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Hank Lucas, Chair

The use and proliferation of technology has created a paradigm shift in the way in which organizations buy and sell goods and services, and integrate their supply chain and delivery systems. Technology has also resulted in fundamental transformations in the structure, form, and governance of organizations. Today, information systems and networks represent the critical infrastructure on which corporations and the economy depend not only for the execution of operations, but also increasingly for the formulation of strategy and for competitive differentiation. Corporate leaders must learn to manage enterprises in a netcentric environment by effectively executing the e-infrastructure transformation, extracting the maximum strategic and tactical advantage based on technology use, and designing and implementing electronic marketplaces.

The Decision and Information Technologies department at the Robert H. Smith School of Business seeks to help organizations meet this challenge through its leading-edge research and educational programs. Faculty are involved in the development of state-of-art decision, and information management processes and tools, and in providing thought leadership related to the management of organizations in an increasingly digital economy.

Faculty research in Management Science, Information Systems, Statistics and Data Analysis, and Operations and Supply Chain Management has had international recognition. 

Members of the Management Science Group were ranked sixth in the nation for the practices of operations research (Interfaces, 1997). U.S. News and World Report ranked the Smith School as having the eighth best program in management information systems. The Wall Street Journal ranks Smith's information technology program # 6.