{"261311":{"#nid":"261311","#data":{"type":"news","title":"All in the Family: ISyE Students of Yesterday and Today Share Ties","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOver the past few decades, the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering has seen sweeping changes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt got a name, for one thing. (Thanks again to H. Milton Stewart Jr., a 1961 alumnus.) Its students and faculty embraced the promises of technology, which has become a constant presence in education. And, of course, the Stewart School itself has grown into a global force that serves business and humanitarian needs alike.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut a few things have remained remarkably consistent \u2014 and we\u2019re not just talking about high rankings.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of the defining experiences for industrial and systems engineering (ISyE) alumni of all backgrounds is still the senior design course. A milestone in the IE curriculum, this class offers both real world project experience and realworld stresses.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou go through a lot of pain,\u201d said Chris Anderson, B.S. IE 2008. Still, he added, \u201cit teaches you a lot in terms of working and meeting deadlines.\u201d His father, Mike Anderson, graduated from ISyE nearly three decades earlier. But his senior design work still stands out to him too, and he cites it as one of the key courses in his Georgia Tech career.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMemories of that class came up time and time again in interviews with ISyE alumni, students and professors. As the Stewart School continues to grow in size and scope, some changes are inevitable, and its stakeholders are optimistic about the future. But they also know that some things remain steadfast. The core principles that defined ISyE decades ago are still very much alive today.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo explore the ties between the ISyEof yesteryear and the one of today, we spoke to some of its alumni, students and professors \u2014 many with ISyE family connections.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEXPERIENCING ISyE \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELike countless students before and after him, Ed Rogers grew up loving Georgia Tech. His father,\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EISyE alumnus and professor emeritus Nelson Rogers (recently deceased), had been taking him to Yellow Jacket football games since he was a boy. Once he was a Tech student, he decided to study industrial engineering partly as a function of his personality, which is driven to create order out of chaos.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFrankly, I\u2019d always preferred to be in situations that are run efficiently,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s just the way I\u2019m wired.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERogers, now a director of global strategy at UPS, received his bachelor\u2019s degree in industrial engineering in 1982. (Twenty years later, he was among the graduates of Tech\u2019s very first Executive Master\u2019s in International Logistics program.)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe shares his alma mater with his son, Matlock, and he knows their experiences in ISyE share some common themes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cGeorgia Tech undergraduate engineering is by nature rigorous and demanding,\u201d he said. \u201cIt always has\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003Ebeen and it always will be; my son Matlock tells me it\u2019s certainly still the case.\u201d Matlock Rogers, who got his bachelor\u2019s from ISyE in 2011, said he\u2019s grateful for the rigor.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough he stresses that \u201cthe coursework was challenging,\u201d he appreciates the depth at which he was expected to understand material. Early in his college career, his classes focused mostly on theory, but as he advanced in the curriculum, Rogers found himself applying his theoretical knowledge to complex, real-world situations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EISyE professor Julie Swann (who earned her own industrial engineering B.S. from Tech in 1996) enjoys teaching the undergraduate senior design course for that very reason.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhat I like is that students join together to work on projects, and it\u2019s real-world experience,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMatlock Rogers, meanwhile, now works for Anheuser-Busch as a project manager. His years as an ISyE student, he said, \u201cgave me the right tools and the right exposure to industry.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFROM CLASSROOMS TO THE WORKPLACE\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs chief executive officer of GameStop, Paul Raines leads a busy life. But something he likes to make time for outside the workplace is Georgia Tech, and specifically the ISyE program.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA 1985 ISyE graduate himself, Raines sometimes meets with high school students to discuss the benefits of a Tech education, and he explains the advantages of studying industrial engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo far, he\u2019s had a lot of success with his strategies. Four kids who spoke with him went on to attend Tech. (His daughter, Victoria, is a current ISyE student, and she reports her dad \u201cwas ecstatic\u201d about her decision to attend his alma mater.)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERaines laughs when he calls himself a Georgia Tech \u201ccloser,\u201d but he\u2019s serious about the value of industrial engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cISyE is fantastic, because it is a very broad background,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s certainly technical, but there is an element of systems thinking and integration that is forced on you.