Constantine M. Koursaris

Biography

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Dr. Constantine Koursaris is an Associate Professor in the Department of Decision Sciences, College of Business, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Worldwide Campus.  He has served as the Program Chair for the AS, BS, and MS in Logistics and Supply Chain Management Degrees. Dr. Koursaris possesses over 25 years’ facilitating and teaching experience in various disciplines and delivery modalities. Dr. Koursaris’ main research interests include areas in operations research optimization models, product, and service quality, optimizing the management of supply chain networks, innovative lean& agile supply chain management methods, revenue management, aviation/aeronautics/aerospace manufacturing & logistics support operations, and optimal organizational management. Dr. Koursaris’ areas of expertise and teaching assignments include:

• Supply Chain Management, Transportation, Logistics, Operations Management, Forecasting, Quality Control
• Quantitative Methods/Management Science, Project Management, Strategic Planning, Capacity Management, Lean Processes
• Operations Research, Engineering Management, Mathematics, Statistics, Research Methods, Discrete Event Simulation, Modeling and Decision-Making in High Reliability Organizations.
• Systems Engineering, Queuing Systems, Systems Analysis & Design, Service Design, Information Management
• Innovation: Product Development, Technical Marketing, Team Dynamics & Productivity, Technology Commercialization Strategies.

Dr. Koursaris was the lead principal investigator that led to the establishment and implementation of the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University College of Business Worldwide Campus and Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) Air University Associate-to-Baccalaureate Cooperative (AU-ABC) partnership agreement, offering A.S. graduates the ability to earn their B.S. degrees with no more than 60 additional credit hours.  He has over ten years experience in the aerospace industry.  As an undergraduate Computer Science major, he took part in the first ever digital design of NetBook, a Knowledge Acquisition Grant proposal at the NASA John Glenn Research Center, capturing senior engineer’s processes used to repair the RL-10 Rocket engine.  While working for NASA at Kennedy Space Center, FL, he held three main key positions.  As a Computer Scientist, he was tasked to provide project management and logistics support to Space Shuttle ground operations. He led software development of the Electronic Inspection Tool (EIT), a custom-designed laser scanner and software application to measure, assess, and repair thermal protection system (TPS) orbiter damages as part of the problem reporting and corrective action effort, to prepare any of the twenty five thousand installed tiles in the Space Shuttles, for their upcoming assigned missions.

Dr. Koursaris co-authored the lockout/tagout of the Crew Module (LOTO-CM), a software application that logged the identification and documentation of the state of more than two thousand switches and circuit breakers installed in the Shuttles’ crew modules, in order to conform with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements.  Both EIT and LOTO-CM are transferable technologies to the newly developed spacecraft systems.

As a Senior Instructor, Dr. Koursaris was certified to teach required NASA employee certification courses to members of management, engineering, and technical staff on Space Shuttle & Solid Rocket Booster concepts. He taught courses emphasizing systems and component-level functions, including safety factors. As a Senior Systems Engineer, Dr. Koursaris was a member of the Orion Processing & Strategic Management Team of NASA’s Constellation Program. Dr. Koursaris was responsible of performing modeling & simulation mission success feasibility studies as specified in the Constellation Architecture Requirements Document (CARD). As a Senior Systems Engineer for the Constellation Program and member of the Orion Processing and Strategic Management Team, he was responsible for performing mission success feasibility studies. He has supported USCG safety patrol missions in protected Cape Canaveral waterways during Space Shuttle and rocket launches. His professional affiliations include ACM, ASCM, ASEM, CSCMP, DSI, IEEE, IISE, INCOSE, INFORMS, ISM, SAS, SAP, & SIAM. He served as an ERAU-W Faulty Senator for three terms, and he is a member of the COB Faculty Engagement and   Enrichment Experience Group, the Canvas Advisory Group, the COB Rules, Academic Programs Committees, the COB Curriculum Review Committee, and the Online Education Advisory Committee.  Dr. Koursaris served a two-year term on the Board of Directors in the Logistics and Supply Chain Division of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers.  He enjoys spending quality time with his family, reading, camping, traveling, swimming, and karate.  He has served as a Flotilla Staff Officer in the Department of Public Education of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, and he was the recipient of the Presidential Award for his contributions in supporting USCG missions protecting waterways around Kennedy Space Center during NASA launches.

Education

• Ph.D. - Doctor of Philosophy in Operations Research, Florida Institute of Technology
• M.S. - Master of Science in Systems Engineering, Florida Institute of Technology
• M.S. - Master of Science in Engineering Management, Florida Institute of Technology
• B.S. - Bachelor of Science in Computer Science/Science Option: Economics, Southern University

Research Projects

• Developing and Managing 21st Century Aerospace Cluster

Memberships and Credentials

Dr. Koursaris has been affiliated with several professional organizations, including the Association for Computing Machinery, Decision Sciences Institute, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, Production and Operations Management Society, International Council on Systems Engineering, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, Association for Supply Chain Management, American Society for Engineering Management, Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers, and the Institute for Supply Management.

As a Computer Scientist, Dr. Koursaris was tasked to provide project management and logistics support to Space Shuttle ground operations. He led software development of the Electronic Inspection Tool (EIT), a custom-designed laser scanner and software application to measure, assess, and repair thermal protection system (TPS) orbiter damages as part of the problem reporting and corrective action effort, to prepare the Space Shuttles for their upcoming assigned missions.

Dr. Koursaris co-authored the lockout/tagout of the Crew Module (LOTO-CM), a software application that logged the identification and documentation of the state of more than 2,000 switches and circuit breakers installed in the Shuttles’ crew modules, in order to conform with OSHA requirements. Both EIT and LOTO-CM are transferable technologies to the newly developed spacecraft systems.

As a Senior Instructor, Dr. Koursaris was certified to teach NASA-required employee certification courses to members of management, engineering, and technical staff on Space Shuttle & Solid Rocket Booster concepts. He taught courses emphasizing systems and component-level functions, including safety factors. As a Senior Systems Engineer, Dr. Koursaris was a member of the Orion Processing & Strategic Management Team of NASA’s Constellation Program. Dr. Koursaris was responsible of performing modeling & simulation mission success feasibility studies as specified in the Constellation Architecture Requirements Document (CARD). 

Awards, Honors and Recognitions

Dr. Koursaris received two NASA Inventions and Contributions Board Awards "For the creative development of technically significant software and technological contribution in the advancement of the space and aeronautical activities at NASA" and was recognized for his outstanding contributions during the recovery and investigation of STS-107 Space Shuttle Columbia accident, where EIT was instrumental in the identification and reconstruction of Columbia’s underbelly. Dr. Koursaris received the NASA Group Achievement Award “In recognition of outstanding performance in the development and implementation of the electronic inspection tool and the electronic maps to document in-flight orbiter tile debris hits”.