Erica Plambeck

Walter Kenneth Kilpatrick Professor of Operations, Information and Technology

Senior Fellow (by courtesy), Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford

Erica Plambeck is an expert in manufacturing operations and supply chain management, and her current research focuses on environmental sustainability.

Bio

Erica Plambeck is Walter Kenneth Kilpatrick Professor of Operations, Information and Technology in the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Senior Fellow in the Woods Institute for the Environment. She teaches the MBA core course in Operations Management and an elective, Environmental Entrepreneurship, that draws together MBAs and graduate students from across the Stanford campus. Erica received the Presidential Early Career Award for research in supply chain management, and was recognized as a Faculty Pioneer in social and environmental stewardship by WRI and the Aspen Institute. Erica grew up in the Midwest, received a BS in Mathematics and Industrial Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, developed decision-models for EU climate change policy as a Marshall Scholar at Cambridge University, and received her PhD in Engineering Economic Systems and Operations Research from Stanford University.

Academic Degrees

PhD Engineering Economic Systems and Operations Research 2000; Diploma Economics, London School of Economics, 1996; MPhil Management Studies, University of Cambridge, 1995; MS Industrial Engineering and Mathematics, University of Wisconsin, 1994.

Professional Experience

At Stanford since 2000.

Scientist, RAPT Technologies, 1999-2000; Engineer, Sun Microsystems, 1997; Consultant, Conoco, UK, 1996; Summer Scientist, Intl. Institute of Applied Systems Analysis, 1994.

Selected Publications

  • The Impact of Duplicate Orders on Demand Estimation and Capacity Investment: Management Science. Volume: 51. October 2005, Number: 10. Pgs: 1505-1518, 2005
  • Sell the Plant? The Impact of Contract Manufacturing on Innovation, Capacity, and Profitability: Management Science, 51, 133-150., 2005
  • Partnership in a Dynamic Production System with Unobservable Actions and Noncontractible Output: Accepted for publication in Management Science., 2004
  • Optimal Leadtime Differentiation via Diffusion Approximations: Operations Research, 52, 213-228., 2004
  • Incentive Efficient Control of a Make-to-Stock Production System: Operations Research, 51, 371-386., 2003
  • An Updated Valuation of the Impacts of Global Warming: Energy Policy, 24, 783-794, 1996

Working Papers

  • 1888: Implications of Breach Remedy and Renegotiation for Design of Supply Contracts
  • 1893: Asymptotically Optimal Control for an Assemble-to-Order System with Capacitated Component Production and Fixed Transport Costs
  • 1889: Implications of Renegotiation for Optimal Contract Flexibility and Investment
  • 1890: Optimal Control of High-Volume Assemble-to-Order Systems
  • 1891: Optimal Control of High-Volume Assemble-to-Order Systems with Delay Constraints
  • 1892: Partnership in a Dynamic Production System

Selected Cases

  • OIT74: Environmental Enhancements in Road Vehicle Technologies
  • OIT38: Environmental Product Differentiation by the Hayward Lumber Company
  • SI115: Ma Jun and the IPE: Using Information to Improve China's Environment
  • OIT96: American Electric Power: Investing in Forest Conservation
  • OIT71C: Wal-Mart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain
  • OIT104: Water Funds: Financing Nature's Ability to Protect Water Supplies
  • OIT71B: Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (B): 2010 Update
  • E404A: ZETA Communities - Part A
  • SI82: FedEx and Environmental Defense: Building a Hybrid Delivery Fleet
  • OIT52: A Technical Note on Ethanol as a Motor Fuel
  • E229: Khosla Ventures: Investing in Ethanol
  • E404B: ZETA Communities - Part B
  • OIT71A: Wal-Mart's Sustainability Strategy (A)

Awards and Honors

  • Faculty Pioneer Award, 2004, Aspen Institute and World Resources Institute
  • Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, 2004
  • Finalist and Honorable Mention, two papers, Junior Faculty Interest Group, 2003, INFORMS
  • Nicholson Prize for Best Student Paper, 2000, INFORMS
  • British Marshall Scholar, 1996
  • British Marshall Scholar, 1995
  • British Marshall Scholar, 1994

Courses Taught

Centers/Programs

Affiliations

  • Associate Editor: Operations Research (2004 - present)
  • Associate Editor: Management Science (2004 - present)

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