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EISyE\u2019s programs emphasize intellectual rigor, but they\u2019re also known for grounding students in real-life problems to ready them for the workplace. That initiation can start right at the beginning of students\u2019 academic careers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELast year, Victoria Raines enrolled in an industrial engineering-based section of GT 1000, the Institute\u2019s freshman seminar. The class taught her more about what kinds of companies hire ISyE graduates, and several program alumni spoke about their experiences.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPaul Raines, meanwhile, still vividly remembers the challenges of a course from later in his Tech career: senior design. Back then, Georgia Tech ran on a quarter system, which meant his class was split into two parts. After spring break, Raines said, he returned to school to find the company he was working for had restructured.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt was pretty scary, when you\u2019re about to graduate, to have that happen,\u201d he said. But it was also a key learning experience, giving him and his classmates a taste of the last-minute crises that can impact projects in the workplace.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThough his daughter is still in the early phase of her ISyE career, she said she already knows the program will prove \u201cchallenging but rewarding.\u201d She\u2019s eyeing jobs that combine engineering and business \u2013 much like her dad.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESome of ISyE\u2019s newer offerings are specifically tailored to reflect the modern working world. For example, the Executive Master\u2019s in International Logistics \u0026amp; Supply Chain Strategy Program, which leads to an MS in International Logistics, is designed for leaders in an increasingly globalized workplace.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EParticipants spend time on four continents over the course of 18 months, meeting for classes in each location about regional influences on logistics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEd Rogers, who earned that master\u2019s degree in 2002, said it \u201cwas the perfect program in order to get a global, more strategic understanding in challenges and opportunities in logistics.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe ISyE school at large is committed not only to logistics in the corporate world, but in humanitarian work as well. In her research, Julie Swann focuses on humanitarian supply chains and health issues in Georgia and across the world.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur current graduates need to be globally savvy,\u201d she said, \u201cbecause even if they take a job in Georgia, their companies may have interactions with suppliers all over the world.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELOOKING TO TOMORROW\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;n a field that\u2019s constantly evolving, the future can be tough to predict. But ISyE alumni and current students alike all pointed to similar ideas in their visions for the program\u2019s future.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey said that international experience, which wasn\u2019t heavily emphasized at Tech during the college careers of some older alumni, is now very important \u2013 and it\u2019s only becoming more so.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChris Anderson noted that in a world dependent on global logistics, ISyE leaders are smart to encourage study- and work-abroad experiences. And, when students get those experiences early, they gain an advantage for the working world.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe can work anywhere we want based on our skill set,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJulie Swann also sees a more international bent in the student body itself. Since her days as a student, she said, Tech has become more diverse in languages spoken and nationalities represented.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother change highlighted by alumni was the very type of humanitarian work Swann is involved in. Mike Anderson, for example, envisions future graduates becoming more involved with nonprofits, and he\u2019s looking forward to seeing the impacts today\u2019s ISyE students will make in that realm.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI see IE doing that on a state, region, national and worldwide level \u2014 and being able to provide some solutions,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThen, of course, there\u2019s the wildcard: technology. Chris Anderson pointed out that technology has shifted in innumerable ways since his own father was in school, and that more changes will bring more opportunities to ISyE students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBack when Paul Raines was in school, there was a brand-new program at ISyE: PC rental. Students could sign up to rent one themselves, which Raines found amazing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI thought, \u2018Man, this is the future!\u2019\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETimes have changed, but Raines is pleased to see ISyE keeping up with technology and growing to meet the modern world\u2019s demands.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s just such a comprehensive program,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETHE ZALESKYS\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECharlene and Zola Zalesky are your typical Yellow Jackets, but they\u2019re also a million miles from average.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn their family of four, everyone is a Georgia Tech graduate or a current student. But Charlene and Zola also share an ISyE connection: Charlene earned a bachelor\u2019s in health systems in 1977, and Zola, her daughter, is now an ISyE student herself.