TOM is a team of highly qualified and motivated researchers with interests in specifics of technology-based enterprises and global supply chains. TOM’s collaborators typically have an engineering or mathematical background and are typically financially supported by the CDM while working toward their PhD. TOM is directed by Professor Ralf W. Seifert.
Prof. Dr. Ralf W. Seifert
EPFL – TOM
Odyssea 1.03, Station 5
1015 Lausanne – Switzerland
Phone: +41 21 693 00 22
Fax: +41 21 693 00 20
[email protected]
Ralf W. Seifert is Professor of Technology & Operations Management (TOM) at the College of Management of Technology (CDM) at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). In addition, he serves as Professor of Operations Management at IMD International.
Professor Seifert earned his Ph.D. and M.S. degree in the Department of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University, a Diplom-Ingenieur degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Karlsruhe (TH), and a Masters degree in Integrated Manufacturing Systems Engineering from North Carolina State University. In addition, he spent one year as a Visiting Scholar in Operations Research at Waseda University in Tokyo. Professor Seifert is a citizen of Germany and Switzerland.
Ms. Ilona Ball

Administrative Assistant
EPFL – TOM
Odyssea 3.16, Station 5
1015 Lausanne – Switzerland
Phone: +41 21 693 00 39
Fax: +41 21 693 00 20
[email protected]
Dr. Anna Timonina-Farkas

EPFL – TOM
Odyssea 3.15, Station 5
1015 Lausanne – Switzerland
Anna Timonina-Farkas is a scientific researcher in the field of Operations Research and Operations Management at TOM EPFL. Her focus is on theory and data-driven solution methods in multi-stage optimization under model and decision-dependent uncertainties. Before joining EPFL, she served as a Research Scholar at the Risk, Policy and Vulnerability program at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (Vienna, Austria), developing optimal governmental strategies for natural disaster risk-management. Further, as the recipient of a Schrödinger Fellowship from the Austrian Science Fund, she conducted postdoctoral research at the Risk, Analytics and Optimization Department at EPFL. She has received several grants and awards for the quality of her research (Enterprise for Society grant, 2022; University of Vienna Publication Award, 2017; Schrödinger Fellowship, 2015; Best Student Paper Prize at CMS, 2013; IIASA’s Mikhalevich Award, 2011). She is also a holder of the licensing rights with TTO EPFL (FindeX technology) for the ranking of growing networks.
Mr. Andrey Vasilyev

EPFL – TOM
Odyssea 4.15, Station 5
1015 Lausanne – Switzerland
Andrey Vasilyev obtained a B.Sc. degree in Mathematics from the Higher School of Economics (National Research University, Moscow), followed by a M.Sc. degree in Operational Research with Data Science from the University of Edinburgh. In September 2018, he joined the Chair of Technology and Operations Management in order to pursue a PhD.
Ms. Yara Kayyali Elalem

EPFL – TOM
Odyssea 4.15, Station 5
1015 Lausanne – Switzerland
Yara Kayyali Elalem graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the American University of Beirut in 2016. She then joined the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne where she obtained a master’s in Management, Technology, and Entrepreneurship, with a minor in Systems Engineering. She joined the Chair of Technology and Operations Management in September 2018 to pursue a PhD.
Ms. Buse Sen

EPFL – TOM
Odyssea 4.15, Station 5
1015 Lausanne – Switzerland
Buse Sen received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Industrial Engineering Department of Bilkent University, in 2020 and 2022, respectively. In September 2022, she joined the Chair of Technology and Operations Management at EPFL to pursue a PhD.