Gülru Özkan-Seely

Associate Professor Tenured

Gülru Özkan-Seely

Associate Professor Tenured

Gülru Özkan-Seely is an Associate Professor of Operations Management at the School of Business at the University of Washington Bothell. She holds a Ph.D. in Operations Management from Scheller College of Business at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA. She also received an MBA from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia and a B.S. in Environmental Engineering at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. Prior to joining the UW Bothell School of Business, Gülru taught at Georgia Institute of Technology and at Clemson University in Clemson, SC.

Gülru’s research interests include new product development, knowledge management and management of technology. Her goal as a researcher is to develop a rich and multifaceted understanding of how technology and knowledge management, as well as behavioral factors and product launch strategies, drive successful NPD outcomes. In a series of papers, she develops insight into how firm attributes (e.g., team dynamics and individuals’ behaviors) and market characteristics (e.g., time-based competition) drive knowledge and technology management strategies. As such, she provides a holistic framework to understand drivers of successful NPD under technology innovation and dynamic markets.

In her research, Gülru utilizes many tools, including methodologies such as optimal control theory including stochastic optimal control and impulsive optimal control, game theory, signaling games and lab-controlled experiments. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in journals such as Operations Research, Organization Science, Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, Decision Sciences Journal, Quality Management Journal and Journal of Enterprise Transformation. Her work was recognized as the finalist of the 2025 Decisions Sciences Journal Best Paper Award, winner of the 2023 Decision Sciences Journal Best Paper Award, finalist of 2020 TIMES INFORMS Best Paper Award and a finalist of the Junior Faculty Best Paper Award in the 2018 International Workshop on Behavioral Operations Management. She is an Editorial Review Board member for the IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management and frequently reviews research papers for Management Science, Manufacturing and Service Operations Management Journal, Production and Operations Management Society Journal, Decision Sciences Journal, National Science Foundation, Naval Research Logistics, Journal of Business Research, International Journal of Operations Management, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, International Journal of Production Research. Gülru is active in professional societies and is currently a Board Member of Programs of the Technology, Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship Section (TIMES), INFORMS Society and of the College of Product Innovation and Technology Management of POMS.

Gülru’s past teaching experience includes core Operations Management courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels and Introduction to Supply Chain Management at the undergraduate level. She also taught the elective Management of Technology courses to undergraduate and graduate students and the core Management Science course to the undergraduate students at Georgia Institute of Technology. She embraces teaching as an opportunity to equip students with the knowledge and tools to understand and solve business problems in management of operations, supply chains and technology. Gülru is the recipient of 2019-2020 MBA Teaching Award, School of Business, UW Bothell (Bellevue location).

Gülru integrates community-engaged teaching into her courses, having worked with upwards of 170 partners on more than 200 projects with graduate and undergraduate students. Gülru is the winner of the 2021 Outstanding Community-Engaged Scholar Award.

Education

Ph.D. in Operations Management
Georgia Institute of Technology

MBA in General Management
Georgia State University

BS in Environmental Engineering
Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey

Courses

  • BBUS 340 Operations and Project Management – Undergraduate
  • BBUS 482 Introduction to Supply Chain Management – Undergraduate
  • BBUS 509 Operations Management – Graduate

Research and Scholarship Interests

New Product Development (NPD), Innovation and Technology Management, Operations Strategy, Utilization of Artificial Intelligence in NPD, Organizational and Behavioral Issues in Operations Management, Outsourcing of Production and Launching Strategies of New Products, Adaptive Planning of NPD, Signaling games, Dynamic Systems, Competition, Design of Cooperation and Coordination Contracts, Signaling games.

University of Washington Bothell School of Business
Associate Dean for Academic Programs, 2025 to 2026
Associate Professor – Operations Management, 2022 to present
Assistant Professor – Operations Management, 2015 to 2022

Georgia Institute of Technology, Scheller School of Business
Visiting Assistant Professor, 2014 to 2015

Clemson University
Assistant Professor – Management, 2009 to 2014

Administrative Appointment and Key Leadership Positions

  • Associate Dean for Academic Programs, 2025 to 2026
  • Area Coordinator, Operations Management and Information Systems, 2022 to 2023; 2024 to 2025
  • Chair, MBA Admissions Committee, 2024 to 2025
  • Member, Personnel Committee for Annual Review of Assistant Professors, 2025
  • Member, Dean Search Advisory Committee, 2024 to 2025
  • Member, Elected Faculty Council, 2024 to 2025
  • Faculty Advisor, Supply Chain Management Club, 2018 to 2023; 2024 to 2025
  • Member, Graduate Council, 2016 to 2017; 2019 to 2020; 2022 to 2023
  • Member, Undergraduate Council, 2020 to 2022

