.: COLLEGE OPENS NOMINATIONS FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP HALL OF FAME.

   Nominations for induction into the 2005 Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame opened December 6, 2004, and close January 19, 2005.

   The 2005 Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Luncheon will be held May 12, 2005, at Parrot Jungle Island in Miami (Watson Island), from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. In addition to the induction of an alumnus/ae into the Hall of Fame, the event will recognize winners of the Howard J. Leonhardt New Venture Challenge, a student business plan competition, and present the award to the 2005 South Florida Entrepreneur of the Year.

   Nominating criteria for the 2005 Inductee and for the 2005 South Florida Entrepreneur of the Year are outlined below. To submit a nomination, visit our web site.

   Nomination Criteria

   Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame Inductee

1. Individual must be an alumnus/ae of Florida International University, preferably from the College of Business Administration.
2. Business must haven been operational for a minimum of 5 years and have significant revenues and/or raised significant external monies.
3. Individual must have a history of significant entrepreneurial activity.
4. Individual must have been founder or key member of start-up team.
5. Business must have at least five or more employees.

   South Florida Entrepreneur of the Year Award

1. Individual must have some connection to Florida International University, such as be a supporter of some FIU activity or program.
2. Business must have been operational for at least 5 years (preferably longer) and have significant revenues and/or raised significant external monies.
3. Individual must have a history of entrepreneurial activity beyond the current business or have demonstrated a commitment to entrepreneurship.
4. Individual must have been founder or key member of start-up team.
5. Business must have at least five or more employees.

.: ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: MATT PUSHKIN (MSMIS '01)

   If anyone understands the importance of security, it's the federal government's intelligence and defense community, and that community trusts Matt Pushkin (MSMIS '01). Pushkin began his company, POC Consultants, in February, 2003. The company provides information security services to the federal government. POC specializes in securing intelligence and defense department networks. POC began in Miami, but it did so well that it established a second office in Washington, D.C., to be closer to its largest client. Pushin's list of clients includes the Department of Defense, the Office of Naval Intelligence, Amadeus World Travel, Vista Healthplan, and the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC).

.: ALUMNAE ILENE RUBIO TO LECTURE ON JANUARY 20TH.

   On January 20th, the FIU Business Alumni Chapter, in conjunction with the FIU Global Entrepreneurship Center, will be presenting a lecture by Ilene P. Rubio (BBA '93; MBA '97), marketing manager for the South Florida District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The topic of the lecture is "Financing for Your Small Business through the Small Business Administration."

   Ilene received her bachelor's in marketing and her MBA from FIU. As the marketing manager for the SBA District Office, she oversees marketing and outreach activities for Broward, Collier, Hendry, Lee, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties. Before joining the SBA, Rubio was employed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

   The lecture will be held at the Omni Colonnade in Coral Gables and is free to Business Alumni Chapter members and non-members. To RSVP for this event, please contact Cristina Jaramillo at (305) 348-0397 or e-mail her at jaramill@fiu.edu. You also may register to attend via the Alumni Chapter's web site.

.: VALENTINE'S ALUMNI MIXER SET FOR FEBRUARY 10TH.

   In February, the Business Alumni Chapter will once again be hosting its Valentine's Alumni Mixer, sponsored by Chispa Restaurant. The reception will be held at Chispa Restaurant in Coral Gables on Thursday, February 10, 2005, from 6:00-8:00 p.m.

   The event is free for all Business Aumni Chapter members and $10.00 non-members. To RSVP, please contact Cristina Jaramillo at (305) 348-0397 or e-mail her at jaramill@fiu.edu. You also may register online by visiting the Business Alumni Chapter's web site.

Alumni enjoy the 2004 Valentine's Mixer at Chispa.

.: TOY COLLECTION AND DISTRIBUTION REFLECTS SPIRIT OF GIVING.

   It was a U-Haul truck—not a reindeer-drawn sleigh—that brought happiness to many local children over the holidays. Students in the College gathered toys, including a number of teddy bears and Barbie dolls, for the Community Partnership for the Homeless, Inc. (CPHI) in Miami. CPHI is one of the principal recipients of community service efforts from the Miami Benefits Club at FIU, which prepares and serves dinner to the residents once a month during the school year.

