Akhil Kumar
Professor
Akhil Kumar joined the Smeal faculty at Penn State in June 2002. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley and has previously been on the faculties at Cornell University and University of Colorado and has spent a sabbatical year as a scientist at Bell Labs, Murray Hill, NJ. He has published more than 125 papers in academic journals and international conferences. He was a recipient of the Fulbright Scholar Award in 2022-23. He was also selected as the Faculty Marshal for the Smeal College of Business in Penn State’s Fall 2020 Commencement. Akhil currently serves as an associate editor for ACM Transactions on Management Information Systems. He has previously been an associate editor for IEEE Transactions on Services Computing, INFORMS Journal on Computing and Information Systems Research. He was a co-program-chair of BPM 2017 Conference. He also served as a co-program chair of CoopIS'11 and as a co-chair of Workshop on Information Technologies and Systems (WITS'07). He has been a principal investigator for National Science Foundation, and also received support from IBM, Sun Microsystems and other organizations for his work. He is a senior member of IEEE and a member of ACM. He was a coauthor of a paper which received the best paper award at the INFORMS Conference on Information Systems and Technology in 2001. He has collaborated extensively with researchers in US, and also internationally with several co-authors at the Technical University of Eindhoven, Netherlands; Ulm University, Germany; Tsinghua University, China; Queensland University of Technology, Australia. Akhil published a book on Business Process Management in 2018 . This book introduces students to business process management, an approach that aims to align the organization's business processes with the demands of the marketplace. Blending a strong grounding in current research with a focus on concepts and tools, Business Process Management is an accessible textbook full of practical examples and cases that will appeal to upper level and graduate students. Akhil has taught various courses at Penn State. MIS479W: Enterprise Resource Planning SCIS505: Information Systems Research Seminar MIS431: Database Systems MIS434: Internet Technologies MIS436: Business Data Communications BA523: Introduction to Information Technologies MIS597: PhD seminar course
Expertise
His current research interests are in Blockchain technology, Business analytics, Deep learning, Health IT and Healthcare forums, BPM and workflow systems, and process mining.
Education
Ph D in Business, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 1988-05-01 MS in Computer Science, The University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 1986-01-01 P.G.D.M. in Information Systems, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India, 1980-01-01 BS in Electrical Engineering, Indian Institutes of Technology, Delhi, India, 1978-01-01
Courses Taught
B A 574 – Business Research
A project paper, comparable in quality and scope of work to a graduate thesis, on problems of a company.
M I S 434 – Internet Technologies
Technical foundations of the eBusiness environment and web applications development to support internet-based commerce.
M I S 436 – Business Data Communications
Introduction to the principles and techniques of business data communication encompassing transmission concepts, network analysis, design, implementation, and administration.
M I S 496
Creative projects, including research and design, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.
M I S 496 – Independent Studies
Creative projects, including research and design, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.
M I S 597A – Foundations of Information Systems (A)
Special topics course.
MIS 434 – Internet Technologies
Technical foundations of the eBusiness environment and web applications development to support internet-based commerce.
MIS 479 – Entrprse Info Sys
Management and implementation of enterprise information systems for business integration and supply chain management. MIS 479 Management of Operations Information/ERP ( 3) This course examines enterprise-wide information systems architecture for the business setting and examines current commercial systems, with a special focus on SAP R/3 development tools and techniques. Topics include: - The acquisition, installation and operation of integrated Enterprise Information Systems [EIS], formerly referred to as Enterprise Resource Management [ERP] systems- The strategic decisions regarding approaches business organizations select for the acquisition and integration of EIS components and how executive level support for such endeavors is obtained- The overall management and coordination techniques used in the design, development and implementation of an organization's EIS, including the role that software vendors and other third party's play in the acquisition and implementation of enterprise systems- The coordination and control of multi-party relationships. Specific analysis and design techniques are taught, including tools and methodologies for analyzing business processes in preparation for implementation of EIS, as well as database and data warehousing requirements.- The methods of determining data communication network requirements- The practical implementation concerns are addressed, such as preparing internal organizational units for migration to a new EIS architecture and to the maintenance and operation of EIS including concerns involving security and control.- The managerial and technical issues involved in the developing and testing of applications and user interfaces and customization of commercial packages.- The career planning issues and ways of obtaining training for specialization and advancement in careers involving EIS. This course will be writing intensive. As such, student evaluations will consist of, at a minimum: examinations, position papers, case studies (written and oral), and homework assignments. Both individual and group assignments will be used. The objective is to enhance writing ability relevant to students preparing for careers in business. Group report writing, brief technical writing, technical documentation, end-user documentation, and memo writing will be covered. The major group writing assignments will be required throughout the semester, as well as individual assignments that will be prepared in preparation for the group. Peer assessments and instructor feedback and evaluation will be provided on a regular basis. This is a prescribed course for the M I S major and will be provided in fall and spring semester in sections of nor more than 30 students.
