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About
Dr. Daniel Lopes da Silva joined Florida Polytechnic University as an assistant professor of industrial engineering in the fall of 2025. Prior to joining Florida Poly, he worked as a graduate assistant at the Department of Industrial Engineering at Clemson University while pursuing his Ph.D. degree.
While at Clemson, he was president (2023-2024) and vice-president (2022-2023) of the university’s student chapter of INFORMS, a global association for professionals and students in operations research, AI, analytics, data science and related disciplines. The chapter received the Magna Cum Laude Award in each of these two years. While a student, Lopes da Silva also coordinated the K-12 outreach program for Clemson University’s Department of Industrial Engineering.
Prior to this, he was a research assistant at the University of Arkansas’ Department of Industrial Engineering while pursuing a Master of Science degree. During the 2020-2021 academic year, he was secretary of its INFORMS student chapter, which was recognized with the Cum Laude Award.
Lopes da Silva’s research program focuses on operations research and its applications in critical infrastructure reliability and illicit supply chain disruption. He is passionate about engineering education and outreach.
In his free time, Lopes da Silva enjoys playing soccer, reading, traveling and jogging.
Awards and Honors
Education
Expertise
Professional Activities
Selected Publications
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This session will demonstrate that practical risk management is for everyone, regardless of a formal program. Attendees will learn actionable and simple strategies that are easy to implement, enabling them to start immediately by focusing on their top risks to build greater operational resilience and ensure the sustained success of their auxiliary enterprises.
Michelle Powell serves as the pioneering Risk Manager at Florida Polytechnic University, the state’s sole 100% STEM-dedicated institution. Having been with the university for nearly 11 years, Michelle transitioned from a leadership role in Admissions in October 2023 to establish and evolve the risk management function from the ground up. In this solo capacity, Michelle builds robust frameworks for our dynamic, young university, overseeing our insurance portfolio, consulting on third-party and event risks, and developing critical campus-wide training programs. Michelle has obtained the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) Enterprise Risk Management certificate and the Associate in Risk Management (ARM) and Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS) designations. Her distinct background in mathematics and engineering, combined with extensive higher education leadership, brings an analytical and strategic approach enhancing the institution’s resilience.