To Coca-Cola Chair in Engineering Statistics Jeff Wu, this kind of big data mining is only one example of the potential in exploring the vast store of information accumulated by millions of business and consumer transactions in modern life. The banking example is a real one, developed by Wu and colleagues, including a senior vice president with Bank of America, which later commercialized the product and used it to save millions of dollars through better identification of money-laundering fraud.
“We have had big data since the days of the NCR cash register and the automotive assembly line,” says Wu. “But in the early years, retailers and manufacturers were not thinking about how to use it.” Today, with huge quantities of data collected and stored via the Internet, the challenge is no longer on collecting data, but on figuring out ways to use it for better decision-making in a wide range of fields. “We need the data to make sense,” he says. “We have data collected by Google, Amazon, Yahoo, Facebook—what can we do with it? It’s not just a computer science challenge; it’s a statistical and industrial engineering challenge as well.”
This article first appeared in the 2012 edition of the ISyE Alumni Magazine.
]]>At Georgia Tech, the work on food traceability is concentrated in the Integrated Food Chain Center (IFC), a collaborative initiative bringing together representatives from the food industry, academia, and government to focus on improving the cold chain management of perishable food products. Housed within the Georgia Tech Supply Chain & Logistics Institute, the IFC draws on the combined energies and expertise of ISyE faculty members, graduate students, and undergraduates working in collaboration to identify and develop solutions across this wide-ranging, critically important field.
In addition to food traceability, ISyE faculty members are also working to prevent terrorist attacks on the food chain. With funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, faculty members Alan Erera and Chip White are engaged in an ongoing high-security project to protect the nation’s food and water supplies from widespread, catastrophic contamination by potentially deadly biological weapons such as anthrax.
This article first appeared in the 2012 edition of the ISyE Alumni Magazine.
]]>From a distribution center near the airport, truckers load up and head for grocery and big-box stores, carrying cargo from near and far: Georgia peaches, Chilean wines, Costa Rican flowers, Japanese auto parts, cotton t-shirts sewn in Guatemala, hand-crafted furniture from Milan.
In an office in Midtown, a dedicated public health worker contemplates her organization’s next international challenge: getting humanitarian aid to the globe’s newest natural disaster area as quickly, efficiently, and economically as possible.
A few blocks away, oblivious to the world outside, a retired teacher waits nervously in the outpatient wing of a local hospital. Today, she has her first radiation treatment—a five-minute insertion of removable irradiated seeds—meant to shrink her tumor and give her back her life.
Meanwhile, crowded together on a busy street corner on the Georgia Tech campus, ten new freshmen wait anxiously until, right on time, the next electric/hybrid campus shuttle bus arrives to take them to class.
It’s a typical day in a modern American city, with typical challenges and success stories for industrial and systems engineers. Though most people take such stories for granted, a quick look behind the scenes proves that in myriad ways, the work ISyE graduates do day in and day out makes a huge difference to huge numbers of people. It is no exaggeration to say that individual and societal health, world economies, and the daily routines and overall quality of life of millions of people around the globe are immeasurably improved by thoughtful application of basic principles and cutting-edge research unique to the discipline known as ISyE.
Let’s take a closer look.
The Global Supply Chain: From the World to Your Door (in 24 hours!)
To contemporary Georgia Tech ISyE faculty members and their students, popular consumer goods like peaches, wine, and fresh-cut flowers are only the tip of the iceberg in a global “cold food” supply chain that grows more complex every year. Today’s industrial and systems engineering challenges include traditional engineering concerns such as efficient manufacturing processes, durable packaging, and transportation and distribution logistics—as well as new challenges of food safety and traceability, cultural norms and government regulations in hundreds of sovereign nations, and the pivotal political, economic, and logistical role of the Panama Canal in world trade.
But let’s talk about wine. For the past three years, John J. Bartholdi III, Manhattan Associates Chair in Supply Chain Management, has been part of a project that monitors temperatures inside shipping containers on ships carrying food products all over the world. The monitoring device records internal temperatures every two hours around the clock. Bartholdi’s special focus, funded in part by an industry group, involves determining whether temperature variations affect the quality of wines imported into the U.S.
Tasting results are still being assessed, but other important findings have surfaced as well. “The wine tracking made us aware of the lack of standard terminology in the cold supply chain,” says Bartholdi. “International logistics are not standardized, and there is no established hierarchy of standards. The cold supply chain also includes a lot of small businesses providing things like fresh produce, making standardization even more of a challenge.” He expects these kinds of supply chain inconsistencies to become even more unacceptable in the next few years as international shippers gear up for the capacity increases spurred by the 2014 expansion of the Panama Canal.
The Panama Canal expansion is one big piece of an ever-growing logistics puzzle—a puzzle research engineers like Jaymie Forrest, managing director of the Georgia Tech Supply Chain & Logistics Institute, are uniquely positioned to solve. Working with the Panamanian government, Forrest and her colleagues have established a Panama Logistics Innovation & Research Center to improve the logistics capability of the canal’s host nation. The initiative aims to help position Panama as a distribution point for Asian products and—American corporations—as a gateway and trade hub for expanding U.S. markets and imports throughout Latin America. “Right now, our volume of trade is larger with Asia,” she observes, “but trade with Latin America is growing at a faster rate.” In the coming years, the Georgia Tech logistics experts will work with Panama to develop professional-level training in supply chain logistics; help the government and the port authority create a National Logistics Council; and pursue additional research to analyze and improve the country’s overall logistics platform. At a minimum, this platform includes the Panama Canal, container ports on two oceans plus a connecting railroad, multiple airports serving passengers and freight, special economic zones providing incentives to logistics operations, and a wide range of supporting logistics services. The cargo flowing through the canal will appear under flags from some 150 nations with crews speaking dozens of languages; the goods arriving in Panama for further shipping— or for offloading and distribution throughout Latin America—will come from thousands, if not millions, of suppliers. The impact of these infrastructure and logistics improvements will be felt worldwide for decades to come.
Challenges and Collaboration
“It used to be that industrial engineers focused mainly on the plant floor and looked for ways to make manufacturing processes more efficient,” says Bartholdi. “Then we moved to distribution and worked to make distribution systems more efficient. But since the 1990s, the world’s economic system has become more integrated, with everyone sourcing from everyone all over the world. As a result, industrial engineers have to work globally. You can’t coordinate things by staying home in your office—not when your supply chains reach around the world.”
According to Professor Emeritus Leon McGinnis, engineers traditionally looked at processes that were somewhat self-contained, where one person could see and understand those processes. “But today, the scope and scale of industrial engineering challenges exist at a much larger order of magnitude. The problems are no longer just industrial engineering problems; they may also be electrical, mechanical, medical, or political. We have to address problems more comprehensively and collaboratively across many different fields,” says McGinnis.
One way the Georgia Tech ISyE team is meeting these challenges is by leading in the teaching of a twenty first- century systems modeling language called SysML, an open-source specification adaptable to a wide range of systems engineering applications. As McGinnis explains, SysML (sysml.org) can be customized for the task at hand, providing application modeling and automated transformation to simulation capability (dramatically reducing the cost) for many different companies, large or small. Georgia Tech, the only academic institution working as a named contributor on the SysML project, offers what many consider to be the world’s best-known and most comprehensive graduate and undergraduate curricula in SysML.
Yet for McGinnis and other senior ISyE faculty, the teaching challenges of this era go well beyond computational modeling; the goal is to expand knowledge, not merely capture and repeat it. “I want to get industrial engineers out of the business of building models they already know how to build,” McGinnis says. “In the future, IEs will need to move beyond the routine; we need to use our system modeling and analytical tools to build and manage large, multidisciplinary teams seeking transformational change.”
In the words of the National Academy of Engineering, the “grand challenges” for engineering in the next century lie squarely within these broad, multidisciplinary arenas—major undertakings such as providing universal access to clean water, advancing health informatics, and reverse engineering the brain. At a minimum, each of these challenges will require extensive collaboration across multiple disciplines, not to mention cultures and continents. And each challenge has key roles for industrial engineers.
