EMU student wins regional business award for using horse sense

EQUINE EFFICIENCY: Patricia LoPresti, an EMU graduate student, recently won first place in the regional competition for the D.W. Fogarty Award.

That dash through the snow in a one-horse, open sleigh could cost more this holiday season. Feed, veterinarian bills and boarding fees make owning a horse or a boarding facility expensive. However, Eastern Michigan University graduate student Patricia LoPresti is using her horse sense to come up with a solution.

LoPresti, of Ann Arbor, recently won graduate first place in the regional competition for the D. W. Fogarty Award from the American Production and Inventory Control Society ( APICS) for her research paper, "Equine Care as a Lean Production Can Exist." She is one of 14 regional winners nationwide and the only APICS student member from Michigan to be honored. She received a certificate and a monetary award.

The Fogarty Award is given for original work in applying the latest concepts to solve a business problem, said Nesa Wu, APICS student adviser and professor of computer and information systems at EMU. The award is granted at the local, regional and national levels.  

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