Kayse Lee Maass
Assistant Professor,
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Office
- 321 SN
- 617.373.3629
Research Focus
Stochastic optimization, network theory, facility location modeling, and supply chain design for applications regarding equity, access, human trafficking, mental health, and humanitarian logistics
About
Dr. Maass’s research focuses on advancing operations research methodology to improve applicability to social justice, access, and equity issues within human trafficking, mental health, housing, and food justice contexts. Her recent research includes determining how to most effectively allocate limited resources to disrupt human trafficking networks, increase access to services for human trafficking survivors, and assess the efficacy of coordination among anti-human trafficking stakeholders. Dr. Maass’s research is supported by multiple federal grants, centers interdisciplinary survivor-informed expertise, and has been used to inform policy and operational decisions at the local, national, and international levels, including being featured in the 2019 United Nations Report of the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery.
In addition to her role as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, she leads the Operations Research and Social Justice lab at Northeastern University and holds a research appointment with the Information and Decision Engineering Program at Mayo Clinic. She is a recipient of multiple awards, including: the INFORMS Judith Liebman Award, Industrial Engineering Professor of the Year at Northeastern University, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Award, the INFORMS Section on Location Analysis Dissertation Award, and was named a ‘Rising Star’ among INFORMS’ Powerful, Pragmatic Pioneers. Dr. Maass currently serves on the INFORMS Subdivision Council, as INFORMS Section on Location Analysis Secretary, and as an INFORMS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Ambassador. She is also a member of the H.E.A.L. Trafficking Research Committee and the U.N. University Delta 8.7 Markets Working Group on Human Trafficking.
Education
- PhD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Industrial and Operations Engineering, 2017
- BA, Bethel University, Mathematics, 2012
- BA, Bethel University, Physics, 2012
Honors & Awards
- Industrial Engineering Professor of the Year, Northeastern University, 2020
- Global Conference on Human Trafficking and Trauma Best Research Abstract, 2019
- “Rising Star” among INFORMS’ Powerful, Pragmatic Pioneers
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
- INFORMS Judith Liebman Award
Professional Affiliations
- Institute for Operations Research and Management Science (INFORMS)
- Production and Operations Management Society (POMS)
- Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE)
- Health, Education, Advocacy, Linkage (HEAL) Trafficking
Research Overview
Stochastic optimization, network theory, facility location modeling, and supply chain design for applications regarding equity, access, human trafficking, mental health, and humanitarian logistics
Selected Research Projects
- D-ISN: Modeling Effective Network Disruptions for Human Trafficking
- – co-Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- Identification of Effective Strategies to Disrupt Recruitment of Victims in Human Trafficking: Qualitative Data, Systems Modeling, Survivors and Law Enforcement
- -co-Principal Investigator, National Institute of Justice
- Creating an Accessible ORMS Community for Disabled People
- -Principal Investigator, The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
- ISN2: Coordinated Interdiction for Disruption of Labor Trafficking in the Agricultural Sector
- – Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- ISN2: Disrupting Human Trafficking via Needs Matching and Capacity Expansion
- – Co-Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- EAGER: Modeling Operations of Human Trafficking Networks for Effective Interdiction
- – Co-Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- EAGER: A Data Analytic Approach to Understanding Human Trafficking Networks
- – Co-Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation
- Optimizing Criminal Justice Responses to the Business of Labor Trafficking
- -Co-Principal Investigator, Northeastern University
Department Research Areas
Selected Publications
- Kaya, Yaren Bilge, Maass, Kayse Lee, Dimas, Geri L., Konrad, Renata, Trapp, Andrew C., Dank, Meredith (2022). Improving access to housing and supportive services for runaway and homeless youth: Reducing vulnerability to human trafficking in New York City. IISE Transactions, ,1-15. 10.1080/24725854.2022.2120223