MIS 479W – Enterprise Information Systems (W)
Management and implementation of enterprise information systems for business integration and supply chain management.
MIS 479W – Entrprse Info Sys (W)
Management and implementation of enterprise information systems for business integration and supply chain management. MIS 479 Management of Operations Information/ERP ( 3) This course examines enterprise-wide information systems architecture for the business setting and examines current commercial systems, with a special focus on SAP R/3 development tools and techniques. Topics include: - The acquisition, installation and operation of integrated Enterprise Information Systems [EIS], formerly referred to as Enterprise Resource Management [ERP] systems- The strategic decisions regarding approaches business organizations select for the acquisition and integration of EIS components and how executive level support for such endeavors is obtained- The overall management and coordination techniques used in the design, development and implementation of an organization's EIS, including the role that software vendors and other third party's play in the acquisition and implementation of enterprise systems- The coordination and control of multi-party relationships. Specific analysis and design techniques are taught, including tools and methodologies for analyzing business processes in preparation for implementation of EIS, as well as database and data warehousing requirements.- The methods of determining data communication network requirements- The practical implementation concerns are addressed, such as preparing internal organizational units for migration to a new EIS architecture and to the maintenance and operation of EIS including concerns involving security and control.- The managerial and technical issues involved in the developing and testing of applications and user interfaces and customization of commercial packages.- The career planning issues and ways of obtaining training for specialization and advancement in careers involving EIS. This course will be writing intensive. As such, student evaluations will consist of, at a minimum: examinations, position papers, case studies (written and oral), and homework assignments. Both individual and group assignments will be used. The objective is to enhance writing ability relevant to students preparing for careers in business. Group report writing, brief technical writing, technical documentation, end-user documentation, and memo writing will be covered. The major group writing assignments will be required throughout the semester, as well as individual assignments that will be prepared in preparation for the group. Peer assessments and instructor feedback and evaluation will be provided on a regular basis. This is a prescribed course for the M I S major and will be provided in fall and spring semester in sections of nor more than 30 students.
MIS 479W – Management of Operations Information/ERP (W)
Management and implementation of enterprise information systems for business integration and supply chain management.
MIS 494H – Research Project (H)
Supervised student activities on research projects identified on an individual or small-group basis.
MIS 496 – Indep Studies
Creative projects, including research and design, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.
MS&IS 496 – Independent Studies
Creative projects, including research and design, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.
MS&IS 596 – Individual Studies
Creative projects, including nonthesis research, which are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses.
SC&IS 494H – SC&IS Senior Honors Thesis (H)
Supervised student activities on research projects identified on an individual or small-group basis.
SC&IS 496 – Independent Studies
Creative projects, including research and design, that are supervised on an individual basis and that fall outside the scope of formal courses.
SC&IS 505 – Management Information Systems Research
Research problems and issues in supply chain and information systems.
SC&IS 596 – Individual Studies
Creative projects, including nonthesis research, that are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses. A specific title may be used in each instance and will be entered on the student's transcript.
SC&IS 597E – Information Systems (E)
Formal courses given on a topical or special interest subject which may be offered infrequently; several different topics may be taught in one year or semester.
SCIS 505 – M I s Res
Research problems and issues in supply chain and information systems. SC&IS 505 Management Information Systems Research (3) This is a Ph.D. level course designed to familiarize students with information systems theories and research methodologies. Special emphasis is given to the design science paradigm and, specifically, to process and data modeling of information systems problems using techniques like UML, XML, and Petri-nets. In addition, workflow systems as an application of process modeling will be studied. After completing this course, students will have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to discuss and critically reflect on:a) Information system research paradigms b) Information system modeling techniques c) Coordination theory d) Workflow models, management and architectures e) Information systems in supply chainsThis is a prescribed research foundation course. Student evaluations are based on class participation, individual and group assignments, and exams. This course will be offered during Fall semester for 5-10 students.
