Dr. Jacobs earned his Ph.D. from Michigan State University’s Supply Chain Management department after earning an MBA from Minnesota and an IE degree from Cal Poly.  He has held visiting professorships at Michigan State University and Ohio State University, been faculty at the Helsinki School of Economics, and is presently Associate Professor of Operations and Supply Management at the University of Dayton.  He has experience teaching both graduate and undergraduate students and covers topics such manufacturing planning and control, supply chain management, research methods, operations management, and quality.

Dr. Jacobs has published numerous articles on the topics of product and portfolio complexity, complexity management strategies, and supply chain integration in the top journals of the field.  His book, Volume and Cost Implications of Product Portfolio Complexity, is published by VDM Verlag.  He is presently an Associate Editor at the Journal of Operations Management and holds editorial positions at a number of other scholarly journals.

Prior to his academic career, he held positions in the manufacturing and services industries.  Beginning with IBM and including 3M, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, and Cummins Engine, Dr. Jacobs has held a variety of positions of increasing responsibility culminating in his position as chief operating officer at JL Analytical Services.