Girish Jampani: Making the most of his chance and paying it forward

Girish Jampani is a big believer in collaboration. “Earning my master’s degree at Arizona State University taught me that answering the biggest questions requires the coordinated contributions of many talented people, not just me,” said Jampani. During his master’s studies in industrial engineering, Jampani underwent a “radical transformation” in the way he approaches a new enterprise — a transformation he credits to ASU’s “unconventional approach to education.” Instead of trying to answer, “Am I the smartest person in the room?” or, “Is my idea the best?” Jampani says his mentors at ASU taught him to ask: “How can I pool the intelligence and resources around me to achieve a positive result?” A native of Chennai, India, Jampani graduated from ASU in 2012, but returned in spring 2015 to continue his education as an industrial engineering doctoral student in the School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering, one of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. Before his doctoral studies, Jampani worked as an Analytics Engineer for Lattice Engines, a Texas-based startup company. In this position, Jampani worked to provide predictive analytic solutions for marketing and sales teams of business to business (B2B) companies.

During his doctoral studies Jampani will focus on questions in the field of operations research and decision sciences — a field that uses mathematics to make applied, day-to-day decisions. “In operations research we combine the elegance of math with human creativity to help organizations and decision-makers tackle the uncertainty that comes with making big decisions,” Jampani said. After graduation, Jampani plans to utilize his mastery in this field to help business organizations in the Asia Pacific region to successfully navigate important decisions. “I strongly believe in and support ASU’s efforts to define itself by the people it includes rather than the people it excludes,” said Jampani. “ASU sends a message that any motivated student deserves a chance, regardless of his or her past academic record.” In addition to being technically-equipped, Jampani feels prepared to succeed in a global workforce because the collaborative atmosphere of the Fulton Schools of Engineering “reinforced the importance of values such as tolerance, respect and courtesy while working with team members from diverse backgrounds and cultures.” ASU’s stance on education combined with his positive experience as a graduate student prompted Jampani to make an alumni donation to support the Fulton Schools of Engineering. “I see my donation as a token of gratitude and a way of paying it forward for the benefits I’ve already received as a result of my Fulton Schools education,” said Jampani. Jampani is certainly making the most of his chance and his gift helps ensure that other students have their chance, too.