A UNCG graduate student, Yoshitaka Shimakawa, attained international recognition when he won first place in the APICS Educational and Research Foundation 2004 Donald W. Fogarty International Student Paper Competition.

In addition to being recognized by an international organization, Shimikawa was awarded a $750 cash prize for his research paper “Warehouse Location: A Case Study in an Airbag Manufacturing Company.” The paper was written based on an internship with Takata Corp. under the direction of Dr. Vidyaranya Gargeya, associate professor of operations management in the Bryan School of Business and Economics.

“Globalization is the order of the day,” Gargeya said. “Shimikawa’s efforts fit right in with this theme. Here we have an international student from Japan at UNCG working as an intern for an international company in Greensboro and winning an international student paper competition. This is an example of the kind of thing that we, the students and faculty of the Bryan School, strive for in building globalization as part of our mission for more than a decade.”

Shimakawa’s paper analyzed logistical information, including cost and service, to determine the best site location for a warehouse in the automotive parts industry. He tied with Vicki Henderson Rouse of Miami University for first place in the graduate student category.

APICS (The Association for Operations Management) is a not-for-profit education organization specializing in professional certifications, educational programs and publications for manufacturing and service industry professionals. They hold a competition yearly to encourage professional development for students interested in operations management.

Full-time or part-time graduate and undergraduate students submit original research papers on topics relevant to operations management to their local APICS chapter. From there, students who produce deserving papers compete at local and administrative levels. Winners receive cash awards and recognition on the APICS website.