Office Hours: TR 9:00-10:30 or by appointment
Download Complete Vita

Fall 2009 Course(s) Taught:

MGT 4800 – Independent Research and Readings
Day(s):T R - Class Time: ARR
Room No. WEST 306
Class Syllabus

MGT 6720 – Operations Management
Day(s):T R - Class Time: 7:30-10:15
Room No. BUS 211
Class Syllabus

Education:

Ph. D., Operations Management, University of Georgia, 1991
Minor Area: Management Information Systems

MBA, Business Management, Eastern Illinois University, 1984

BS, Human Resource Management, Eastern Illinois University, 1982

Personal Biography:

J. Brian Atwater is an associate professor of production/operations management at Utah State University. He earned his Ph.D. in operations management at the University of Georgia in 1991. Prior to joining the faculty at Utah State University, he taught at University of Colorado in Colorado Springs and Colorado State University. He currently teaches graduate courses in operations management, continuous improvement techniques, and systems thinking.

In addition to his Ph.D. in operations, Dr. Atwater holds several professional certifications in the field. He is certified in production and inventory management (CPIM) by the American Production & Inventory Control Society (APICS). He is also a certified academic associate (JONAH) of the Goldratt Institute. In addition, he has received lead auditor training in ISO 9000 from The Victoria Group and has worked as an ISO auditor. He has also worked as an examiner for the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing.

Dr. Atwater has provided professional consulting services for the manufacturing operations of several companies including Apple Computers Inc., Carrier Transicold Inc., Schuller/Manville Corporations, and 3M Corporation, as well as several smaller businesses.

His current interests center around the teaching of systemic thinking and integrating those concepts with other problem solving approaches such as lean thinking, six sigma, and TOC.

Selected Journals and Media:

Production & Operations Management Journal, International Journal of Production Research, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Productions Inventory Management Journal, Cost Management Journal and Industrial Management Journal.

Research Area(s)

Theory of constraints, quality management, and lean manufacturing.