Why I'm Here ...

Some folks have asked, "so, why are you in Austria, anyway," and they seem to actually want to know more than, "I'm on sabbatical."  So, the below is part of something that was put together for the TUG magazine.  This should at least partially answer the question!

Jörg Oser (left) and Dirk Jodin welcome Russ to TUG.

Prof. Russell D. Meller, Ph.D., the James and Marie Hefley Professor of Logistics and Entrepreneurship at the University of Arkansas (United States), is spending this year at Graz University of Technology (TUG) as part of his university’s off-campus duty assignment (otherwise known as a “sabbatical”) program.  Dr. Meller will be collaborating with TUG faculty in the Institut für Technische Logistik as a visiting distinguished professor. 

While here he will be working on research in two areas.  The first is related to the Physical Internet (PI).  The PI is an open global logistics system, leveraging interconnected supply networks through a standard set of collaborative protocols, modular containers and smart interfaces for increased efficiency and sustainability.  His research team is investigating the logistics system gain efficiency that is possible with a PI, capitalizing on key data provided by fourteen PI thought leading organizations.  The project website is:  http://faculty.ineg.uark.edu/rmeller/web/CELDi-PI/index-PI.html.  Dr. Meller has existing collaborations on this topic with European colleagues and he says that he’s hoping to interest TUG colleagues in joining the efforts.  The mechanical engineering focus of this group makes them ideally suited to make a contribution to this initiative.

The second research topic is related to his work with SSI Schäfer Peem GmbH.  He will be working with engineers at Schäfer to develop a decision-support tool for system design.  Meller is an expert in logistics system analysis and design, and combined with the expertise of the Schäfer engineers in order fulfillment technology, they hope to produce a tool that will allow for the quick assessment of system design.  Meller placed a student at Schäfer last year to begin the process.

When asked why he chose TUG and Graz for his sabbatical appointment, he shared that he had a multitude of reasons to focus his sabbatical appointment application on TUG – and that most of them revolved around the above projects and how being at TUG would further the aims of the research.  But he also mentioned that the most compelling reason was the personal connection to Graz that he and his wife made while visiting in 2004.  They attended a conference hosted by TUG (Jörg Oser was the scientific leader and host of the conference) in the summer of 2004.  They very much enjoyed their time in Graz, Vienna and the Salzburg area.  They found the area beautiful and could see that the city had excellent character.  So, given that he and his wife had always wanted to live in a European city, Graz was considered right from the start of their sabbatical selection process.  And it was through the connection with Oser and then current institute leader Dirk Jodin that he connected with Schäfer, which sealed the deal.  Both TUG and Schäfer are providing monetary assistance to offset living expenses.

Dr. Meller arrived a week ago with his family (his wife and two children, ages 8 and 5) and says that they’ve settled in nicely thanks to the help of the TUG staff and some other members of the Graz community that he’s met during his prior visits to Graz.  He said that he has no regrets in making TUG the focal point of his sabbatical application and can still remember the day that he received official word from the Provost at the University of Arkansas that his application had been approved.  That was a very good day for Dr. Meller and TUG both.