crucial.”

Toragay is excited to see what the future holds, but already misses Auburn.

“I will stay in contact with some of the Ph.D. students in ISE to keep alive the good memories that I have had at Auburn,” he said. “I will miss the friendly environment in ISE the most.”