- D. Kosmas, T. Sharkey, J.E. Mitchell, K.L. Maass, L. Martin Interdicting Reconfiguring Networks with Applications in Human Trafficking. Preprint: arXiv:2011.07093 [math.OC]
- A. Bender, M. El Khalkhali, G. Dimas, R. Konrad, A. Trapp, K.L. Maass, Estimating Effectiveness of Identifying Human Trafficking via Data Envelopment Analysis. Preprint: arXiv:2012.07746 [cs.CY]
- R. Konrad, K.L. Maass, A. Trapp Perspectives on How to Conduct Responsible Anti-Human Trafficking Research in Operations and Analytics. Preprint: arXiv:2006.16445 [cs.CY]
- B. Tezcan, K.L. Maass Human Trafficking Interdiction with Decision Dependent Success. Preprint: DOI: 10.31224/osf.io/dt8fs
- K.L. Maass, A. Trapp, R. Konrad, (2020) Optimizing Placement Of Residential Shelters For Human Trafficking Survivors. Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 70,
- J.P. Caulkins, M. Kammer-Kerwick, R. Konrad, K.L. Maass, L. Martin, T. Sharkey, (2019) A Call to the Engineering Community to Address Human Trafficking. The Bridge, 49(3)
- K.L. Maass, A.R. Smith, E.L. Tucker, H. Schapiro, S.M. Cottrell, E. Gendron, P. Hill-Callahan, S.J. Gill, M.S. Daskin, R.M Merion, A.B. Leichtman, (2019) Comparison of Patient and Provider Goals, Expectations, and Experiences Following Kidney Transplantation, Patient Education and Counseling. 102(5), 990-1016
Nov 15, 2024
Northeastern Nominates 6 COE Students for Prestigious Knight-Hennessy Scholarship
Alex Bender, E’20, MS’20, Matthew Coughlin, E’25, Maya De Los Santos, E’25, Jose Meza Llamosas, E’25, Dominic Pizzarella, E’25, and Daniel Sneyers Pont, E’21, MS’21, were six of eight nominated by Northeastern for the Knight-Hennessy Scholarship, which develops a community of future global leaders to address complex challenges through collaboration and innovation.
Nov 01, 2024
Maass Takes 2nd in INFORMS Junior Faculty Teaching Excellence Award
MIE Assistant Professor Kayse Lee Maass won second place in the inaugural INFORMS Junior Faculty Interest Group (JFIG) Teaching Excellence Award. The national award recognizes excellence in teaching in operations research and management science.
Feb 05, 2024
Research on Youth Homelessness Featured in ISE Magazine
MIE Assistant Professor Kayse Lee Maass and Alumna Yaren Bilge Kaya, PhD’23, (currently faculty at Columbia University) were featured in the February 2024 issue of ISE Magazine for their research on improving access to housing and support services for runaway and homeless youth.
Dec 22, 2022
Inaugural AJC Merit Research Scholars for Research Co-ops at Northeastern
Several engineering and science students mentored by COE faculty are recipients of the inaugural AJC Merit Research Scholars from Northeastern’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships. It provides exceptional students with the opportunity to pursue STEM research co-ops in the laboratories of Northeastern University faculty.
Nov 07, 2022
Outstanding Paper Award at ACM Conference on Equity and Access
PhD candidate Yaren Bilge Kaya, industrial engineering, and MIE Assistant Professor Kayse Lee Maass received an Outstanding Paper Award at the 2022 ACM Conference on Equity and Access in Algorithms, Mechanisms, and Optimization.
Feb 04, 2022
Spring 2022 PEAK Experiences Awardees for Undergrad Research
Several engineering and science students mentored by COE faculty are recipients of Northeastern’s Spring 2022 PEAK Experiences Awards from Northeastern’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships.
Oct 28, 2021
Two Northeastern Presentations Selected as “Committee’s Choice” at INFORMS 2021
The 2021 INFORMS Annual Meeting organizing committee has chosen two Northeastern University presentations as “Committee Choice” from more than 5,500 abstracts submitted.
Apr 26, 2021
Congratulations RISE: 2021 Winners
Congratulations to our engineering students who won awards at the RISE:2021 Research, Innovation and Scholarship Expo!
Jan 29, 2021
Modeling Effective Network Disruptions for Human Trafficking
MIE Assistant Professor Kayse Lee Maass is a co-principal investigator on a five-year collaborative $1M NSF grant titled “Modeling Effective Network Disruptions for Human Trafficking.”
Nov 18, 2020
Alex Bender Finalist for INFORMS Undergraduate Operations Research Prize
Industrial engineering student Alex Bender, E’20, was named as a finalist of the 2020 INFORMS Undergraduate Operations Research Prize for his paper titled “Estimating Effectiveness of Identifying Human Trafficking Victims: An Application of Data Envelopment Analysis on the Nepal–India Border.”