“It’s hard study, but if you want to make a difference, industrial engineering is a career that matters,” says Jane Ammons, ISyE chair and past president of the Institute of Industrial Engineers. “We have the largest industrial engineering program in the U.S. We graduate 10 percent of the nation’s industrial engineers—and the quality and breadth of the talent here will have a major impact on the world of tomorrow.”
Engineering for Human Health and Well-Being
Perhaps nowhere is the impact of ISyE revealed more dramatically than in the medical world. From disaster relief, to nanomaterials, to breakthroughs in cancer irradiation techniques, ISyE faculty are recognized worldwide for creative application of different engineering disciplines in improving human health and well-being.
According to Nash Associate Professor Julie Swann, who also codirects Georgia Tech’s Center for Health & Humanitarian Logistics, the tools of industrial and systems engineering can be immensely helpful in analyzing and recommending new and more effective approaches to disaster relief and public health, both in the U.S. and around the world. Currently, she and her students are providing computer modeling as part of a cross-disciplinary project, the Caribbean Hazard Assessment Mitigation and Preparedness initiative (CHAMP), to assess preparedness against another catastrophe such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005 or the massive earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010. “Vulnerability during a disaster depends on a country’s environment and characteristics,” she says. “Income levels, governmental structure, the level of involvement by police—all these things can affect levels of mortality and economic damage. Using a statistics-based model, we want to predict which factors are the most critical in determining preparedness.”
Funded by a Georgia Tech alumnus, CHAMP evaluates hospitals and healthcare networks, supply and distribution chains to population centers, evacuation route capacity, building construction, and many other factors to help governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), such as the Red Cross, prepare for and understand vulnerabilities in disaster response. To date, the team has worked with governments and NGOs in Belize, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic.
Closer to home, Swann and her collaborators have worked with Children’s Hospital of Atlanta to track childhood obesity; studied children’s distance from specialty pediatric care in many south Georgia counties; and worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and several state health departments, to determine the availability of the H1N1 flu vaccine and vaccination rates in nine southeastern states. A new project under way for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) evaluates the potential of telemedicine.
For Eva Lee, professor at ISyE, mathematical programming and largescale computational algorithms are tools to help save lives. Using systems modeling, algorithm and software design, and decision theory analysis to aid in healthcare decision-making, she has worked with medical personnel to develop advanced cancer irradiation techniques, consulted frequently with the CDC and the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and even journeyed to Japan for on-the ground research in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster.
Lee’s cancer research focuses on using positron emission tomography imaging to locate malignant tumors, then computing algorithms to deliver a precise, escalated dose of radiation directly to the cancerous cells while leaving healthy tissue untouched. The technique has proven especially effective in treating cervical and prostate cancer.
“Cervical cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the world, and it has a 35 percent fatality rate if left untreated,” she says. “Our newest research involves using tiny, removable seeds to insert radiation inside the tumor—five minutes today, five minutes tomorrow. It’s a very exciting, novel approach that controls the tumor but preserves surrounding organs.”
In Japan last year, Lee was the first U.S. scientist to interview people living within fifteen miles of the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plants after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 19,000 people. Using RealOpt, a real-time public health pandemic, radiological, and biowarfare informatics-analytic system she developed several years ago for use by the CDC and local governments in the U.S., she collected data on evacuation timelines, radiological screening, and other information from the local population, including family members of workers at the nuclear plant. Her work group included not only U.S. colleagues from the CDC and National Science Foundation, but researchers from a local Japanese university as well.
ISyE faculty members Turgay Ayer and Chip White III are using their expertise in supply chain engineering to improve availability of a universally needed medical product: human blood. Their project, currently in the proposal stages, focuses on the routes and capabilities of blood-collection vehicles, familiar to most of us as bloodmobiles.
Every day, thousands of bloodmobiles around the world collect blood to be used for accident victims, surgery patients, and others in medical need. A small fraction of these vehicles carry very expensive, specialized equipment designed to collect blood that will be processed into a fast-clotting cryo blood product used in critical cases in emergency rooms. Unlike most blood collection, the blood to be used for cryo products must be frozen and separated within eight hours. All emergency rooms in a given region must have access to cryo products immediately when needed. The tough logistics question is this: Which bloodmobiles should collect blood for cryo uses, and how should they be routed to optimize the use of the cryo collection bays but also maximize the use of less expensive units?
“Focusing on the Atlanta area, our goal is to model and optimize a supply chain for this specific blood product,” explains White. “We’ll be looking at the current processes, adjusting routes throughout the week, and developing a better system for collecting this very time-sensitive, critical product.”
As White notes, the problem is not unlike the logistics challenges faced by UPS and other entities making stop-and-go pickups and deliveries in congested, high-traffic areas. And while all deliveries are important to their senders and recipients, the timely delivery of a critical cryo blood product can, quite literally, become a matter of life or death.
In some cases, an innovative application of industrial engineering in the medical field may be discovered by accident, or perhaps serendipity. At a professional conference a few years ago, Ben Wang, Gwaltney Chair in Manufacturing Systems and executive director of the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (formerly known as the Manufacturing Research Center for Georgia Tech), met a medical specialist working with orthotic prostheses. After learning about Wang and his colleagues’ work in advanced composites, she proposed that Wang explore using some of these new materials to create lighter, more comfortable artificial limbs. The collaboration eventually led to an award from the VA to develop carbon nanomaterials as prostheses for amputees who lost limbs in military combat or through diabetes. “The key word is comfort,” says Wang. “The advanced materials improve the fit, the pressure points, humidity, and temperature of the prosthesis, so the patient can wear it longer and more comfortably.”
ISyE faculty members have even put their expertise to use to help de-stress Georgia Tech students and staff who depend on campus trolleys to get them to class and work on time. Ideally, the trolleys run on a schedule of one trolley every six minutes as they circulate throughout the campus. But for trolley operators, the challenge is always to avoid “bunching” during delays. Every time one trolley gets one minute behind, more people try to crowd on (causing more delay), and the impact cascades, resulting in a bunched-up row of trolleys going nowhere. By the time the sixth trolley departs from the bunch, it may be running more than six minutes behind. As a result, idle times and fuel consumption increase, students are tardy, and valuable class time is wasted—all at an avoidable cost that grows by the second.
To improve this situation, Bartholdi and a team of students stepped up. “We have collaborated with Georgia Tech's Department of Parking & Transportation to design a system of tablet computers, one per bus, so the buses can self-schedule,” explains Bartholdi. The self-equalizing schedule, based on automated GPS and cell phone communications with trolley drivers, was tested on campus in spring 2012 and will be implemented in fall 2012. In addition to helping congestion on the Georgia Tech campus, the team expects this approach to be useful for other transportation systems, such as subway trains and airport shuttles. A report on the project was published in a professional journal in May.
Manufacturing and More
Suppose your military unit is on assignment in Afghanistan, and your
vehicle needs a replacement part. Using a computer and software, a laser, and raw material consisting of powdered metal, your unit’s mechanics construct the replacement part immediately, on-site, and put your vehicle back in the field in hours—instead of days, or even longer.
This innovative new concept ofon-site manufacturing—known in the field as “additive manufacturing”— could eventually “change the face of manufacturing” and revolutionize large segments of traditional industries and associated supply chains, says Wang. He and his ISyE colleagues McGinnis, White, and Jan Shi are working closely with Mechanical Engineering Professors Suman Das and David Rosen, leaders in additive manufacturing, and are hard at work on developing real-world applications of additive manufacturing. With the additive manufacturing approach, a 3-D computer-assisted design (CAD) software programming blueprint for machine parts can be downloaded from the cloud (a storage space on the Internet), and the part can be constructed immediately on-site, using lasers and powdered metals. With an inventory consisting of bags of powdered metal, plus thousands of cloud-based product designs accessible for download anywhere, anytime, a machine shop or work group can produce hundreds of different parts as needed at the point of consumption.
Although this form of manufacturing is still in the beginning stages, the implications are profound, especially for military and time-sensitive applications. While parts made on-site by additive manufacturing might be more expensive individually than similar mass-produced parts, the ability to manufacture one part at a time, on demand, will result in time, opportunity, and energy savings. In military settings especially, making parts locally could greatly improve repair times and enhance surge capability as well. A shift to additive manufacturing would also streamline supply chain logistics from delivering huge, finished pieces to delivering bags of powdered metal.
