Former WSU professor honored by Engineering Society of Detroit
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. - The Engineering Society of Detroit (ESD) presented Vinod K. Sahney with the 35th Annual Engineers Week Gold Award during the inter-society banquet Wednesday, Feb. 22 at the Marriott Dearborn Inn.
The Gold Award is the most prestigious honor engineers can bestow on one of their peers and was established to celebrate excellence in multidisciplinary technical fields. The ESD Affiliate Council, a group of 72 professional associations and societies that unite engineers, scientists, architects and those in technically related fields to conduct activities that fulfill common interests and goals, hosts this event.Sahney was professor of industrial engineering and operations research at Wayne State from 1970 to 1988, and presently serves on the College of Engineering Board of Advisors.
Sahney is a senior vice president of special projects at Henry Ford Health System where he is currently responsible for overseeing the construction of a new 300-bed hospital in Oakland County. He has worked for the health system in a variety of capacities for more than 22 years, including chief strategy officer. For the past 28 years he has been a faculty member of Harvard University's Executive Program in Health Policy and Management. He has served as a judge for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and is a member of the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Engineering.
Sahney graduated from the Birla Institute of Technology in with Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University with a Master in Mechanical Engineering and the University of Wisconsin with a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. He has published more than 50 articles and has made over 200 presentations at national and international meetings. In addition, he co-authored the book Reengineering Health Care: Build on CQI. He is a founding member, director and chairman of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and currently serves on a number of Boards, including St. Joseph Mercy - Macomb Hospital, Enterprise Development Fund and President of TIE - Detroit (The Indus Entrepreneurs), a networking and mentoring organization for entrepreneurs.
He has received the Distinguished Service Award from the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), the Founders Award from the Society of Health Systems; the Fellows Award from both the IIE and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society/American Hospital Association (HIMSS/AHA); and the Distinguished Service Award from the University of Wisconsin. He is active in community service and currently serves on the Board of Cranbrook Horizons Upward Bound program and on the Board of Michigan's Children.