It was a day of inspiration, innovation, and celebration at the annual Tauber Institute for Global Operations Spotlight! Project Showcase and Scholarship Competition, held at the Sheraton Ann Arbor on September 12, 2025. This signature event, now in its 32nd year, continues to shine a spotlight on the remarkable achievements of University of Michigan students from the Ross School of Business and the College of Engineering who are reimagining the future of operations and supply chain management.
Spotlight! 2025 brought together our outstanding Tauber students, industry leaders, alumni, faculty, and staff for an event dedicated to the power of partnership and transformative solutions. Student teams unveiled the results of their intensive summer projects with leading companies.
This year’s companies included Amazon, American Industrial Partners – Enviva BioMass, American Industrial Partners – Grain & Protein Technologies, Boeing Company, Conagra Foods, Emerson Corporation, Enact Systems, L’Oréal, Lear Corporation, Mayo Clinic with Boone Health, Michigan Medicine, National Center for Manufacturing Sciences, Navitas Systems, Nestlé Purina, Pfizer, Inc., Stanley Black & Decker, and Target Corporation.
In addition, the Tauber Institute also introduced a pilot summer capstone project path with Stage 2 companies (Post Start-Up): Fark Labs and KROMATID. All these cross-disciplinary collaborations tackled real-world operational challenges, reinforcing the Tauber Institute’s legacy of producing leaders prepared for complex operations and supply chain environments.
A panel of 24 distinguished judges—senior executives spanning automotive, healthcare, tech, and manufacturing—had the prestigious task of evaluating the projects to determine the scholarship winners. Tauber Institute benefactor Joel Tauber, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday, also took the stage to announce the highly anticipated results and award over $35,000 in scholarships. He also spoke to the audience about helping others along the way and the impact that each one of us can have on the world.
And the 2025 Spotlight! Winners Are:
Tauber team: Gahyun Kim (MBA), Heejung (Celina) Jung (MBA), and Michael Vu (MBA)
Amazon was facing higher-than-target waste load percentages at one of its sort centers, leading to elevated quarterly costs. To address this, Amazon aimed to enhance outbound load efficiency by analyzing waste-related metrics and implementing sustainable process improvements.
Throughout this project, the Tauber team identified root causes, designed scalable solutions, and supported change management initiatives to help the sort center meet its target waste load levels. The project integrated strategic analysis with hands-on operational execution to deliver measurable, lasting impact.
Tauber team: Maya Mileski (MSE IOE), Michael T. Kirk (MBA), and Oscar Roden (MSE IOE)
Emerson’s Stafford facility faced challenges in its warehousing process due to a legacy system reliant on paper tags and outdated inventory tracking. These bottlenecks contributed to material waste, increased costs, and delayed production. The Tauber team developed a streamlined material movement strategy leveraging barcode technology, optimized storage layouts, and real-time inventory visualization to enhance operational efficiency and reduce costs.
Tauber team: Mark Curry (MBA), Nathan O’Sullivan (MBA), Keiran Boerema (MSE IOE), and Reese Liebman (MSE IOE)
This project improved production flow and quality at a Boeing Fuselage Assembly Center. By analyzing current inefficiencies, engaging frontline stakeholders, and piloting scalable solutions, the team helped support higher production capacity targets. The effort focuses on enhancing operational performance to meet future delivery goals.
Tauber team: Ashton Jaffar (MSE Aero) and Max West (MS Robotics)
Navitas Battery Systems is a leading manufacturer of custom lithium-ion battery cells, modules, and packs for electric mobility and energy storage for both commercial and government & defense applications. The Tauber team focused on reducing scrap rates in the assembly process by analyzing key manufacturing data, identifying root causes of waste, and implementing targeted process improvements. This initiative boosted yield, improved quality assurance, and enhanced overall operational efficiency in high-voltage battery production.
Roman Kapuscinski, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Research at the Ross School of Business, took a moment to emphasize the pivotal role of faculty advisors in the Tauber Institute’s success, noting their decades of mentorship and lasting contributions—collectively advising over 80 projects for 70 years. He then presented the Tauber Legacy Awards to three extraordinary faculty members whose dedication has shaped the Institute and its students for more than two decades: Ravi Anupindi, honored for advising 27 projects over 23 years; Izak Duenyas, recognized for his guidance on 27 projects across 24 years; and Len Middleton, celebrated for mentoring 26 projects over 22 years and driving new innovation initiatives. Their commitment has empowered generations of students to deliver transformative results for corporate partners.
“The Tauber project faculty advisors are an integral part of the Tauber Project experience,” said Tauber Institute College of Engineering Co-Director, Saif Benjaafar. “Our sincere gratitude to all of them for their collective contributions and commitment to our program and Tauber students for the 2025 Tauber Project cycle. Your dedication, insight, and support have been the foundation of our teams’ success.”
Recognized for sponsorship longevity were corporate partners Stanley Black & Decker and Target Corporation, each with 10 years of Tauber projects. The Tauber Institute sincerely appreciates these organizations and their contributions.
Class of 2011 Tauber Alum, Andrew Burgess, took the stage to award the annual Tauber Alumni Scholarship. The Tauber Alumni Scholarship Fund endows scholarships that recognize current students for their leadership and involvement in Institute activities. Each year, the alumni scholarship is awarded at Spotlight! to students with at least six months of program experience and evidence of program involvement, thought leadership, and industry engagement.
This year’s recipients, receiving $3000 each, were Katherine Mahler (MBA), Kiersten Koning (EGL), and Jiawen Qi (BTS). Congratulations to these students for their outstanding achievements.
“We extend our sincere thanks to everyone at the University of Michigan, including the Tauber team, as well as to the many external and internal partners who have supported our program throughout the years,” said Anne Partington, Managing Director of the Tauber Institute. “The Tauber Institute is a remarkable example of what is possible with strong academic and industry partnerships. As we celebrate our collective achievements, we look forward to continuing to innovate, develop future talent, and create even greater value together.”
As we begin a new academic year, marked by rapid change and continued global challenges, we are reminded that adaptability, resilience, and community have never been more important. With another year of transformative project outcomes and strong industry collaboration on the horizon, the Tauber Institute is already looking ahead to an even more exciting showcase in 2026.
For more on the Tauber Institute’s pioneering work at the intersection of business and engineering, visit tauber.umich.edu.
For more photos from this year’s event, visit our Flickr album!