For Wang, who coordinates Georgia Tech’s manufacturing activities, the concept of additive manufacturing holds immense potential at Georgia Tech. It is also very relevant with regard to his roles in assisting Georgia Tech president G.P. “Bud” Peterson, a board member on the Obama Administration’s Advanced Manufacturing Partnership to support innovative manufacturing in the U.S., and Georgia Tech Executive Vice President for Research Stephen E. Cross, a member of the Defense Science Board.
Your workday is over, and now it’s time to take out the trash. But there’s a lot less of it than you expected—because more than half your disposable goods are being reclaimed by recycling companies long before they reach the landfill.
“Smart Trash” may be a few years in the future, but the technology—the ubiquitous barcode—has been around for decades, says ISyE’s Valerie Thomas. Thomas is developing a prototype of a recycling bin equipped with
a bar-code reader. The reader would capture details about the “trashed” items, store that information in a central database, and make the database available to potential recycling companies who could assess the value of the various components and make arrangements to pick up, purchase, and resell your trash. The Smart Trash concept is only one of numerous faculty projects devoted to the broad category of sustainability: recycling, decreasing energy use, and even reverse engineering to lessen products’ life cycle impact on the environment. Among other projects, Thomas is also working on energy efficiency in housing with the City of Atlanta Office of Sustainability and on projects related to biofuels, electric vehicles and wind power with several other Georgia Tech colleagues. “Most of my efforts on Smart Trash involve shepherding along concepts,” she says. “But we already have the technology for this idea, such as using barcodes for Smart Trash recycling—and at the implementation level, it’s just another app; it’s really not that hard to do.”
This article was written by Faye Goolrick and first appeared in the 2012 edition of the ISyE Alumni Magazine.
]]>ACAS is a forum for the presentation and discussion of theoretical and applied papers related to the use of probability and statistics in solving defense problems. The conference provides an opportunity for interaction among academic, industry, and defense scientists.
Wu also gave the W. J. Youden Memorial Address titled, “Quality Technology in the High Tech Age” at the 56th Annual Fall Technical Conference in St. Louis on October 4. The conference, co-sponsored by the American Statistical Association and the American Society for Quality, is the premier forum to discuss topics at the interface of statistics and quality.
]]>Dieker received the award for his research project “Stochastic Processes in High Dimensions: from Asymptotic Analysis to Algorithms”, which aims to devise and study algorithms for large-scale random systems where direct computation is infeasible despite today's ever-increasing availability and affordability of computing resources. If successful, the results of this research will lead to effective algorithms for large-scale random systems, along with accompanying qualitative insights and mathematical performance analysis. The results will for instance help in computing probabilities of rare, but significant events. They will also help in understanding and managing large-scale service systems. Furthermore, they will aid in improving internal efficiencies in large-scale computer systems, which becomes ever more important in the face of rising energy costs and associated environmental impact.
Dieker was recently awarded the Erlang Prize at the 2012 INFORMS Annual Conference for his contributions to the theory of stochastic processes, stochastic networks, and stochastic analysis of algorithms. Some of Dieker’s research on stochastic networks is showcased in his computer game "Theme Park" for high school students, which aims to raise student awareness for the role of engineering and mathematics in our daily lives. Dieker defended his Ph.D. thesis “Extremes and fluid queues” at the University of Amsterdam in 2006. He came to Georgia Tech from the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center. Prior to that, he worked at the University College Cork, Ireland, as a postdoctoral researcher.
]]>Interface, Inc., is the world’s largest modular carpet manufacturer. As a result of significant growth, their facility in West Point, GA has experienced extended order lead times due to lack of capacity, high overtime expenses, constrained space, and delayed orders. The team delivered process improvement and capacity expansion recommendations based on a simulation, and an order scheduling decision-support tool. Interface can expect approximately 20% increase in capacity, $2 million in annual savings, and up to 85% reduction in delayed orders.
Finalists in the competition were the three Senior Design teams who worked with The Home Depot (Inbound), Volunteer Express, and Walmart.
Students Shashank Bharadwaj, Marybeth Black, Lynn Blau, Nakul Chitalia, Maria Isabel Guzman, Caitlin Hogan, John Miller, and Siddhartha Penakalapati, guided by faculty advisor Xiaoming Huo, made up The Home Depot (Inbound) team. For their project “Inbound Shipment Coordination,” the team worked with The Home Depot to reduce its inbound transportation cost by building an optimization model that created multi-stop truck routes. These routes were then consolidated to form groups of frequently combined vendors. The developed tool could save the company over $9M/year.
Students Sangho Bae, Nilesh Balakrishnan, Vineet Desai, Ankita Mehrotra, Luke Venable, and Steven Winton, guided by Jye-Chyi Lu, made up the Volunteer Express team. Volunteer Express, a less than truckload logistics provider, traditionally routed all shipments through its hub in Nashville, TN. The routing procedures and capacity constraints adversely affected operational efficiency. For their project “LTL Logistics Network Optimization,” the team developed several optimized routing solutions that were compared using statistical analyses. The best routing strategy generated a potential annual savings of approximately $1.2 million.
The Walmart Senior Design team was comprised of students Anne Boliere, Sheereen Brown, Matthew King, Virginia MacGowan, Jessica Solana, Catherine Thaliath, and Victoria Ulloque, and advised by Damon P. Williams. The goal of the project was to increase throughput capacity at the Walmart.com distribution center in Carrollton, GA. The team utilized various methodologies to develop tools and pick module designs as deliverables. By applying these recommendations, the DC is projected to increase throughput by 32% with an estimated annual savings of $6.9M.
All senior students in ISyE culminate their undergraduate educational experience with the Senior Design course in order to provide firsthand experience at solving real world problems in a team environment. Students typically work in teams of six to eight individuals with 15-25 Senior Design teams running each semester. Each group is advised by an ISyE faculty member, and the faculty coordinator manages the overall course. Companies interested in submitting a project for consideration can either contact Joel Sokol, at 404 894-6484 or can post a project through the ISyE webpage at http://www.isye.gatech.edu/seniordesign/. Senior design teams look for projects before the start of the fall and spring semesters.
]]>Thomas is working with Wenman Liu, a PhD student in the School of Public Policy, to evaluate a wide range of environmental impacts, including water use, biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions, and ecosystem impacts, as well as broader issues regarding land use and sustainability.
In addition to its efforts to reduce its forest fiber footprint, K-C has announced its plan to transition at least 50 percent of wood fiber sourced from natural forests to alternate fiber sources by 2025. This broad, new initiative is expected to help protect biodiversity and reduce the impacts of fiber that the company uses, while ensuring the fiber is sourced in an environmentally and socially responsible way. Equally important, the initiative will also help insulate the company from continuing volatile price fluctuations in the world fiber market.
With a joint appointment in the School of Public Policy, Thomas’ research interests include energy and materials efficiency, sustainability, industrial ecology, technology assessment, international security, and science and technology policy. Thomas is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the American Physical Society.
This article first appeared in the 2012 edition of the ISyE Alumni Magazine.
]]>To address the agroterrorism threat, researchers at ISyE are developing a model of food supply chains that federal agencies and corporations can use to determine how best to protect the nation’s food supply from intentional acts of biological, chemical, physical, or radioactive contamination.
“Our goal is to help make sure food products are safe from farm to fork by identifying food supply chain designs that ensure a high level of system productivity, while mitigating the risk posed by intentional attacks on the food supply chain by intelligent adversaries,” said Associate Professor Alan Erera.
Erera leads the six-year, $1 million research project that began in 2010. The project is funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Center for Food Protection and Defense. Erera and Professor Chip White are using an optimization-based methodology to predict the probability of terrorist attacks at specific points in food supply chains and prioritize interventions and countermeasures based on their capability to mitigate risk and economic utility.
“We’re trying to help the government and industry understand how the structure of a food supply chain impacts the vulnerability of a food product against a contaminant such as botulinum toxin,” said White, who is also the Schneider National Chair in Transportation and Logistics at Georgia Tech. “With agroterrorism, the food is the weapon and the supply chain is the weapon delivery platform; our model assumes that the terrorists want to keep the supply chain intact and move the contaminated food product to the consumer as quickly and quietly as possible.”
