Prior to my career in academia, I gained valuable experience through 5 years of service in the military and 2 years in the corporate world. However, I discovered that teaching is the most challenging, intellectually stimulating, and fulfilling profession I have ever pursued.
Since the fall semester of 1992, I have had the privilege of teaching a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses at LSU. These courses have encompassed areas such as managerial statistics, operations research, business forecasting, data mining, and operations management.
I'm also a key architect in the development of online curriculum for the MS in Analytics (MSA) program at LSU. Currently, I focus exclusively on teaching graduate courses within the MSA and MBA programs.
Teaching undergraduate courses, especially honors courses, at LSU has been a source of great enjoyment for me.
Statistically speaking, I can conclude with the 95% level of confidence that all the LSU students are cheerful, smiling, and bright! (Remember, don't be an "outlier" in the classroom!)
▪ ISDS 2010 Introduction to Business Statistics (Honors course)
▪ ISDS 2011 Statistical Methods and Decision Models (Honors course)
▪ ISDS 3115 Introduction to Operations Management
▪ ISDS 4000 Introduction to Statistical Theory
▪ ISDS 4010 Basic Forecasting Models
▪ ISDS 4020 Operations Research for managerial Decisions
▪ ISDS 4021 Foundations of Mathematical Programming
At present, my commitments have become quite extensive, and my regular teaching load primarily consists of a few graduate courses.
A significant portion of my time and energy is also dedicated to the development and instruction of various online courses.
Please feel free to ask if you have any job-related questions from your workplaces! You have my "life-time warranty"!
▪ BADM 7020 Managerial Statistics
▪ ISDS 7024 Statistical Analysis
▪ ISDS 7103 Operations Research and Analytics
▪ ISDS 7075 Business Forecasting
▪ ISDS 7025 Advanced Statistical Analysis for Research (Ph.D. Seminar)
If one dedicates enough time to teaching, they can accumulate various accomplishments and recognition.
Despite the perception that courses involving numbers, formulas, and equations may not be considered "fun" in a business school setting, I have consistently maintained a reputation as a devoted, patient, and proficient instructor within the classroom.
▪ Received the Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching - Graduate, Louisiana State University (April 18, 2024).
▪ Voted the Professor of the Year Award at graduation banquet by the LSU MBA Students Association in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 (The award is no longer available since 2014.)
▪ Won the LSU Alumni Association Faculty Excellence Award "which recognizes faculty members for outstanding teaching, research, and/or service." (May 8, 2000).
▪ Received the Erich Sternberg Foundation Excellence in Teaching Award (April 30, 2003).
▪ Nominated for Faculty Honor Roll by the graduating seniors for "his contribution to student life and the undergraduate experience at LSU." (May 2000).
▪ Appointed as Marjory B. Ourso Center for Excellence in Teaching endowed professor, 8/1999 ~ 08/05.
▪ Received the Tiger Athletic Foundation Undergraduate Teaching Award, Louisiana State University (May 12, 1998).
▪ Received the Business Partnership Excellence in Teaching Award, Louisiana State University (May 6, 1995).
Welcome to the Flores MBA Program! Pursuing an MBA is an exciting journey, and many prospective students wonder what life is really like inside the program.
It’s a dynamic, rewarding experience, filled with personal growth, professional development, meaningful connections, and unforgettable moments.
As the Faculty Advisor to the Flores MBA Programs at LSU, I have been deeply involved in recruiting, supporting, and advancing our MBA students throughout their time in the program.
To give you a glimpse into the everyday life of an MBA student, I’ve curated a photo album that highlights the activities, milestones, and experiences that make this journey truly memorable.
▪ Welcome reception: The official starting point of the MBA journey, where incoming students meet faculty, staff, and classmates for the first time.
▪ Team building: A series of engaging activities designed to build trust, collaboration, and early bonds among the new cohorts.
▪ MBA students: A look at the diverse faces and backgrounds that make up the LSU MBA community.
▪ Classroom: Moments from group presentations, case discussions, and exams that define the academic experience.
▪ Guest speakers: Highlights from the Distinguished Speaker Series held on Fridays, featuring leaders shaping business and industry.
