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Headshot of Zachary Collier
My research interests include risk analysis, decision analysis, and supply chain management, especially related to the semiconductor industry. I am a Fellow of the Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems at University of Virginia, and a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Hardware and Embedded Systems Security and Trust (CHEST). I earned my Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from University of Virginia, a Master of Engineering Management from Duke University, and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Florida State University. 
 
I am a member of the Society for Risk Analysis, where I have held various leadership positions including President of the Decision Analysis and Risk Specialty Group and President of the Resilience Analysis Specialty Group. I am a Senior Member of INFORMS, where I currently chair the Advocacy Governance Committee. I previously co-chaired the NDIA Electronics Division’s Trust and Assurance Committee. I have contributed as a subject matter expert to the development of industry standards through SAE International. I have consulted to numerous organizations, providing decision making and analytics services for clients across multiple industries.  
 
I serve on the editorial boards of the journals Risk Analysis and Environment Systems & Decisions. I am co-author of the book Cybersecurity for Entrepreneurs, published by SAE International. My writing has appeared in national outlets including NewsWeek, The Hill, RealClearPolitics, Risk & Insurance, SupplyChainBrain, and others. I have been featured in interviews for TV, radio, podcasts, and print news articles on topics related to semiconductors and supply chain management, including CNN Business and CBN.  
 
I am the recipient of the Society for Risk Analysis Chauncey Starr Award, and Radford University’s Dalton Eminent Scholar Rising Star Award. I was named one of Roanoker Magazine’s 40 under 40.

Education

Ph.D. in Systems Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 
M.E.M. in Engineering Management, Duke University, Durham, NC 
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 

Recent Research and Engagement

Editorial Board Member, Risk Analysis 

Area Editor, Environment Systems and Decisions 

Chair, INFORMS Advocacy Governance Committee 

Author of op-eds appearing in Newsweek, RealClearPolitics, The Hill, Supply Chain Quarterly, IndustryWeek, Risk & Insurance, Credit Union Management, SupplyChainBrain, Food Engineering, Innovation & Tech Today, SAE Update, Electronic Products & Technology Magazine, ORMS Today, Electronics Sourcing.  

Interviewed for news stories by CNN Business, CBN, TechTarget, Newsmax, Consumer Affairs, SpaceNews, WholesaleCentral, Daily Express, Security Boulevard, and multiple radio and podcast interviews.  

Contributor to Valley Business Front Magazine

Courses Taught

MGNT 357, Operations and Information Systems Management 
MGNT 624, Operations Management

Publications - Journals

Collier, Z.A., Gruss, R.J., Abrahams, A.S. (2025). “How good are large language models at product risk assessment?” Risk Analysis, 45(4): 766-789. 

Collier, Z.A., Henderson, D.A., Kopf, J.M. (2024). “Protecting intellectual property in low trust environments: Game theoretic modelling of overproduction in contract manufacturing.” International Journal of Intellectual Property Management, 14(5): 444-458. 

Collier, Z.A., Briglia, B., Finkelston, T., Manasco, M.C., Slutzky, D.L., Lambert, J.H. (2023). “On metrics and prioritization of investments in hardware security.” Systems Engineering, 26(4): 425-437. 

Collier, Z.A., Gaskins, A., Lambert, J.H. (2023). “Business process modeling for semiconductor production risk analysis using IDEF0.” IEEE Engineering Management Review, 51(1): 183-188.  

Morgan, K., Collier, Z.A., Gilmore, E., Schmitt, K. (2022). “Decision-first modeling should guide decision making for emerging risks.” Risk Analysis, 42(12): 2613-2619.  

Collier, Z.A., Guin, U., Sarkis, J., Lambert, J.H. (2022). “Decision model with quantification of buyer-supplier trust in advanced technology enterprises.” Benchmarking: An International Journal, 29(10): 3033-3056.  

Collier, Z.A., Wood, M.D., Henderson, D.A. (2022). “Balancing risk and trust for strategic alliance formation decisions.” Journal of Strategy and Management, 15(4): 509-523. 

Collier, Z.A., Sarkis, J. (2021). “The zero trust supply chain: Managing supply chain risk in the absence of trust.” International Journal of Production Research, 59(11): 3430-3445.

Publications - Books

D’Anna, G., Collier, Z.A. (2023). Cybersecurity for Entrepreneurs. SAE International: Warrendale, PA. 

Publications - Chapters

Collier, Z.A., Thekdi, S.A. (2024). “Supply chain security.” In: Sarkis, J. (ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Supply Chain Management, (pp. 561-584). Palgrave Macmillan: Cham.  

Collier, Z.A., Keisler, J.M., Trump, B.D., Cegan, J.C., Wolberg, S., Linkov, I. (2021). “Value-based optimization of healthcare resource allocation for COVID-19 hot spots.” In: Linkov, I., Keenan, J.M., Trump, B.D. (eds.), COVID-19: Systemic Risk and Resilience, (pp. 103-114). Springer: Cham.

Publications - Proceedings

Collier, Z.A., Sellers, E., Loose, D.C., Linkov, I., Lambert, J.H. (2024). “Security audit methodology for embedded hardware devices.” IEEE 10th International Conference on Control, Decision, and Information Technologies (CoDIT 2024), 01-04 July, 2024, Vallette, Malta, (pp. 316-323).  

Collier, Z.A., Sloan, M.M. (2024). “The option to trust: Modeling contingent hiring decisions as real options.” Proceedings of the Appalachian Research in Business Symposium, 04-05 April, 2024, Huntington, WV, USA, (pp. 65-72).  

Collier, Z.A., Loose, D.C., Sellers, E., Polmateer, T.L., Behl, M., Linkov, I., Lambert, J.H. (2023). “Stress testing for resilience of semiconductor supply chains.” IEEE 14th Annual Ubiquitous Computing, Electronics & Mobile Communication Conference (UEMCON), 12-14 October, 2023, New York, NY.  

Collier, Z.A., Elias, J.S. (2023). “GDP, economic freedom, and supply chain resilience: Increasing wealth one link at a time.” Proceedings of the Appalachian Research in Business Symposium, 30-31 March, 2023, Radford, VA, USA, (pp. 33-40). 

Collier, Z.A., Lambert, J.H. (2021). “Measurement and tracking of project activity quality based on time and cost indicators.” Proceedings of the Appalachian Research in Business Symposium, 26 March 2021, Richmond, KY, USA, (pp. 32-37). 

Honors and Awards

  • DCOBE Excellence in Research Award, Davis College of Business and Economics, 2025
  • Chauncey Starr Distinguished Young Risk Analyst Award, Society for Risk Analysis, 2023
  • 40 Under 40, Roanoker Magazine, 2023
  • Dalton Eminent Scholar Rising Star Award, Radford University, 2022