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cRecognizing my mom\u2019s career success across four different industries is what initially sparked my interest in industrial engineering. I saw how the IE degree led to a wide variety of career opportunities,\u201d Zola said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough they share many of the same ideas about and passions for ISyE, the generational divide between them underlines the changes the school is making to face its future.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen Charlene was a student, computations were done on slide rules, and computers took up whole buildings. These days, personal laptops rule the classroom.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd, when she began at Georgia Tech in 1973, there was just one female student for every 20 male students. By the time she graduated, the ratio was 1:12, and now that Zola is a student, it\u2019s 1:3.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese days, there are new chances for students to learn outside the classroom too.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe didn\u2019t have the internship or international opportunities they have today,\u201d Charlene said, noting that these opportunities help students \u201crecognize what they don\u2019t want to spend a career doing as much as what they do want to do.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EZola, for example, has already studied abroad in Germany. Fluent in German, she hopes to return to the country for an internship.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs the fourth member of her family to attend Georgia Tech, Zola is proud to be part of the ISyE program. But she\u2019s also excited to carve her own path at Georgia Tech \u2014 and beyond.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIndustrial engineering, more than some of the others I\u2019ve noticed, is more influenced by women,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs Zola grew up, Charlene said, she made it a priority to show her \u201cthe role of women\u201d in the field. Her daughter was inspired and encouraged by meeting female engineers. Teachers often discouraged her from pursuing a career in math or hard science because she excelled in social sciences, but Charlene introduced her to professionals in various fields and made sure Zola knew that engineering was an option for her too.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow she\u2019s at Tech all on her own, Zola is eager to make ISyE her own.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is my IE degree,\u201d she said, \u201cmy Georgia Tech experience and my path to an exciting career in medicine or logistics or finance or what dream I decide to pursue.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWritten by\u003C\/strong\u003E: Lyndsey Lewis\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis article first appeared in the ISyE Alumni Magazine\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOver the past few decades, the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering has seen sweeping changes. But a few things have remained remarkably consistent \u2014 and we\u2019re not just talking about high rankings.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27868","created_gmt":"2013-12-16 15:24:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:33","author":"Lizzie Millman","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-12-16T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2013-12-16T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"261321":{"id":"261321","type":"image","title":"Matlock, IE 2011, and Ed Rogers, IE 1982, MS IL 2002, enjoying a Georgia Tech football game in 2012. Ed is a director of Global Strategy at UPS and Matlock works for Anheuser-Bush as a project manager.","body":null,"created":"1449243987","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:46:27","changed":"1475894945","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:05","alt":"Matlock, IE 2011, and Ed Rogers, IE 1982, MS IL 2002, enjoying a Georgia Tech football game in 2012. 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She enjoys teaching Senior Design because it offers students a real-world experience.","body":null,"created":"1449243999","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:46:39","changed":"1475894945","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:05","alt":"Julie Swann, IE 1996, is now the Harold R. and Mary Anne Nash Associate Professor at ISyE. She enjoys teaching Senior Design because it offers students a real-world experience.","file":{"fid":"198392","name":"julie_swann.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/julie_swann_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/julie_swann_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":94578,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/julie_swann_0.jpg?itok=EPW-6Koi"}},"261381":{"id":"261381","type":"image","title":"When Charlene Zalesky, IE HS 1977, was a student, computations were done on a slide rule. For Zola, a current undergraduate student, computers are the standard.","body":null,"created":"1449243999","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:46:39","changed":"1475894945","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:05","alt":"When Charlene Zalesky, IE HS 1977, was a student, computations were done on a slide rule. For Zola, a current undergraduate student, computers are the standard.","file":{"fid":"198393","name":"zola_and_charlene.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/zola_and_charlene_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/zola_and_charlene_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":213983,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/zola_and_charlene_0.jpg?itok=BYit7iwZ"}}},"media_ids":["261321","261351","261361","261331","261341","261371","261381"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"}],"keywords":[{"id":"82271","name":"all in the family"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:barbara.christopher@isye.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["bchristopher@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}