▪ Tailgate parties: Scenes from spirited tailgates before LSU football games, where students unwind and celebrate together.
▪ MBA cohort games: Friendly competitions among the four cohorts, showcasing teamwork, strategy, and plenty of Tiger spirit.
▪ "Keep the Pace" 5k run: A meaningful fundraising event held in memory of a former MBA student, bringing the community together for a cause.
▪ International study trip: Global learning experiences in China, Brazil, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, and Peru.
▪ Honors banquet: The elegant annual celebration recognizing outstanding achievements on the eve of commencement.
▪ Commencement: The finish line—where hard work, resilience, and growth culminate in a proud graduation moment.
Service is an essential element of faculty responsibility, and my contributions extend across departmental, college, university, and professional domains, consistently guided by a focus on academic quality, student success, and collaborative governance.
Taken together, these activities reflect my sustained commitment to advancing the institution, supporting students and colleagues, and contributing meaningfully to the academic profession.
1. College Level
▪ Faculty Advisor to the Flores MBA Programs, 5/2014 ~ present.
▪ Member of MBA Curriculum Committee, 9/2009 ~ present.
▪ Chairman or Member of the Tenure and Promotion Committee, 8/2002 ~ 08/2012.
▪ Chairman or Member of the Instructional Support and Development Committee, 9/1996 - 8/2002.
▪ Member of multiple search committees, including those for endowed chairs, the MBA program director, the department chair, and other key academic leadership positions.
2. University Level
▪ Member of the Councile on Research at LSU, 8/2010~present.
▪ Member of the Program Review Committee at LSU, 2/1/2010~5/31/2010.
▪ Member of the Graduate Council, Graduate School at LSU, 1/1/2010~6/30/2010.
▪ Member of the Faculty Senate (Faculty Grievance Committee) at LSU, 9/2007~8/2010.
▪ Member of the Advisory Council for Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) at LSU, 9/2001~8/2004.
▪ Friend of Freshmen, Provost Office, Northeastern University, 1991.
3. Professional Level
▪ Editorial Review Board: Production and Operations Management, 1998 ~ 2016
▪ President: Louisiana Chapter, Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association (KSEA), 1995~96
▪ Member of the Advisory Board, Ulsan National Institute of Science of Technology (UNIST) in South Korea.
▪ Track Chairman at Decision Sciences Institute Annual Meetings, 2003 and 2005.
▪ Reviewer for premier academic journals, grant proposal reviewer for the National Science Foundation and other funding agencies, and external evaluator for tenure and promotion cases at multiple universities.
I have collected more than 100 interesting problems from newspapers and magazines over the decades.
I use these puzzles to spark students’ curiosity about probability, statistics, decision analysis, and optimization models.
Below are several sample presentation slides that showcase how I incorporate these problems into my teaching.
1. Probability Theory
▪ Game Show Problem: Switch or not switch your original pick? In the game with three doors, you could win a brand-new car if you play the game wisely!
▪ Best-of-Seven Playoff Series: What is the probability that your favorite team will eventually win the series? How can you predict the number of games in the best-of-seven World Series?
▪ Birthday Problem: If there are 23 students in the classroom, what is the probability that at least two of them have the same birthdate?
▪ Breast Cancer: If your Mom is tested positive, what is the probability that she has the breast cancer? Close to 100%? Let's find out the conditional probability.
▪ The Game of Crap: Let's roll two dice and play the game of craps! How can you calculate the house cut and the value of the game?
▪ Lottery Tickets: How can you calculate the expected return for a $1 ticket? Lottery is a tax on people who flunked in math!
▪ Flat Tire: You had a flat tire on the way home. What is the probability that it was the right rear tire? Your guess could single‑handedly tank your final grade.
▪ Group Testing: Is there any effective way of testing many people at once for Covid-19? With a simple probability model, you can save time, money, and lives!
▪ Number of Questions: Here is a deal for you! Do you want me to give you only one True/False question in the final exam? If not, why not?
2. Statistical Analysis
▪ Simpson's Paradox: Sometimes you’re so focused on the trees that you miss the forest, and other times you’re so focused on the forest that you miss the trees.
