Sahiak Vatan was an M.S. student in Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering (IMSE) at Ohio University in Athens. Her thesis project, "Development of a Legibility Model and PC Software to Predict the Legibility of Text on Traffic Signs for High Luminance and Contrast Conditions", was the development of the LEGI-TS software to model traffic sign legibility. She was a research assistant in the ORITE Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory for two years, where she worked on a variety of projects, including unlighted overhead guide signs, RWIS evaluation, and work zone design guidelines. Sahika Vatan obtained a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering (IE) from Cankaya University, in Ankara, Turkey in June 2001. She graduated as the highest-ranked student from her class in the Industrial Engineering Department and third-highest ranked student from her class in the Faculty (School) of Engineering and Architecture at Cankaya University. In her senior year, Sahika Vatan was honored with the Academic Scholarship, which is an extremely prestigious award. Also in her senior year as an undergraduate, she was a student Teaching Assistant. In March, 2000, she won second prize at the project contest in the International Symposium of Industrial Engineering 2000, which was organized by Istanbul Technical University, for her project titled “Analysis and Improvement of a Traditional Small-sized Chair Manufacturing Workshop”. She both contributed as the project manager and presenter of this real-world case project. Her first internship was in Samur Carpets in Ankara, which has the greatest market share in wall-to-wall carpet sector in Turkey. The second one was in MAN A.S., which is a company with 99% German ownership and is one of the most prestigious firms in the Turkish automotive industry.

Her undergraduate coursework includes Operations Analysis and Planning, Simulation with SIMAN V, Operations Research, Production Planning, Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Human Resources Management, Stochastic Processes, Combinatorial Optimization Problems, Engineering Economy, and Reliability Engineering. Her graduate coursework at Ohio University includes Human-Machine Systems Engineering, Occupational Safety and Health, Quality Control and Reliability, Systems Engineering, Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Material Handling Systems Engineering, Advanced Problems in Computer Applications, Genetic Algorithms in Manufacturing, Introduction to Designed Experiments, and Manufacturing Scheduling.

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