Selected Publications
Dobariya O., Kumar A. "Mind Your Tone: Investigating How Prompt Politeness Affects LLM Accuracy" Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), 2026-08-01
Ivanov A., Ghoshal A., Kumar A. "From Stars to Dogs: A Data Analytic Approach to Identifying "Out-Of-Favor" Products on E-Commerce Platforms" Production and Operations Management, vol. 34, 2025-06-01
Marcinkevage C. H., Kumar A. "Generative AI in Higher Education Constituent Relationship Management (CRM): Opportunities, Challenges, and Implementation Strategies" Computers, vol. 14, 2025-03-12
Kumar A., Zhao J. L. "LLM-based System Design Automation (LSDA) Using Generative AI: Exploring a Formalized Framework Based on Experiments" Proceedings of Thirty-first Americas Conference on Information Systems, Montréal, 2025, 2025-01-01
Kumar A. "Artificial Intelligence" Smeal Magazine, 2024-06-01
Fan S., Ilk N., Kumar A., Zhao J. L., Xu R. "Blockchain as a Trust Machine: From Disillusionment to Enlightenment in the Era of Generative AI" Decision Support Systems, 2024-05-01
Kuik S., Kumar A., Diong L., Ban J. "A systematic literature review on the transition to circular business models for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)" sustainability, vol. 15, 2023-06-09
Kumar A., Sofer P., Tsoury A. T. "Normalizing Object-Centric Process Logs by Applying Database Principles" Information Systems, vol. 115, 2023-05-01
Kumar A., Liu R. "Business Workflow Optimization Through Process Model Redesign" IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, vol. 69, 2022-12-01
Fan S., Ilk N., Kumar A., Xu R., Zhao L. "From Data Processing to Blockchain Networking —A Recount and Projection of Information Systems Research" Quarterly Journal of Economics and Management, vol. 1, 2022-12-01
Ivanov A., Ghoshal A., Kumar A. "Identifying "out-of-favor" products at an E-Commerce Platform" 32nd Workshop on Information Technologies and Systems (WITS 2022), 2022-12-01
Liu R., Kumar A., Lee J. "Multi-level Team Assignment in Social Business Processes: An Algorithm and Simulation Study" Information Systems Frontiers, vol. 24, 2022-01-01
Qian C., Wen L., Kumar A. "An Approach for Process Model Extraction by Multi-grained Text Classification" Advanced Information Systems Engineering - 32nd International Conference, CAiSE, Proceedings, vol. 12127 LNCS, 2020-06-01
Adams M., Suriadi S., Kumar A., ter Hofstede A. "Flexible integration of blockchain with business process automation: A federated architecture" Advanced Information Systems Engineering: CAiSE Forum Proceedings, 2020-06-01
Pei J., Wen L., Ye X., Kumar A. "Efficient Transition Adjacency Relation Computation for Process Model Similarity" IEEE Transactions on Services Computing, vol. 15, 2020-04-01
Kumar A., Liu R., Shan Z. "Is Blockchain a Silver Bullet for SupplyChain Management? Technical Challenges and Research Opportunities." Decision Sciences, vol. 51, 2020-02-01
Kumar A., Liu S. "Analyzing a Helpdesk Process Through the Len of Actor Handoff Patterns" International Conference on Business Process Management, BPM Forum, vol. 329, 2020-01-01
Kumar A., Liu S. "Analyzing Performance of a Global Help Desk Team Operation - Country Handoffs, Efficiencies and Costs" the 53rd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2020-01-01
Qian C., Wen L., Kumar A. "BePT: A Behavior-based Process Translator for Interpreting and Understanding Process Models" Proceedings of The 28th ACM International Conference on Information and Knowledge Management, 2019-11-01
Zhao K., Scheibe K., Blackhurst J., Kumar A. "Supply Chain Network Robustness Against Disruptions: Topological Analysis, Measurement, and Optimization" IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, vol. 66, 2019-02-01
Yang F., Zhong B., Kumar A., Chow S., Ouyang A. "Exchanging Social Support Online: A Longitudinal Social Network Analysis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome Patients' Interactions on a Health Forum" Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, vol. 95, 2018-10-01
