Two engineers honored for research on supply network cash-flow disruptions
Jun 30, 2026
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Vittal Prabhu, professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering and Charles and Enid Schneider Faculty Chair in Service Enterprise Engineering at Penn State, and Abdullah Aldhuhayyan, a doctoral student studying industrial engineering, received the Engineering Economy Division Best Track Paper Award, second place, at the 2026 Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) Annual Conference.
The award recognizes their paper, "Cash-Flow Bullwhip in Supply Networks: Evidence Across Industries and Pandemic Shock."
The research examines how financial disruptions can spread and intensify throughout supply networks, creating ripple effects that impact organizations across industries. Using evidence from multiple sectors, the study investigates how economic shocks, including those associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, can amplify cash-flow challenges as they move through interconnected networks.
Aldhuhayyan served as the mentor for a related to this work, which is an offshoot of his dissertation work. The undergraduate capstone project team that he advised built a web-based multiplayer game. According to Aldhuhayyan and Prabhu, the project gave an undergraduate team the ability to see what more advanced research looks like.
“Studying financial dynamics and resilience in supply networks alongside Dr. Prabhu has broadened my perspective as a researcher, showed me the value of hands-on education grounded in real industry problems,” Aldhuhayyan said.
The Engineering Economy Division Best Track Paper Award recognizes high-quality research that advances the field of engineering economy and demonstrates significant scholarly impact.
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