The researchers are currently using the model to identify the vulnerabilities in the food supply chain for liquid eggs. Of the estimated 215 million cases of eggs produced in 2009, 30 percent were removed from their shells and turned into liquid, frozen, and dried egg products used by the food service industry and as ingredients in other foods, such as bread, mayonnaise, and ice cream.
Preliminary results from the model have shown how the liquid egg supply chain could be better protected from an attack through investments and adaptability in the production process.
Adaptability scenarios tested with the model included strategies such as reducing the amount of liquid egg in each tank, housing the liquid egg product in several facilities instead of just one, increasing the frequency of tank cleanings, changing the timing of certain activities, and increasing security.
Each of these potential changes to the production process had advantages and disadvantages that were also considered in the model. Reducing the amount of liquid egg in each tank might decrease the amount of product that could become contaminated, but it could increase production costs. While having a few smaller facilities instead of one large facility might decrease the amount of product that could become contaminated, and decrease distribution costs if the facilities were strategically geographically distributed, the change could increase production costs and the cost to protect the facilities against a threat.
“Corporations want a safer supply chain, but they also want to know how different supply chain designs and risk mitigation strategies impact cost, productivity, and vulnerability,” said Erera. “Using our model, we are beginning to identify ways that a small investment can significantly mitigate risk in the food supply chain.”
During the remaining years of the project, the researchers plan to expand the utility and authenticity of their model by conducting additional case studies using other food products. The researchers believe the case studies may lead to overarching recommendations for how different food industries can best protect their products against a terrorist attack.
This article was written by Abby Robinson and first appeared in the 2012 edition of the ISyE Alumni Magazine.
]]>Why does the world need industrial engineers?
Kendrick: Industrial engineers provide a great service by addressing the best use of limited resources to achieve an organization’s objectives. IEs are problem solvers, addressing real-world issues such as the improvement of manufacturing effectiveness and efficiency, how products should be moved on a global basis in a fast and efficient manner, and, in general, how we should do things better. The elimination of waste is a key outcome, something we should be focused on in the resource-constrained world we live in.
Snowdon: Industrial engineers devise ways to make processes, systems, and people work more effectively and efficiently together. Improvements can take various forms including reduced cost, improved quality, higher productivity, less time, and lower energy.
Primus: The world is changing so rapidly that someone needs to make order of the chaos. Whether it is the logistics issues of an increasingly global economy, the increased focus on healthcare, or the disintermediation of the supply chain brought about by e-commerce, the world works a lot better when industrial engineers are developing systems to help things flow more smoothly.
What are some skills that you learned at ISyE that have proven to be most beneficial to you in your career today?
Mallett: The knowledge I received as an IE to analyze processes, identify the deficiencies within those processes, then cultivate new programs and/or processes that would create improvements, greater efficiencies and/or a positive impact to the bottom line, gave me the ability to be a successful account executive for IBM in the oil and gas industry; an impactful program marketing director for BMC Software; an effective managing partner for my own business, which focused on marketing logistics for nonprofits and small businesses; and as an HR Manager who helped identify and initiate new programs to help recruit, acquire, and retain talent for Southwire Company. Although all these positions are different, the common thread is my IE training and development. My IE degree prepared me for success in all of these scenarios by teaching me to look at a situation, analyze it, and be pragmatic in my approach to it.
Primus: I'd say that the most important skill that I acquired was the ability to work on teams. I had been on teams, but never had to rely on others for success. My ability to work in and manage teams is a critical part of my success. Modeling was also another skill that I acquired. The program pricing model that I built for NPR helped reshape the public radio landscape. Even today, I use complex models to ensure that I have the answers before the questions are asked.
Flood: The ability to think in an analytical manner and understand the time value of money when applied to capital investments. Having a broad engineering background has given me the ability to develop practical, cost-effective solutions—often in emotional environments among participants with diverse backgrounds and interests.
Was your degree versatile and flexible enough for today’s world?
Kendrick: Absolutely. The versatility of the degree is why I consider it one of the best majors available. You are prepared to address issues in manufacturing, supply chain= management, and general business, with a mind’s eye on how to make things better. You are not limited to a specific industry; not limited to a specific role. Industrial engineers are hired to do many different things and, ultimately, are well positioned to be leaders in whatever business they choose.
Johns: Absolutely. The ability to analyze and solve problems, to think logically, and to communicate very technical topics at the 50,000-foot level are extremely valuable.
Snowdon: Industrial engineers play many different roles such as manufacturing engineers, cost engineers, consultants, analysts, research scientists, sales and marketing managers, and chief executives.
Flood: Yes, very much so. Learning to apply the seven “magic steps” in the IE classes prepares students for all types of engineering, management, consulting, and executive careers. The magic steps are: identify the problem; analyze the problem and gather the facts; determine alternative solutions; evaluate the alternatives; draw conclusions and determine the solution and course of action; sell the solution and course of action to interested personnel and those impacted by the solution; and successfully implement the solution and course of action.
What is one of your fondest memories of your time as an ISyE student?
Primus: I really enjoyed playing intramural basketball with the professors—especially Professors Goldsman and Hackman. In the classroom, I remember being in total amazement when Professor Ratliff demonstrated CAPS Logistics routing software—that was before Google Maps. I also remember working with Donovan Young on a project to design a system for what was to become the DVR, which was before broadband and high-capacity storage, so I thought that the DVR was a crazy idea back then. Plus, why would anybody want to skip forward thirty seconds at a time?
Mallett: Senior Design. The opportunity to apply our skills and knowledge in a real environment by adding value to a small business’s bottom line is one of my greatest memories within ISyE. What's exciting is to see how the Senior Design program has truly evolved over the past 16 years.
Kendrick: My fondest memories include my time as a co-op student, applying what I learned real-time and further enhancing my overall learning experience. In addition, working on my Senior Design project was great, allowing me the real opportunity to bring it all together. Also, I really enjoyed the faculty. The depth and breadth of skills I came across was amazing and ultimately deserving of our No. 1 ranking.
Thank you all for serving a term on the ISyE Advisory Board. Why do you think it’s important to stay connected to your alma mater?
Snowdon: It is a great honor and privilege to serve a term and chair the ISyE Advisory Board. Staying connected to your alma mater is important for providing advice on and support for academic and financial matters, maintaining and expanding your professional network, and mentoring the future leaders in industrial engineering.
Johns: We all have a lot for which we are thankful. For me, giving back to Georgia Tech, which is a huge contributor to who I am today, is the least I can do.
Flood: ISyE at Georgia Tech put its “print” on me and helped mold me into who I am today. It is, therefore, important for me to give back to the school to help ensure that it continues to do the great job it has done in the past— even in the more complex world that the student will enter when he or she graduates.
This article first appeared in the 2012 edition of the ISyE Alumni Magazine.
]]>The short story in industrial engineering and operations research is that, for most practical purposes, all of the easy problems and results are gone, having been discovered and thoroughly studied long ago. That doesn’t mean we can’t go out into the world and solve real-life problems with appropriate existing technology; it just means we may have to roll up our mathematical sleeves a bit as we delve into applications that are becoming more and more challenging. For instance, it’s quite easy to “solve” a steady-state single-server queuing system with some simple equations if the customer inter-arrival times and service times are independent and identically distributed exponential random variables. But what if you have an entire network of queues (like, say, a call center or a popular fast-food restaurant) experiencing transient arrival processes that vary throughout the day, or different server schedules and abilities, or equipment breakdowns? These types of problems obviously take a little more effort; a trivial equation isn’t enough.
This article will address some of the mathematics techniques that can be brought to bear on interesting ISyE applications and research problems. You would undoubtedly have been exposed to some of these methods in your travels as a student and in the real world (perhaps, at least, elementary versions), but some may be completely new to you. In any case, the idea is to provide a glimpse of the terrific power of mathematics that’s available for use in problems important to industrial engineers and operations researchers.