Kumar A. "Business Process Management" Routledge, 2018-02-01
Chow S., Kumar A., Ouyang A., Zhong B., Lee J., Inverso N. "What can physicians learn from social forums: Insights from an on-line self help and support group." 2017 IEEE 7th International Conference on Computational Advances in Bio and Medical Sciences (ICCABS), 2017-10-01
Carmona J., Engels G., Kumar A. "Business Process Management - 15th International Conference, BPM 2017, Barcelona, Spain, September 10-15, 2017, Proceedings." Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 10445, 2017-09-01
Carmona J., Engels G., Kumar A. "Business Process Management Forum - BPM Forum 2017, Barcelona, Spain, September 10-15, 2017, Proceedings." Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing 297, Springer, vol. 297, 2017-09-01
Qian C., Wen L., Wang J., Kumar A., Li H. "Structural Descriptions of Process Models Based on Goal-Oriented Unfolding." 29th International Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering (CAiSE 2017), 2017-06-01
Knuplesch D., Reichert M., Kumar A. "A framework for visually monitoring business process compliance" Inf. Syst., vol. 64, 2017-03-01
Kumar A., Barton R. R. "Controlled violation of temporal process constraints - Models, algorithms and results" Inf. Syst., vol. 64, 2017-03-01
Wang S., Wen L., Kumar A., Wang J., Su J. "ExRORU: A New Approach to Characterize the Behavioral Semantics of Process Models (Short Paper)" OTM Confederated International Conferences" On the Move to Meaningful Internet Systems", 2016-10-01
Kumar A., Indradat P. "Optimizing Process Model Redesign" International Conference on Service-Oriented Computing, 2016-10-01
Pei J., Wen L., Ye X., Kumar A., Lin Z. "Transition Adjacency Relation Computation Based on Unfolding: Potentials and Challenges" OTM Confederated International Conferences" On the Move to Meaningful Internet Systems", 2016-10-01
Eshuis R., Kumar A. "Converting Unstructured into Semi-Structured Process Models" Data and Knowledge Engineering, vol. 101, 2016-01-01
Cheng H., Kumar A. "Process Mining on Noisy Logs – Can log sanitization help to improve performance?" Decision Support Systems, vol. 79, 2015-11-01
Kumar A., Sabbella S., Barton R. R. "Managing controlled violation of temporal process constraints" BPM Conference, 2015, 2015-09-01
Knuplesch D., Reichert M., Kumar A. "Visually Monitoring Multiple Perspectives of Business Process Compliance" BPM Conference, 2015, 2015-09-01
Knuplesch D., Reichter M., Kumar A. "Towards Visually Monitoring Multiple Perspectives of Business Process Compliance" Proceedings of CAiSE Forum 2015, 2015-06-01
Kumar A., Wang J. "A Framework for Resource-Based Workflow Management." Handbook on Business Process Management, 2015-01-01
Liu R., Kumar A. "Impact of Socio-Technical Network on Process Performance" Proceedings of CollaborateCom 2014, 2014-10-01
Kumar A., Zhao K. "Making Sense of a Healthcare Forum – Smart keyword and user navigation graphs" International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS 2013), 2013-12-01
Yang C. C., Chiu R., Lin S., Kumar A. "Patient-Centered Research and Social Media" 2013-11-01
Knuplesch D., Reichert M., Ly L. T., Kumar A., Rinderle-Ma S. "Visual Modeling of Business Process Compliance Rules with the Support of Multiple Perspectives" Proceedings of ER 2013, 2013-11-01
Rolia J., Yao W., Basu S., Lee W., Singhal S., Kumar A., Sabbella S. "Tell Me What I Don't Know - Making the most of Social Health Forums" IEEE International Conference on Healthcare Informatics (ICHI), 2013-09-01
Kumar A., Dijkman R., Song M. "Optimal resource assignment in workflows for maximizing cooperation" 11th International Conference on Business Process Management, vol. LNCS 8094, 2013-08-01
Kumar A., Yao W., Chu C. "Flexible Business Process Compliance with Semantic Constraints using Mixed-Integer Programming (MIP)" INFORMS J. on Computing, vol. 25, 2013-07-01
Zhao K., Kumar A. "Who Blogs What: Understanding the Publishing Behavior of Bloggers" World Wide Web, vol. 16, 2013-05-01
