Supply Chain Management
PHD Students
Lila Al-shwaf
PhD Student, Grad Teaching Assistant
Lila Al-shwaf is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Supply Chain Management at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Prior to joining the Ph.D. program in 2021, Al-shwaf received a master’s degree in industrial and systems engineering from Wayne State University and worked for General Motors in value chain engineering, global purchasing and supply chain sustainability. Al-shwaf holds a bachelor’s in business administration with a major in global supply chain management and co-major in University Honors from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Junwoo Cha
PhD Student, Grad Research Assistant
Junwoo Cha is a doctoral student in the Department of Supply Chain Management at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Prior to joining the Ph.D. Program in 2020, Junwoo received a Master of Science degree in Supply Chain Management from the University of Texas at Dallas. Junwoo holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from SolBridge
Vlada Snyder
PhD Student, Grad Teaching Assistant
Vlada Snyder is a doctoral student in the Department of Supply Chain Management at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Haslam College of Business. Prior to joining the doctoral program in 2022, she received an MBA and an honors bachelor of science degree in biomedical sciences from Marquette University.
Chinedu Ufodike
PhD Student, Grad Teaching Assistant
Chinedu Ufodike is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in supply chain management at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business. He holds a master’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Central Florida and a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria. Prior to his doctoral studies, Ufodike worked as a systems engineer for a supply chain consulting firm, where he implemented warehouse automation and robotics solutions for distribution centers.
Ufodike’s research focuses on policy-driven transformation in the transportation sector, particularly at the intersection of regulatory compliance, operational efficiency and environmental sustainability. His work applies econometric methods to evaluate how public policy influences firm behavior and supply chain outcomes.
He is a co-author of a forthcoming article in the Journal of Business Logistics that examines how enforcement heterogeneity across U.S. states affected compliance with the federally mandated electronic logging device (ELD) rule in the for-hire trucking industry. The study found that firms in states that postponed enforcement initially lagged in compliance but caught up as neighboring states implemented stricter oversight — highlighting regulatory spillover effects. This paper received the Best Theoretical-Driven Empirical Research Paper Award at the 2023 Decision Sciences Institute Conference in Atlanta.
Ufodike’s ongoing research includes a study on Clean Truck Programs (CTPs) at U.S. ports, which compares the effectiveness of voluntary versus mandatory programs. Findings indicate that mandatory programs significantly accelerate fleet upgrades and reduce emissions, particularly in low-visibility sectors like drayage trucking, where voluntary compliance is limited.
In another project, Ufodike evaluates the operational and safety impacts of Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR), a lean management strategy adopted by Class I railroads. While PSR improves efficiency, the study reveals associated increases in accident and derailment rates, raising concerns about trade-offs between cost-cutting and safety.
Looking ahead, Ufodike plans to examine the feasibility and impacts of a nationwide mandatory CTP and is expanding his research into OSHA regulatory compliance, particularly the role of symbolic versus substantive responses. He is also collaborating with the Trucking Alliance and the University of Central Arkansas on a study comparing the effectiveness of hair versus urine drug testing among commercial drivers.
Nadja Vorontsova
PhD Student, Grad Teaching Assistant
Nadja Vorontsova joined the doctoral program in the Department of Supply Chain Management at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville`s Haslam College of Business in 2022. She received a master of science degree in integrated supply chain management from UT and a bachelor of science degree in marketing from Western Carolina University. Vorontsova worked for J.Crew and Madewell as a supply chain and operations analyst and held a senior lead role at Heyday, a digitally native “unicorn” startup with focus on consumer packaged goods. Vorontsova`s current research interests focus on the intersection of operations and marketing strategy in the context of sustainability.