Business PhD Spotlight: Mehrnaz Behrooz
PhD candidate Mehrnaz Behrooz began her academic journey inspired by her aunt, whose success in planning research and operations led Mehrnaz to discover her own passion for data-driven decision-making. After earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Industrial Engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology in Iran, she immigrated to Canada to pursue a PhD in Operations and Information Systems at the Alberta School of Business.
“I joined the PhD program driven by a passion for solving real-world problems and improving system efficiency by identifying key pain points. The program has provided the context for exploring a wide range of decision-making applications and expanded my skill set in various directions,” says Behrooz.
Mehrnaz is currently involved in two research projects focused on community enhancement. One project addresses retirement decision-making. In this study, the authors use the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) dataset to gain insights into personalized retirement dynamics. They then develop a Markov decision-making model that captures retirement complexities and identifies the optimal retirement age. The second project focuses on last-mile delivery using crowd-shippers and lockers. By analyzing TELUS mobility data ("Data for Good"), the team gains insights into Edmontonian’s mobility patterns and develops a distributionally robust optimization model to design an optimal network of crowd-shippers for efficient last-mile delivery.
In addition to her primary research, Mehrnaz joined EPCOR Inc. through the Adaptation Resilience Training (ART) program, offered by the University of Alberta Sustainability Council. “This program aims to prepare Alberta for climate change by placing students in climate adaptation projects,” says Behrooz.
At EPCOR, she contributed to wildfire risk assessment, using GIS data and historical records to evaluate the wildfire risks of EPCOR assets. Her work included identifying ignition sources, assessing fire probabilities, simulating fire spread across Edmonton, and proposing mitigation strategies—essential steps toward reducing regional fire risks.
Mehrnaz is passionate about sharing her learning with others, and she enjoys teaching data visualization and business analytics to both undergraduate and master's students, adding another exciting dimension to her academic journey.
Over the years, the doctoral program has equipped her with valuable skills and knowledge, while also teaching her patience and allowing her to connect with supportive individuals who make the journey all the more rewarding.
Mehrnaz Behrooz joined the Alberta School of Business in Fall 2020 as a PhD student specializing in Operations and Information Systems, under the supervision of professor Ivor Cribben and associate professor Ilbin Lee.