Yao W., Kumar A. "CONFlexFlow: Integrating Flexible Clinical Pathways into Clinical Decision Support Systems using Context and Rules" Decision Support Systems, vol. 55, 2013-02-01
Yao W., Rolia J. A., Basu S., Singhal S., Kumar A. "A Context-Aware framework for patient Navigation and Engagement (CANE)" IEEE CollaborateCom 2012, 2012-10-01
Shan Z., Kumar A. "Optimal Adapter Creation for Process Composition in Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Communication" ACM Transactions on Management Information Systems, vol. 3, 2012-07-01
Yao W., Kumar A., Rolia J., Basu S., Singhal S. "Towards a Formal Process-driven Framework for Streamlining Patient-centric Care" Computer Aided Software Engineering (CAiSE) Forum, 2012-06-01
Huang Z., Kumar A. "A Study of Quality and Accuracy Tradeoffs in Process Mining" INFORMS Journal on Computing, vol. 34, 2012-04-01
Kumar A., Yao W. "Design and management of flexible process variants using templates and rules" Computers in Industry, vol. 63, 2012-02-01
Yao W., Kumar A. "Integrating Clinical Pathways into CDSS using Context and Rules – A Case Study in Heart Disease" ACM Special Interest Group on Health Informatics (SIGHIT) Symposium, 2012-01-01
Kumar A., Sen A. K., Sundari M., Bagchi A. "Semantic Notions of Weakly Correct AND/XOR Business Workflows based on Partial Synchronization" Proceedings of the IEEE Services Computing Conference (SCC 2011), 2011-07-01
Kumar A., Zhao K., Yen J. "Achieving High Robustness in Supply Distribution Networks by Rewiring" IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, vol. 58, 2011-05-01
Zhao K., Kumar A., Harrison T. P., Yen J. "Analyzing the Resilience of Complex Supply Network Topologies against Random and Targeted Disruptions" IEEE Systems Journal, vol. 5, 2011-03-01
Liu R., Kumar A. "Leveraging information Sharing to Configure Supply Chains" Information Systems Frontiers, vol. 13, 2011-03-01
van der Aalst W., van Hee K., van der Werf J., Kumar A., Verdonk M. "Conceptual Model for online Auditing" Decision Support Systems, vol. 50, 2011-02-01
Shan Z., Kumar A., Liu R. "Creating a Minimal Adapter for Multiple Business Process Composition." Proceedings of the Twentieth Workshop on Information Technology and Systems (WITS 2010), 2010-12-01
Zhao K., Kumar A., Spaziani M., Yen J. "Who Blogs What: Understanding Behavior, Impact and Types of Bloggers." Proceedings of the Twentieth Workshop on Information Technology and Systems (WITS 2010), 2010-12-01
Kumar A., Yao W., Chu C., Li Z. "Ensuring Compliance with Semantic Constraints in Process Adaptation with Rule-Based Event Processing" The International RuleML Symposium, vol. LNCS 6403, 2010-10-21
Eshuis R., Kumar A. "An Integer Programming based Approach for Verification and Diagnosis of Workflows" Data and Knowledge Engineering, vol. 69, 2010-08-01
Shan Z., Kumar A., Grefen P. "Towards Integrated Service Adaptation – A New Approach Combining Message and Control Flow Adaptation" IEEE International Conference on Web Services, ICWS 2010, 2010-07-01
Kumar A., Wang J. "A framework for designing resource driven workflow systems" The International Handbook on Business Process Management, Vol. 1, 2010-06-01
Huang Z., Kumar A. "New Quality Metrics for Evaluating Process Models" BPI workshop (BPM'08 Conference), Milan, Italy, Sept. 2008, 2008-09-01
Kumar A., Liu R. "A Rule-Based Framework to Design Compliant Business Processes Using Role Patterns" The International RuleML Symposium on Rule Interchange and Applications, RULEML-2008, Orlando, Florida: October 30-31, 2008, 2008-01-01
Kumar A., Shan Z. "Algorithms Based on Pattern Analysis for Verification and Adapter Creation for Business Process Composition" CoopIS'08, OTM Conferences, November 2008, 2008-01-01
Kumar A., Liu R., van der Aalst W. "A formal modeling approach for supply chain event management." Decision Support Systems, vol. 43, 2007-01-01
Kumar A., Wainer J., Barthelmess P. "DW-RBAC: A Formal Security Model of Delegation and Revocation in Workflow Systems." Information Systems, vol. 32, 2007-01-01