Going for a Walk
Let’s begin with a discussion concerning a beautiful application of probability theory and stochastic processes. Of course, the most basic experiment in any probability course is that of flipping a coin. We’ll show how this concept can be turned into something that’s quite sophisticated from a mathematical point of view. Suppose every time I toss tails (T), I earn a dollar, and every time I toss heads (H), I lose a dollar. An interesting question involves that of determining how much money I will have after a certain number of tosses. Where do my total winnings stand after ten tosses? After 100? After one million? As an example, the ten-toss sequence TTTHHTTHTT would have given me a well-deserved net gain of $4.
Such an experiment is called a random walk. Think of me taking a step to the left or a step to the right with equal probability (just like my earnings with the coin flips). In terms of my experiment, I’d like to know where I stand after I’ve been meandering around a while. What’s the probability that I’ll have at least $4 by the tenth toss? Will I earn $4 before I lose $4? But the random walk gives us so much more than a description of the probabilistic behavior of a finite number of coin flips. The magic happens as we increase the number of steps in the random walk, because the process then converges to what is known as Brownian motion.
Here is an example of what an exponential version of Brownian motion looks like (see photo with Associate Professor Shijie Deng). Notice that it bears a striking resemblance to a time series plot of stock prices. In fact, many financial engineers use Brownian motion to model stocks, options, and other financial instruments. Brownian motion is so important and mathematically deep that scientists have won at least two Nobel Prizes explaining it and using it in all sorts of applications. In ISyE, researchers use Brownian motion to:
Going Nowhere Fast
Speaking of queuing systems as in the last set of examples, how many of us have had to wait in lines a bit more than we would have liked at a store, on the phone, or at an amusement park? The science of queuing (line) theory allows us to analyze the flow of entities through all sorts of systems, where the terms “entities” and “systems” can be quite general. For instance, we might be interested in a problem as simple as that of customer movement through a barber shop (perhaps encountering a tasty barber queue along the way), or more complicated systems such as airport baggage handling services, or a large call center handling millions of customer inquiries.
What are some of the issues involved in queuing theory and how can mathematics help us understand the performance of these types of systems? If you are a customer, you are certainly interested in moving through lines (queues) quickly and being served quickly. If you are the service provider, you may want to keep the lines short in order to save space and avoid customer dissatisfaction. On the other hand, if you are the post office, you’ll likely want to keep the lines nice and long— to show your customers who’s boss. In addition to the issue of line length, you’d want to keep your servers relatively busy―after all, an idle server is the devil’s workshop (and is costing you money). A number of important questions arise from all of these considerations:
ISyE researchers study questions such as those described above using a combination of techniques arising from stochastic processes, differential equations, optimization, and computer simulation. The implications of such questions are tremendous and can generate considerations such as:
Taking a Tour
Suppose you are a traveling salesman and you need to visit the following cities to show off your goods: Atlanta (A), Buffalo (B), Chicago (C), and Denver (D). Starting from and ending at Atlanta, what’s the best way to do this? This is what ISyE researchers refer to as the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP).
Here are the possible routes you could take: ABCDA, ABDCA, ACBDA, ACDBA, ADBCA, ADCBA
Notice that we have six potential routes (or “tours”), corresponding to the six permutations of the cities B, C, D. If we are interested in minimizing the distance travelled, then we really only have to look at the three tours ABCDA, ABDCA, ACBDA since, for example, the distance required for ABCDA is the same as that for ADCBA—assuming we are comfortable walking backward. All we have to do is go on the web and look at the distances for the three routes to get our optimal answer. Pretty simple, right? But what happens if we have n cities on our agenda? Then it is very easy to show that we’ll have to do the look-ups for (n-1)!/2 tours, and this number gets incredibly big very quickly.
Indeed, if we were to try to find the optimal tour by hand for just twenty cities, it would take a huge amount of effort, and it would be exceptionally tedious and time-consuming. Fifty cities by hand would be out of the question. Using mathematical tools from combinatorics, graph theory, and even topology (along with a liberal dose of computer science), ISyE researchers have optimally solved TSPs involving almost 100,000 cities―and they can get nearly optimal solutions for much larger problems! This is not just a pie-in-the-sky mathematical exercise. You can use TSPs to:
For more information on TSPs, visit http://www.tsp.gatech.edu/.
Getting from Here to There
Travel is an aspect of all of our lives that ISyE touches in many ways. Think of an airline trip from Atlanta to New York. Typically, you start the process by going online to purchase your ticket at one of the major travel portals (or at the airline itself). The prices you see are dependent on a number of factors, such as time and date of your trip and class of service, and are actually determined by a combination of optimization, regression, and forecasting techniques. For instance, if your airline has determined via its data analytics that the Atlanta-New York route is popular on Labor Day weekend, it will likely try to take advantage of that forecast by keeping most of that route’s prices higher than usual, reducing the number of low-price tickets, reducing the availability of free frequent flier tickets, and perhaps scheduling aircraft with greater capacities.
Your airline almost certainly makes multiple flights from Atlanta to New York every day on a variety of different planes with different capacities. How are the decisions made regarding which planes fly to which cities, at which times, carrying how many people? In particular:
These are all extremely difficult problems that require the use of optimization, statistical tools, and simulation (among others). ISyE is very lucky to have several researchers specializing in integer programming optimization techniques who are well-known for their work on many of the listed questions. The work―though highly theoretical―has financial consequences that result in millions and millions of dollars in savings.
Follow the Bouncing Ball
As yet another example of mathematics used in our field, let’s talk about something almost every sports fan can relate to: Which college basketball team is going to win the NCAA championship this year? This is a tough problem that involves a number of tricky aspects of probability, statistics, and optimization. The goal is to somehow use our analytical skills from these mathematical areas along with some intelligent data mining to make reasonable predictions (and to win our office pools). In terms of data mining, there’s certainly a lot of information out there. For instance:
NCAA tournament prediction is clearly an active area, both from a seat-of-the-pants perspective as well as an analytical perspective. We are very lucky in ISyE to have a number of researchers who have developed an extremely successful prediction technology called the Logistic Regression / Markov Chain (LRMC) method. The interesting name reflects the statistical and probabilistic techniques the tool uses. What is nice about the LRMC ranking system is that it is designed to use only basic scoreboard data: which two teams played, whose court they played on, and what the margin of victory was—though a new so-called Bayesian add-on has been developed recently that allows users to incorporate some gut feeling into the equation.
Obviously, you have to go out and play the games, so you can’t predict things correctly all of the time, but LRMC has done very well compared to just about any other prediction methodology, and ISyE has garnered a great deal of positive play from this terrific application of mathematics. If you would like more information about LRMC, visit http://lrmc.isye.gatech.edu/.
Getting Home Safe and Sound
Another example involving mathematics and modeling in ISyE concerns the important problem of disease propagation. In 2009 and the early part of 2010, the northern hemisphere had to cope with the first waves of a new H1N1 influenza pandemic, also known as swine flu.
Despite high-profile vaccination campaigns in many countries, delays in the administration of vaccination programs were common, and high vaccination coverage levels were not achieved, so the disease was not effectively controlled.
We were lucky this time. This particular strain of swine flu wasn’t too awful in terms of mortality; in fact, it wasn’t much worse than regular seasonal flu. Next time, things might not go our way. So what else could have been done to stem the march of a pandemic disease through the population? ISyE researchers have used a variety of mathematical tools to model the disease as well as certain mitigation strategies. These tools include everything from probability, statistics, differential equations, and optimization, which are then used in conjunction with computer simulations to come up with strategies to mitigate future pandemics. What kinds of strategies are out there?
Here are some possibilities:
Of course, these strategies all cost a great deal of money and some work better than others. ISyE researchers are interested in optimizing health outcomes subject to budget constraints and are actively working in this area.
One advantage of this work is that it can be extended to other healthcare arenas, for instance:
Conclusion
This article has just touched the surface of how the mathematical tools used by ISyE folks can be adopted to solve a variety of theoretical and applied problems. Some of these mathematical technologies are available through courses in ISyE (or from a good math department), but there is no doubt that such cutting-edge methods are required reading for today’s modern practitioners of industrial engineering and operations research.
This article was written by Professor Dave Goldsman and first appeared in the 2012 edition of the ISyE Alumni Magazine.
]]>Why does the world need industrial engineers?