Üçer Engineering
Environmental Engineer, 2000

Bank of Provinces, Ankara, Turkey
Environmental Engineer, 1999

  • Özkan-Seely, G. F., Hall, D. C., & Hutchison-Krupat, J. (2024). “Search for the Best Alternative: An Experimental Approach.” Decision Sciences Journal, 55(1), 57–67.
  • Seyffert, M., Wu, C., & Özkan-Seely, G. F. (2024). “Insights into the Impact of Organizational Factors and Burnout on the Employees of a For-Profit Psychiatric Hospital during the Third Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(4), 484–503.
  • Chen, Q., Özkan-Seely, G. F., Wang, S., & Roth, A. V. (2022). “Knowledge-Based View of the Use of an Intermediary in New Product Manufacturing Outsourcing.” Decision Sciences Journal, 53(5), 856–895.
  • Wang, S., & Özkan-Seely, G. F. (2018). “Signaling Product Quality Through a Trial Period.” Operations Research, 66(2), 301–312.
  • Chen, Q., Özkan-Seely, G. F., & Roth, A. V. (2017). “The Role of Direct Outsourcing in New Product Manufacturing Strategy.” Journal of Enterprise Transformation, 7(3–4), 168–187.
  • Özkan-Seely, G. F., Gaimon, C., & Kavadias, S. (2015). “Dynamic Knowledge Transfer and Knowledge Development for Product and Process Design Teams.” Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, 17(2), 177–190.
  • Özkan-Seely, G. F. (2014). “Strategies for Environmental and Traditional Quality Efforts During New Product Development: Balancing Complementarity and Conflict.” Quality Management Journal, 21(4), 23–35.
  • Gaimon, C., Özkan, G. F., & Napoleon, K. (2011). “Dynamic Resource Capabilities: Managing Workforce Knowledge with a Technology Upgrade.” Organization Science, 22(6), 1560–1578.
  • Rohleder, C., Lin, J., Kusuma, I., & Özkan, G. F. (2013). “Requirements Engineering in Business Analytics for Innovation and Product Lifecycle Management.” In Advances in Conceptual Modeling (pp. 51–58). Springer International Publishing

Teaching Awards

  • Dean’s Undergraduate Full-Time Faculty Teaching Excellence Award (Honorable Mention) – 2023
  • Dean’s Undergraduate Full-Time Faculty Teaching Excellence Award (Honorable Mention) – 2021
  • MBA Teaching Award, University of Washington Bothell School of Business – 2019 to 2020

Research & Service Awards

  • Decision Sciences Journal Best Paper Award Finalist – 2025 
  • Decision Sciences Journal Best Paper Award – 2023 
  • Outstanding Community-Engaged Scholar Award, University of Washington Bothell – 2021 
  • INFORMS Technology, Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship (TIMES) Best Paper Award Finalist – 2020 
  • Junior Faculty Best Paper Award Finalist, International Workshop on Behavioral Operations Management – 2018 
  • University of Washington Bothell Research Grant – “Artificial Intelligence Utilization and Collaboration for New Product Development” – 2025
  • University of Washington Bothell Research Grant – “The Entrepreneur Offshore Contract Manufacturing: When Does It Make Sense to Hire an Agent?” – 2024
  • Research Excellence Fund, University of Washington Bothell – “Adapting to Unknown Unknowns: Shepherding Radical Innovations to Market” – 2022
  • Clemson University Summer Grant – “Optimal Search for the Best Alternative: An Experimental Approach” – 2013
  • Clemson University Summer Grant – “Knowledge Management Strategies for Joint Development of New Products” – 2012

Editorial Boards

Editorial Review Board Member
IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management
2017 to present

Board Membership

Board Member
Technology, Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship (TIMES), INFORMS
2013 to 2019

Board Member
College of Product Innovation and Technology Management, Production and Operations Management Society (POMS)
2014 to 2021

Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), Production and Operations Management Society (POMS), Decision Sciences Institute (DSI), European Operations Management Association (EUROMA)