{"50798":{"#nid":"50798","#data":{"type":"news","title":"In Memory: Robert N. \u201cBob\u201d Lehrer, ISyE Chair, 1966 to 1978","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERobert\nN. \u201cBob\u201d Lehrer, the second of only six men thus far to chair Georgia Tech\u2019s School\nof Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE), passed away on Monday, January\n25, 2010. He was 88.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;Originally from Sandusky, Ohio, Bob Lehrer\nstarted his engineering education at the University of Cincinnati. Like so many\nengineering professors of the time, Lehrer joined the military during World War\nII and was stationed at Purdue University in 1943 as part of the Navy\u2019s V-12\nCollege Training Program. After the war, Lehrer returned to Purdue, where he\ncompleted his graduate degrees and went on to teach at Purdue and Oregon State University, before joining the Georgia\nTech faculty in 1950. Frank F. \u201cColonel\u201d Groseclose, Industrial\nEngineering (IE) School chair from 1946 to 1966, hired Lehrer, who became one\nof fifteen faculty in the school at that time. Groseclose soon put Lehrer in\ncharge of the graduate program; however, the Ph.D. program was slow in starting,\nand in 1957, Lehrer left for Northwestern University to establish a doctoral\nprogram in Industrial Engineering. Four years later, Lehrer moved his family to\nMexico for one year at the\nrequest of the United Nations Educational, Social, and Cultural Organization\n(UNESCO). As his year began to wind down, Groseclose asked Lehrer to return to\nthe School as associate director. The Ph.D. program was now up and running.\nLehrer returned to Atlanta in 1963, and Groseclose handed him the reins in\n1966. He served as Chair until 1978. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EDuring his tenure as chair of the School, Lehrer\nis credited with modernizing the Industrial Engineering program and with adding\nthe word \u201cSystems\u201d to the School\u2019s name, reflecting in full the School\u2019s\nphilosophy. In an article in the Fall 2005 issue of \u003Cem\u003EEngineering Enterprise\u003C\/em\u003E; however, Lehrer stated that he believed his\nnumber one legacy was the strength of the faculty he hired. Some of his hires\nstill involved with the School include Austin Esogbue; R. Gary Parker, associate chair for\nGraduate Studies; and Leon McGinnis, Eugene C. Gwaltney Chair in Manufacturing\nSystems.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to McGinnis, Lehrer was \u201cone\nof the first IE department heads to embrace the quantitative side of IE, by\nhiring some really good young OR [operational research] people like Mike\nShetty, John Jarvis [School chair from\n1989 to 2001], and Mo Bazaara. But he also understood the need for\nbalance in developing a faculty with strong representation from the engineering\nside of IE, like Jim Apple and John White, and the human side of IE, like Alan\nPorter and Terry Connolly. Bob left an indelible mark, not just on us, but on\nGeorgia Tech and on the profession.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;About\nLehrer\u2019s hires, R. Gary Parker, states that \u201cthese were people who brought to\nISyE a perspective that facilitated our upward movement among the ranks of more\nserious \u003Cbr \/\u003E\nIE\/OR academic programs.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;Lehrer was a member of: Phi Delta Theta, Tau Beta Pi, Phi Kappa\nPhi, and Alpha Pi Mu. He was the author of five books translated into seven\nlanguages and was editor-in chief of the \u003Cem\u003EJournal\nof Industrial Engineering\u003C\/em\u003E. Among his awards and honors, Lehrer was the\nrecipient of the Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Industrial Engineering Award, IE\u0027s\nhighest award as well as being the first recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus\nAward in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University (1964). He was named\nOutstanding Industrial Engineer in 1997. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;Lehrer is survived by Pat, his wife of 64 years; daughter and\nson-in-law, Joan and Hunter Hess; his brother, Dr. Richard Lehrer of Florida;\nhis sister-in-law, Janice Lehrer of Hilton Head, S.C.; and fifteen nieces and\nnephews. A private family service was held on Friday, January 29, 2010, at St.\nLuke\u0027s Episcopal Church. Memorials in his memory may be sent to The Residence\nand Endowment Fund, Canterbury Court, 3750 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA.\n30319. \u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Robert N. \u201cBob\u201d Lehrer, the second of only six men thus far to chair Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE), passed away on Monday, January 25, 2010. He was 88.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"In Memory: Robert N. \u201cBob\u201d Lehrer, ISyE Chair, 1966 to 1978"}],"uid":"27328","created_gmt":"2010-02-03 09:45:52","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:04:16","author":"Edie Cohen","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-02-03T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2010-02-03T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"50758":{"id":"50758","type":"image","title":"Robert N. \u0022Bob\u0022 Lehrer","body":null,"created":"1449175437","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:43:57","changed":"1475894471","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:11","alt":"Robert N. \u0022Bob\u0022 Lehrer","file":{"fid":"135676","name":"Bob_Lehrer2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Bob_Lehrer2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Bob_Lehrer2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":500744,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Bob_Lehrer2_0.jpg?itok=33mdc9DE"}}},"media_ids":["50758"],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"8374","name":"Bob Lehrer"},{"id":"2222","name":"chair"},{"id":"1431","name":"industrial and systems engineering"},{"id":"426","name":"isye"}],"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\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara\n\n Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EStewart School of Industrial and \nSystems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}