I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Management Science/Operations Management in the Department of Decision and Information Technologies, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland.

I'm currently on my second year in the program. Last summer, I passed the written part of my comprehensive exam; and now, I'm preparing for the oral in mid June '08.

My current research with Dr. Raghavan focuses mainly in network design. However, as a Ph.D. student in the business school I'm exploring other areas of Management Science.

I’m currently collecting data on airfares for a class project in BMGT883: Scientific Data Collection (taught by Prof. Galit Shmueli). Using an API provided by Kayak.com, I have developed a script that collects search results for various trip routes, dates, and times. I intend to analyze the impact of competition on the airfare availability. Numerous studies have analyzed the relationship between price discrimination and market structure in the airline industry. The seminal empirical work by Borenstein and Rose (1994) found negative correlation between competition and price dispersion. However, a recent study by Gerardi and Shapiro (2007) contrasts their results. In both cases, the empirical analysis was based on transaction data. My research interest though is on the selection problem faced by the consumer at the time of purchase; consequently, flight search results are more suitable.

In addition, I'm working with Prof. Itir Z. Karaesmen Aydin on the development of a Dynamic Pricing Game. You can find the current version of the game here. This is still under development.