Kendrick: Industrial engineers provide a great service by addressing the best use of limited resources to achieve an organization’s objectives. IEs are problem solvers, addressing real-world issues such as the improvement of manufacturing effectiveness and efficiency, how products should be moved on a global basis in a fast and efficient manner, and, in general, how we should do things better. The elimination of waste is a key outcome, something we should be focused on in the resource-constrained world we live in.
Snowdon: Industrial engineers devise ways to make processes, systems, and people work more effectively and efficiently together. Improvements can take various forms including reduced cost, improved quality, higher productivity, less time, and lower energy.
Primus: The world is changing so rapidly that someone needs to make order of the chaos. Whether it is the logistics issues of an increasingly global economy, the increased focus on healthcare, or the disintermediation of the supply chain brought about by e-commerce, the world works a lot better when industrial engineers are developing systems to help things flow more smoothly.
What are some skills that you learned at ISyE that have proven to be most beneficial to you in your career today?
Mallett: The knowledge I received as an IE to analyze processes, identify the deficiencies within those processes, then cultivate new programs and/or processes that would create improvements, greater efficiencies and/or a positive impact to the bottom line, gave me the ability to be a successful account executive for IBM in the oil and gas industry; an impactful program marketing director for BMC Software; an effective managing partner for my own business, which focused on marketing logistics for nonprofits and small businesses; and as an HR Manager who helped identify and initiate new programs to help recruit, acquire, and retain talent for Southwire Company. Although all these positions are different, the common thread is my IE training and development. My IE degree prepared me for success in all of these scenarios by teaching me to look at a situation, analyze it, and be pragmatic in my approach to it.
Primus: I'd say that the most important skill that I acquired was the ability to work on teams. I had been on teams, but never had to rely on others for success. My ability to work in and manage teams is a critical part of my success. Modeling was also another skill that I acquired. The program pricing model that I built for NPR helped reshape the public radio landscape. Even today, I use complex models to ensure that I have the answers before the questions are asked.
Flood: The ability to think in an analytical manner and understand the time value of money when applied to capital investments. Having a broad engineering background has given me the ability to develop practical, cost-effective solutions—often in emotional environments among participants with diverse backgrounds and interests.
Was your degree versatile and flexible enough for today’s world?
Kendrick: Absolutely. The versatility of the degree is why I consider it one of the best majors available. You are prepared to address issues in manufacturing, supply chain= management, and general business, with a mind’s eye on how to make things better. You are not limited to a specific industry; not limited to a specific role. Industrial engineers are hired to do many different things and, ultimately, are well positioned to be leaders in whatever business they choose.
Johns: Absolutely. The ability to analyze and solve problems, to think logically, and to communicate very technical topics at the 50,000-foot level are extremely valuable.
Snowdon: Industrial engineers play many different roles such as manufacturing engineers, cost engineers, consultants, analysts, research scientists, sales and marketing managers, and chief executives.
Flood: Yes, very much so. Learning to apply the seven “magic steps” in the IE classes prepares students for all types of engineering, management, consulting, and executive careers. The magic steps are: identify the problem; analyze the problem and gather the facts; determine alternative solutions; evaluate the alternatives; draw conclusions and determine the solution and course of action; sell the solution and course of action to interested personnel and those impacted by the solution; and successfully implement the solution and course of action.
What is one of your fondest memories of your time as an ISyE student?
Primus: I really enjoyed playing intramural basketball with the professors—especially Professors Goldsman and Hackman. In the classroom, I remember being in total amazement when Professor Ratliff demonstrated CAPS Logistics routing software—that was before Google Maps. I also remember working with Donovan Young on a project to design a system for what was to become the DVR, which was before broadband and high-capacity storage, so I thought that the DVR was a crazy idea back then. Plus, why would anybody want to skip forward thirty seconds at a time?
Mallett: Senior Design. The opportunity to apply our skills and knowledge in a real environment by adding value to a small business’s bottom line is one of my greatest memories within ISyE. What's exciting is to see how the Senior Design program has truly evolved over the past 16 years.
Kendrick: My fondest memories include my time as a co-op student, applying what I learned real-time and further enhancing my overall learning experience. In addition, working on my Senior Design project was great, allowing me the real opportunity to bring it all together. Also, I really enjoyed the faculty. The depth and breadth of skills I came across was amazing and ultimately deserving of our No. 1 ranking.
Thank you all for serving a term on the ISyE Advisory Board. Why do you think it’s important to stay connected to your alma mater?
Snowdon: It is a great honor and privilege to serve a term and chair the ISyE Advisory Board. Staying connected to your alma mater is important for providing advice on and support for academic and financial matters, maintaining and expanding your professional network, and mentoring the future leaders in industrial engineering.
Johns: We all have a lot for which we are thankful. For me, giving back to Georgia Tech, which is a huge contributor to who I am today, is the least I can do.
Flood: ISyE at Georgia Tech put its “print” on me and helped mold me into who I am today. It is, therefore, important for me to give back to the school to help ensure that it continues to do the great job it has done in the past— even in the more complex world that the student will enter when he or she graduates.
]]>In today's world, one of the main objectives is to maximize economic output and professional performance. Well-being and happiness is most often considered to be an automatic consequence of economic welfare.
The aim of our study was to conduct a thought-experiment on what a happiness-optimized schedule might look like as compared to one that we are typically living in our day-to-day lives. We then compared the outcome of this thought experiment with the actual allocation of times to certain activities.
The study is not about telling people ‘this is how you should spend your time’. What we did was rather to look at respondents’ own statements and the activities they perform in order to calculate what a perfect day would look like based on their responses.
One of our goals is to foster discussion about how to combine subjective well-being and happiness with the requirements of today's life. We also believe that it will be more important to actively manage well-being and happiness and do not relegate it to being a corollary of professional success.
The paper, "Just a perfect day? Developing a happiness optimised day," was published in the October 16 edition of Journal of Economic Psychology.
This story was written by Liz Klipp and first appeared on November 28, 2012 in the Georgia Tech Amplifier.
]]>For the lecture, Dai discussed his project, “Stochastic Network Models for Hospital Inpatient Flow Management,” which he has been collaborating on for the last three years with Ph.D. student Pengyi Shi, who is jointly advised by Dai and Pinar Keskinocak, the Joseph C. Mello Professor in ISyE. Other team members on the project include Ding Ding, from the University of International Business & Economics in Beijing, Jame Ang and Mabel Chou of the National University of Singapore, and Jin Xin and Joe Sim, with the National University Hospital.
Dai received B.A. and M.S. degrees from Nanjing University and a Ph.D. degree from Stanford University, all in mathematics. He is an elected fellow of Institute of Mathematical Statistics and an elected fellow of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). He has received a number of awards for his research contributions including The Best Publication Award in 1997 and The Erlang Prize in 1998, both from the Applied Probability Society of INFORMS. He is currently an Area Editor and the Interim Editor-in-Chief for Mathematics of Operations Research, an Area Editor for Operations Research, and a past Series Editor for Handbooks in Operations Research and Management Science. He was recently appointed by INFORMS to be the next Editor-in-Chief for Mathematics of Operations Research effective January 1, 2013.
The APS initiated the annual Markov Lecture in 2005, to be delivered at the INFORMS Annual Conference each year. The Markov Lecturer is selected by a committee consisting of the APS Prize Committee for the year in question and the APS track organizers involved in organizing that year's INFORMS conference.
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Ton has achieved major breakthroughs in several extremely challenging and longstanding open problems in probability. Most notable among these are his contributions to resolving a longstanding conjecture regarding the rates of convergence to stationarity in Markov chains. Ton's work has also tackled notable open problems in the areas of Gaussian processes, stochastic network theory, and queueing. Ton's work stands out in his ability to combine and bring to bear key ideas and technical machinery from quite disparate areas, including combinatorics, random matrix theory and control theory. The breadth and depth of Ton's contributions and the fearless manner by which he has tackled notoriously difficult problems with such great success, have already established him as a leader in the applied probability community.
Dieker earned his master's degree in Operations Research from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 2002. He carried out his Ph.D. research at the Center for Mathematics and Computer Science in Amsterdam, and defended his Ph.D. thesis Extremes and fluid queues at the University of Amsterdam in 2006. He came to Georgia Tech from the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center. Prior to that, he worked at the University College Cork, Ireland, as a postdoctoral researcher.
