Karen Smilowitz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences at Northwestern University and holds a joint appointment with the Northwestern Transportation Center. Dr. Smilowitz studies modeling and solution approaches for logistics and transportation systems. She has developed innovative modeling and solution techniques for these complex transportation systems in both commercial and non-profit applications, working with transportation providers, logistics specialists and a range of non-profit organizations. She is currently leading the Northwestern Initiative on Humanitarian Logistics with fellow IEMS faculty member Irina Dolinskaya. Dr. Smilowitz received a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation and a Sloan Industry Studies Fellowship. Her work has also been recognized by the National Academy of Engineering, as an invited participant in the Frontiers of Engineering Workshop and the Engineering, Social Justice, and Sustainable Community Development Conference. She received her Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and her BSE in Civil Engineering and Operations Research from Princeton University.