   "A number of groups were involved in the toy collection," said Ronald Chinchilla, vice president of the Miami Benefits Club. "Two honor societies were the most active participants: the Golden Key Honor Society, which led the way, and the International Business Honors Society."

   Items were collected at the Ryder Building, and students were available to pick them up from donors.

   This year, College students also contributed to Caravan of Joy, a toy drive now in its sixth year and coordinated by Alina Berriz, sales support manager at Telemundo 51, and her colleagues. The toy drive is an effort of the South Flordia chapter of GE Elfun, the corporation's non-profit service arm through which more than 400,000 employees and retirees worldwide serve their communities. This year, the Caravan of Joy was supporting seven different charities from Homestead to Broward.

   "We took about half the toys to the Aventura Mall, which was one of the final collection points for Caravan of Joy, and the location where the toys were going to be sorted, wrapped, and boxed for delivery," said Chinchilla.

.: BUSINESS STUDENTS HELP CLOTHE HOMELESS CHILDREN.

   Students in the College's Business in Society course got a first-hand lesson in helping those less fortunate than themselves. To fulfill the course requirement of 25 hours of community service, the thirty classmates collected clothing for children living in the homeless shelters of the Community Partnership for the Homeless, Inc. (CPHI).

   Calling their effort "Dress a Child for the Holidays," they collected clothing and raised money to purchase clothing. Hewlett-Packard, Burger King, smaller area businesses, and private individuals made generous contributions.

   According to participant Marsela Vargas, the results far exceeded the group's initial goals.

   "The event went even better than we hoped," she said. "Half our class delivered 110 bags of clothing to the downtown Miami shelter. The other group took an equal number to the shelter in Homestead."

   Vargas said that more than 100 children, ranging in age from newborns to eighteen- year-olds, received much-needed items at both locations. The students were able to provide suitable clothing for everyone, regardless of the recipient's age or need. In fact, they had gathered so many articles that fifteen of the bags taken to both locations were set aside to meet future requirements.

   To make the occasion special, the students staged a party at each center, providing food as well as the clothing. One homeless man even dressed up as Santa Claus at the downtown center and presented the gifts to each child.

   Business in Society is taught by the College's expert in service learning, Robert Hogner ("Dr. Bob"), associate professor of management and international business and coordinator of the College's Civic Engagement Initiative.

Christos Koulamas

    One of the knottiest problems for manufacturers is figuring out how to construct a process flow on the plant floor to provide the most efficient and economical method of making a product. The more machines there are and the more stages the product must go through, the more difficult it becomes to find the best system.

   This is the very problem to which Christos Koulamas, Ryder Eminent Scholar and chair of the decision sciences and information systems department, has devoted himself. He and his co-researcher and colleague George Kyparisis, professor, are working to develop what is called a "heuristic algorithm." A heuristic algorithm is an experimental way to find the best solution to a very complex and challenging mathematical problem using computerized methods.

   "If I give a company a specific order with ten or fifteen different products that have to be manufactured, in which order should it process the jobs in each stage so the time to do all the jobs is minimal?" Koulamas said. "That is the problem with which I'm dealing."

   The matter becomes even more complicated because factories often have multiple machines performing the same process. In addition, some of the machines might be newer and, therefore, may operate faster and more efficiently. The variables are enormous.

   Obviously the duo cannot test their solutions in real-life situations because that would involve very expensive experimentation in a factory environment. Instead they write a computer program that simulates the real-life situation, and then they test different scenarios. Computer programs have become very sophisticated in this area and can replicate actual manufacturing environments.

   The practical applications for such work are far-reaching since manufacturers constantly search for ways to improve their processes, which enables them to reduce costs and enhance product quality.

   Koulamas, who has been published in a wide range of refereed journals already, also has submitted his ideas to premier journals in his field. The work has generated a sequence of papers and is ongoing.