Dieker is the third ISyE faculty member to receive this honor. Past recipients of the Erlang Prize include Jim Dai, Edenfield Professor in ISyE, in 1998, and Bert Zwart, adjunct associate professor in ISyE, in 2008.
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John Bartholdi, Manhattan Associates Chair of Supply Chain Management, along with Don Eisenstein (MS IE 1983, PhD IE 1992), were awarded the 2012 TSL Best Paper Prize for their paper, "A self-coordinating bus route to avoid bus bunching."
Jim Dai, Edenfield Professor in ISyE, delivered the Markov Lecture, a prestigious honor bestowed by the Applied Probability Society of INFORMS.
Assistant Professor Ton Dieker won the prestigious Erlang Prize for his outstanding contributions to several areas, including the theory of stochastic processes, stochastic networks, and stochastic analysis of algorithms.
George Nemhauser, the A. Russell Chandler Chaired Professor in ISyE, along with his colleague Laurence Wolsey, professor at the Catholic University of Louvain, were named winners of the prestigious John von Neumann Theory prize.
Ph.D. student Rodolfo Carvajal won the Energy, Natural Resources, and the Environment Best Paper Award in Environment and Sustainability Sponsored Sessions for his paper, “Imposing Connectivity Constraints in Forest Planning Models,” co-authored by R. Carvajal, M. Constantino, M. Goycoolea (Ph.D. IE 2006), J.P. Vielma (Ph.D. IE 2009.), and A. Weintraub.
Ph.D. student Kaibo Liu, advised by Professor Jianjun Shi, won the 2012 INFORMS Data-mining Section Best Student Paper Competition for his paper "Health Index Development Based on Sensory Data Fusion for Degradation Modeling and Prognostic Analysis."
Ph.D. student Diego Morán won the 2012 INFORMS Optimization Society Student Paper Prize for his paper "A Strong Dual for Conic Mixed Integer Programs,” co-authored with his advisor, Assistant Professor Santanu S. Dey, and Juan Pablo Vielma, Ph.D. IE 2009.
Jon Petersen, Ph.D. IE 2012, advised by Professor Emeritus Ellis Johnson and John-Paul Clarke, associate professor in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering with a courtesy appointment in ISyE, won the 2012 Transportation Science and Logistics Society Dissertation Prize for his thesis “Large-Scale Mixed Integer Optimization Approaches for Scheduling Airline Operations Under Irregularity.” Jessica Heier Stamm, Ph.D. IE 2010, won the prize in 2011 under the direction of Associate Professors Ozlem Ergun and Julie Swann, and Juan Morales, Ph.D. IE, won in 2007 under the guidance of Associate Professor Alan Erera and former Professor Martin Savelsbergh.
Ph.D. student Matthew Plumlee, advised by Associate Professor Roshan Vengazhiyil and Professor Jianjun Shi, won the Quality, Statistics, and Reliability (QSR) Best Student Paper Competition for his paper “Tractable Functional Response Modeling using Nonstationary Covariance Functions.”
Ph.D. student Luyi Gui won an honorable mention in the SPPSN Best Paper Competition for her paper "Fair and Efficient Implementation of Collective Extended Producer Responsibility Legislation," co-authored by her advisor, Associate Professor Ozlem Ergun, and Assistant Professor Atalay Atasu and Professor Beril Toktay from the Georgia Tech College of Management.
Guided by faculty advisor Donna C. Llewellyn, ISyE Senior Design undergraduate students Jacmara Katheryn Ching Sanchez, Santiago Diaz Kieffer, Antonio Elosua Cantu, Oscar Andres Harasic-Yaksic, Yonatan Dov Mintz, and Mario Solares Nassarwere were named honorable mention winners for the INFORMS Undergraduate Research Award for their project “Wind Turbine Offloading Optimization Strategy.”
ISyE faculty and students were also among those named finalists for this year’s INFORMS awards.
Assistant Professor Santanu Dey and Ph.D. student Diego Morán were named finalists in the Junior Faculty Interest Group Paper Competition for their paper “Some Properties of Convex Hulls of Integer Points Contained in General Convex Sets.”
Professor Eva Lee was named a finalist for the Daniel H. Wagner Prize for Excellence in Operations Research Practice for her paper “Biological Planning for High-Dose Rate Brachytherapy: Application to Cervical Cancer Treatment.”
Additionally, two students in the System Informatics and Control graduate program in ISyE were named finalists for the QSR Competition. Linkan Bian, advised by Associate Professor Nagi Gebraeel, was selected for his paper “Real-Time Prognostics for Multi-Component Systems with Degradation-Rate-Interactions,” and Kaibo Liu, advised by Professor Jianjun Shi, was selected for his paper “Physician Performance Assessment Using a Composite Quality Index.”
INFORMS, the largest professional society in the world for professionals in the field of operations research, management science, and business analytics, serves the scientific and professional needs of Operations Researchers and those in the Management Sciences including educators, scientists, students, managers, and consultants.
]]>Scholarships Available!! Through the generosity of The UPS Foundation, Andrea L. Laliberte, and Richard E. and Charlene O. Zalesky, a limited number of scholarships are available for participants from non-governmental organizations and/or from developing countries. For more information about the scholarships, visit http://hhls.scl.gatech.edu.
The three course series fulfills the need for greater capacity building in the health and humanitarian sectors and completion of all three courses results in a logistics certificate. Click on a course below for more information.
Our courses are taught by world-renowned, award winning experts in health and humanitarian systems. With interactive components, such as case studies and games, professionals in the health and humanitarian world are able to link the challenges and decision-making trade-offs they face in practice with the systematic approaches, tools and techniques presented.
To learn more about the program and to register for a course, visit www.scl.gatech.edu/HHL, or e-mail hhlcourses@isye.gatech.edu.
]]>The TSL Best Paper Award is given every year to an outstanding paper in the field of transportation science and logistics. The paper must have been published in a refereed journal and must present innovative approaches for solving complex problems in transportation and/or logistics, with an emphasis on operations research and quantitative methods.
Bartholdi, also the research director for The Supply Chain & Logistics Institute (SCL) at Georgia Tech, teaches supply chain issues, primarily warehousing, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and in SCL's professional education program. His research centers on problems in warehousing and distribution, but he reserves some time to pursue wider-ranging interests, including mechanics, politics, computer science, geography, and biology.
Bartholdi graduated in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Florida and then served two tours of duty in Southeast Asia as a paratrooper in a Naval Special Warfare unit. He returned to the University of Florida to complete the Ph.D. program in operations research in 1977 and later served on the faculties at the University of Michigan, the Shanghai Institute of Mechanical Engineering, and the National University of Singapore. Bartholdi was named a "Presidential Young Investigator" by the National Science Foundation for 1984-1989. His research work has been supported by the Defense Logistics Agency, the Office of Naval Research, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, among others.
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Her recent $3 million bequest provision will establish the Andrea L. Laliberte Endowment Fund, providing unrestricted support for the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial & Systems Engineering. “Andrea’s commitment to the continued success and strength of ISyE will impact the lives of so many in the future for years and years to come,” said Jane Ammons, IE 1982, the H. Milton and Carolyn J. Stewart School Chair and Professor. “We are thrilled, and we are most grateful.” It is one of the largest gifts by any alumnae in Georgia Tech’s history.
For many years, Laliberte had supported the Institute through Roll Call, but when her 25th reunion came around, she decided it was time to do more, joining Roll Call’s prestigious Burdell Society, and so began a journey that brought her to this extraordinary gift. First, she started supporting outright the Health and Humanitarian Logistics Center, because being able to use logistics to tangibly help people in dire need around the globe was, and remains, very important to her. Ammons noted that this support “enabled us to expand our outreach, education, and research in this important area.” Earlier this year, through gifting her life insurance policy, she created the Andrea L. Laliberte Scholarship Endowment to support scholarships for out-of-state women students in the College of Engineering.
After graduating, Laliberte began her career in retail logistics at Systecon, an Atlanta-based logistics consulting company. In 1991, Coach Inc. hired her as its director of Operations Support in New Jersey. For the next two decades, she rose through the ranks at Coach, serving as director of Distribution, vice president for Distribution and Consumer Service, and finally senior vice president for Distribution. She left in 2010. Along the way, she successfully designed and oversaw the creation of a greatly expanded distribution and consumer service center in Jacksonville, Florida, which increased on-time delivery and reduced transportation costs for Coach and served as a springboard for international growth.
