{"691020":{"#nid":"691020","#data":{"type":"news","title":"ISyE launches new undergraduate concentration in Artificial Intelligence and Operations Research in Decision-Making","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech\u0027s H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE)\u003C\/a\u003E is launching a new undergraduate concentration in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/catalog.gatech.edu\/programs\/industrial-engineering-artificial-intelligence-operations-research-bs\/industrial-engineering-artificial-intelligence-operations-research-bs.pdf\u0022\u003EArtificial Intelligence and Operations Research (AI\/OR) \u003C\/a\u003Ein Decision-Making this fall, formalizing a comprehensive AI and machine learning curricula. The concentration brings together machine learning, optimization, online decision-making, and responsible AI into a structured pathway for students who want to specialize at the intersection of artificial intelligence and operations research; fields that have always been deeply connected and are increasingly inseparable in industry practice.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe concentration was developed under the leadership of A. Russell Chandler III Chair and Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/users\/guanghui-lan\u0022\u003EGuanghui (George) Lan\u003C\/a\u003E, who served as the named lead on the proposal to the Institute Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, working with a group of ISyE faculty across the AI, optimization, and statistics areas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe curriculum draws on a portfolio of seven undergraduate courses taught by ISyE faculty, spanning the mathematical and algorithmic foundations of modern AI. Among them is\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EFoundations of AI for Decision Systems\u003C\/em\u003E, developed and taught by Assistant Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/users\/johannes-milz\u0022\u003EJohannes Milz\u003C\/a\u003E, which opens the black box of large language models. Students learn what is actually happening inside the AI systems they use every day from tokenization and attention mechanisms to the training processes that shape model behavior. They will graduate able to explain why outputs vary, why models hallucinate, and when an AI response should be trusted. As Milz has observed, students who enter thinking of AI outputs as either right or wrong leave the course recognizing that hallucination is not a random error but a predictable consequence of how these systems work, a more durable form of AI literacy than any tool-based introduction could provide.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EFoundations of Modern Data Science\u003C\/em\u003E, taught by Gerald D. McInvale Early Career Professor and Assistant Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/users\/ashwin-pananjady\u0022\u003EAshwin Pananjady\u003C\/a\u003E, takes a \u0022looking under the hood\u0022 approach to data science \u2014 developing the probabilistic modeling, statistical inference, and optimization foundations that make modern data methods coherent. Students engage with everything from generative modeling and Bayesian inference to A\/B testing and causal inference, learning to evaluate methods critically rather than apply them as black boxes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe concentration also draws on\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EFoundations and Applications of Machine Learning\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;(ISYE 4600), developed by Coca-Cola Foundation Chair and Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/users\/yao-xie\u0022\u003EYao Xie\u003C\/a\u003E and now taught by her and several other faculty. The course introduces senior undergraduates to the core methods of modern machine learning \u2013 supervised and unsupervised learning, classification, regression, neural networks, feature selection, and ensemble methods \u2013 with an emphasis on mathematical foundations, algorithmic understanding, and practical implementation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETwo additional courses launch alongside the concentration this fall:\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EResponsible AI\u003C\/em\u003E, taught by Assistant Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/users\/juba-ziani\u0022\u003EJuba Ziani\u003C\/a\u003E, which grounds questions of fairness, accountability, and human-aware decision-making in the mathematical tools of machine learning and optimization; and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/syllabus.gatech.edu\/syllabi\/4135\/a\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EOptimization Foundations for Machine Learning and AI\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, taught by Coca-Cola Foundation Chair and Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/users\/katya-scheinberg\u0022\u003EKatya Scheinberg\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETogether with existing courses on modern data science, machine learning, reinforcement learning, online learning, and advanced stochastic systems, the concentration prepares students to understand AI systems from the inside, evaluate their outputs critically, and deploy them responsibly in the complex operational settings where ISyE graduates work: supply chain, healthcare, manufacturing, finance services, and logistics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe concentration\u0027s launch coincides with two new program-wide requirements for all \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/catalog.gatech.edu\/programs\/industrial-engineering-bs\/\u0022\u003EBSIE students\u003C\/a\u003E taking effect Fall 2026: a Systems Design requirement, ensuring every graduate has experience designing solutions at the systems level rather than optimizing components in isolation; and a Human Factors overlay, reflecting the growing centrality of human-AI interaction across every domain where ISyE graduates contribute.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The methods that power modern AI from optimization, stochastic modeling, statistical inference to sequential decision-making are the methods ISyE has taught for decades,\u0022 said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/users\/dima-nazzal\u0022\u003EDima Nazzal\u003C\/a\u003E, Associate Chair for Academic Administration. \u0022What is new is the intentionality with which we are making that connection explicit, and the depth of preparation we are offering students who want to lead in AI-driven industries.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Georgia Tech ISyE engineers will be fluent in AI, responsible in how they deploy it, and grounded in systems thinking"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u0027s H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) is launching a new undergraduate concentration in Artificial Intelligence and Operations Research (AI\/OR) in Decision-Making this fall, formalizing a comprehensive AI and machine learning curricula.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech\u0027s H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) is launching a new undergraduate concentration in Artificial Intelligence and Operations Research (AI\/OR) in Decision-Making this fall, formalizing a comprehensive AI and"}],"uid":"36760","created_gmt":"2026-07-02 14:38:27","changed_gmt":"2026-07-02 14:41:54","author":"jsmith830","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-07-02T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-07-02T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680544":{"id":"680544","type":"image","title":"Pictured Left to Right: Professor Guanghui (George) Lan, Assistant Professor Johannes Milz, Professor Ashwin Pananjady, Professor Yao Xie, Assistant Professor Juba Ziani, and Professor Katya Scheinberg ","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPictured Left to Right:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003EProfessor Guanghui (George) Lan, Assistant Professor Johannes Milz, Professor Ashwin Pananjady, Professor Yao Xie, Assistant Professor Juba Ziani, and Professor Katya Scheinberg\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1783003121","gmt_created":"2026-07-02 14:38:41","changed":"1783003121","gmt_changed":"2026-07-02 14:38:41","alt":"Pictured Left to Right: Professor Guanghui (George) Lan, Assistant Professor Johannes Milz, Professor Ashwin Pananjady, Professor Yao Xie, Assistant Professor Juba Ziani, and Professor Katya Scheinberg ","file":{"fid":"264818","name":"ISyE-Story-Photo.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/02\/ISyE-Story-Photo.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/07\/02\/ISyE-Story-Photo.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":369078,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/07\/02\/ISyE-Story-Photo.jpg?itok=PcIE1yLd"}}},"media_ids":["680544"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"194606","name":"Artificial Intelligence"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"193655","name":"Artificial Intelligence at Georgia Tech"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}