His area of expertise is global software development. He has studied globally dispersed software teams, offshore sourcing of I.T. work, and national policy issues surrounding software. His 1999 book Global Software Teams is considered the seminal work on this topic. His 2005 book, Offshoring Information Technology, covers the range of topics that managers need to know about offshore work.

In the 1990s, he co-founded and led the program in Management of Global Information Technology. In 2005-2008 he was department Chair. In 2008-2009 was the Orkand Chaired Professor at the University of Maryland, University College. He has been a Visiting Professor at Haifa University (Israel) and University College Dublin (Ireland). Dr. Carmel received his PhD in Management Information Systems from the University of Arizona; his MBA from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and his BA from the University of California at Berkeley.