▪ Berkson's Paradox: When you’re looking for a boyfriend, why do the handsome guys seem mean and the less handsome guys seem nice?
▪ Capture-Recapture Model: Do you enjoy fishing? How can you estimate the total number of fish in the lake? You can do it with a simple probability theory!
▪ MIT Blackjack Team: Statistically speaking, the game of blackjack is a random sampling from a finite population without replacement. You can beat the house if...
▪ Curse of Variation: Ever wonder why your bus is always late? Variability clusters. When it rains, everything pours in at once; when it’s sunny, nothing shows up.
▪ Kissing the Right Way: When you kiss your sweetheart, do you turn your head to the right or to the left? Do you think the chances are equal? Let’s test your hypothesis.
▪ Selection Bias: That hamburger on TV looks delicious. But does the one you buy ever look the same? That disappointment is a classic case of selection bias.
▪ Chicken or Egg?: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? It’s a classic puzzle, but it reminds us of a deeper truth in data: correlation does not imply causation.
▪ Two Third of the Average: You win the game if you guess two‑thirds of the average value. You are not what you think you are. You are what everyone else thinks you are.
3. Decision Analysis
▪ Secretary Problem: You are interviewing applicants for a secretarial position in a sequential manner. How can you hire the best candidate?
▪ MLB Baseball: Should you start the ace pitcher or save him and use the backup for Game 6? That single decision can shift the entire probability of winning the World Series.
▪ Three-Point Shot in Basketball: In a basketball game, we are down by two points and we have time for one last shot. Go for a two- or three-point shot?
▪ Prisoner’s Dilemma: Two men suspected of a burglary are arrested. Confess the crime or deny it? This is a classical example of the game theory.
▪ Nash Equilibrium: In a two-person game, the optimal solution can be found from the Nash equilibrium point, which often does not make sense at all.
▪ Hoosier Millinaire: How do you find the optimal strategy for the TV game show, "Hoosier Millionaire"? Just draw the full decision tree for the entire game.
▪ Pirate Game: How do you divide 100 gold coins among five rational pirates? Don’t be greedy, or you’ll be thrown off the plank.
▪ St. Petersburg Paradox: You can flip a fair coin repeatedly until it heads come up. Based on the number of flips, you will get paid. How can you calculate the value of the game?
4. Optimization Models
▪ Traveling Salesman Problem: Starting from LSU, you want to visit all SEC school campuses by car and return to LSU. How can you find the shortest path?
▪ 70! Problem: There are 70! possible solutions — so many that a computer would need billions of years to check them all. So why does it take only a few seconds?
▪ Circus Problem: How many men, women, and children do I need to take to the circus? You can formulate this problem as an optimization model!
▪ Russian Roulette: With a revolver, let's play the game of Russian Roulette. Do you want to just click the trigger, or spin the barrel and then click the trigger?
▪ Fermat's Last Theorem: In a system of simultaneous equations with more variables than equations, how can you find an optimal solution?
▪ Broken Stick: If you break a yardstick into two pieces at random, what is the average length of the shorter piece? A Monte Carlo simulation can give you an excellent estimate.
▪ Candlelight Dinner: You and your significant other are planning to have a candle light dinner, but each of you doesn't want to wait for more than 10 minutes.
▪ Stable Marriage Problem: As a match-maker, your job is to match 5 gentlemen to 5 ladies so that every couple is happy. You can formulate this problem as an integer program!
Here are some additional materials I use to support effective teaching and learning.
The classroom countdown clock helps students settle in before each class and stay focused during exams.
To recognize outstanding performance, I also maintain a Hall of Fame to honor the top students in my courses.
▪ Classroom Clock: Time management is the name of the game!
▪ Hall of Fame: Celebrating the best and brightest students in my classes
- BADM 7020 Managerial Statistics (MBA Program)
- ISDS Graduate and Undergraduate Courses (MSA Program)
▪ Hall of Shame: A light‑hearted reminder that everyone has room to grow.
▪ Brain Teaser: Do you think you are smart?
▪ Grade Change Form: Submit this form to request a higher final grade!