Her ties to Georgia Tech, the college, and the Stewart School run deep. Laliberte was named a College of Engineering Distinguished Alumna in 2008, and she is an emeritus member of the ISyE Advisory Board, as well as a current member of the Georgia Tech Advisory Board and the Georgia Tech Alumni Association Board of Trustees. “The education I received at Georgia Tech gave me the tools to become successful in my career,” she said. “I am thankful for my experience at Tech and want to give back to the Institute.”
Andrea Laliberte resides in Jacksonville, where her expertise in logistics and passion for philanthropy are matched only by her commitment to mentoring and service. She is the former chair and board member of Girls Inc. of Jacksonville, a longstanding organization dedicated to strengthening girls’ abilities, self-confidence, and lives. She is also involved in the Jacksonville Women’s Giving Alliance, which allocates grants to local community organizations.
Laliberte wants to see the Institute continue to be “an internationally recognized leader in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics,” and for ISyE to remain at the very top of the field for another twenty-two years, and then some. And through her vision, generosity, and leadership, one woman is making a difference for those who will follow in her footsteps.
To inquire about making a gift in support of the Stewart School of Industrial & Systems Engineering, contact Nancy J. Sandlin, director of development, at 404.385.7458 or nancy.sandlin@isye.gatech.edu.
This story first appeared in the Summer 2012 edition of Campaign Quarterly.
]]>Banks came to ISyE as an assistant professor in 1965 and retired as professor in 1999. He then worked for two years as Senior Simulation Technology Advisor for Brooks Automation, Planning and Logistics Solutions AutoMod Product Team. Following that, he served as a professor at Technológico de Monterrey (Monterrey Tech). He was the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of thirteen books, one set of proceedings, several chapters in texts, and numerous technical and other papers.
Banks is survived by his wife of 24 years, Nancy Silver Banks, along with his four children and six grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in his name to either the Joan Gaeta Lung Cancer Fund, or to the Evelyn Pennington Industrial Endowment Fund by sending donations made payable to the "Georgia Tech Foundation," and mailed to the ISyE Development Office at 755 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA 30332.
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The John von Neumann Theory prize is awarded annually to a scholar (or scholars in the case of joint work) who has made fundamental, sustained contributions to theory in operations research and the management sciences. The Prize is awarded for a body of work, typically published over a period of several years. The Prize typically reflects contributions that have stood the test of time and include significance, innovation, depth, and scientific excellence.
Nemhauser is now the third faculty member from ISyE to receive this prestigious honor. Ellis Johnson, Professor Emeritus in ISyE won the prize in 2000, and Arkadi Nemirovski, the John Hunter Chair in ISyE, won in 2003. Past winners include notable scholars such as John Nash, Harry Markowitz, and Robert Aumann.
Nemhauser, who received his Ph.D. in operations research from Northwestern University in 1961, joined the faculty of ISyE in 1985. He has served the Operations Research Society of America as council member, president, and editor of Operations Research, and he is past chair of the Mathematical Programming Society. Nemhauser was the founding editor of Operations Research Letters, and founding co-editor of Handbooks of Operations Research and Management Science. His honors and awards include membership in the National Academy of Engineering, the Kimball Medal, the Lanchester Prize (twice awarded), Morse lecturer of INFORMS and the Khachiyan prize of INFORMS for lifetime achievements in optimization. His current research interests are in solving large-scale mixed-integer programming problems. He is actively working on several applications, including maritime inventory routing.
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McEver went on to earn an MBA from Harvard and founded financial services firm Berkshire Capital, but he carried an understanding of the connections between the mechanical arts and the fine arts that led him to endow the McEver Visiting Chair in Writing at Tech in 1999 and establish the McEver Program for Engineering and the Liberal Arts in 2001.
That longstanding support continued this spring when McEver—who has published three chabpooks of poetry and one collection, Full Horizon—returned to Tech to teach a seminar in the School of History, Technology and Society. “Witness to a Changing Conscience: Writing and Personal Transformation” (HST 3818) focused on “writing that witnesses to fundamental transformations in individual moral consciousness in a world transformed by scientific and technological development,” according to its syllabus. McEver made weekly trips from New York City to teach the course.
The course was co-taught with K. J. Knoespel, currently the McEver Professor of Engineering and the Liberal Arts at Georgia Tech, and included visits from a number of guest speakers, among them noted theologian Harvey Cox and Bill Foege, the 2012 recipient of the Ivan Allen Prize for Social Courage. In February, the McEver Poetry Reading featured poets Theresa Davis (one of the four 2012 McEver Visiting Chairs in Writing at Tech) and Chris Forhan, as well as McEver himself.
This story was written by Rachael Maddux and originally appeared in Vol. 88 of the Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine.
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For the fourteenth consecutive year, USNWR has ranked Georgia Tech as one of the top 10 public universities in the nation. In the magazine’s annual undergraduate report, the Institute remained ranked 7th among the nation’s top public universities. Among all national universities, Georgia Tech was ranked 36th.
Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering (COE) maintained its 5th place ranking for undergraduate engineering programs at universities where the highest degree is a Ph.D. The college also had eight of its programs ranked in the top five and all of its programs ranked in the top ten among specialty areas: aerospace (2), biomedical (2), civil (3), electrical (5), environmental (2), industrial (1), materials (5), mechanical (3), and chemical (7).
Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business ranked 31st for undergraduate business education.
The Institute’s internships and cooperative education programs, as well as its senior capstone program, are also highlighted in “Programs to Look For.”
]]>Wu’s lecture focused on quality improvement (QI).
Quality improvement has a glorious history, starting from Shewhart’s path-breaking work on statistical process control to Deming’s high-impact work on quality management. Statistical concepts and tools played a key role in such work. As the applications became more sophisticated, elaborate statistical methods were required to tackle the problems. In the last three decades, QI has seen more use of experimental design and analysis, particularly the methodology of robust parameter design (RPD).
A recognized icon in the field of engineering statistics, Wu is continuously invited to give lectures at events hosted by some of the most respected organizations in the field. Wu's honors include membership on the National Academy of Engineering, Member of Academia Sinica, Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies (COPSS) Presidents’ Award in 1987, COPSS Fisher Lecture Award in 2011, honorary professor at Chinese Academy of Sciences, and an honorary doctor of mathematics at University of Waterloo.
Wu’s research contributions span the full range of statistics, from theory to application, and touch many applied domains, from sample surveys to nanotechnology. They are notable for their combination of novelty, technical strength, and far-reaching vision. He has made especially significant contributions to experimental design. He earned his BS in Mathematics from National Taiwan University and a Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of California, Berkeley. Wu joined Georgia Tech in the summer of 2003.
The Deming Lecturer Award was established in 1995 to honor the accomplishments of famous statistician W. Edwards Deming, recognize the accomplishments of the awardee, and enhance the awareness among the statistical community of the scope and importance of Deming's contributions.
JSM is the largest gathering of statisticians held in North America, with over 6,000 attendees each year. It is held jointly with the American Statistical Association, the International Biometric Society, the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, the Statistical Society of Canada, and the International Chinese Statistical Association, and the International Indian Statistical Association.
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“These capstone projects require students to demonstrate effective use of supply chain engineering methodology and also to deliver significant value to the sponsor or for the research project,” said Alan Erera, associate professor in the Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE). “We believe that one key aspect of our program that differentiates us from our competitors is that we require the students to get hands-on experience in applying analytical skills to problems before they graduate.”
After an intensive twelve months in the program, the most recent class of supply chain engineering master’s students has successfully completed a set of capstone projects. One of the groups this year was advised by ISyE Professor Emeritus Leon McGinnis.
Steffen Schieweck, Tim Skrotzki, and Martin Thormann worked on a project titled “Development of a Framework for a Warehouse Design Tool in SysML (Systems Modeling Language).” The goal of their project was to help designers make design decisions about very complex warehouse facilities using an engineering approach with integrated software tools.
“The project was about creating a framework, or tool, which guides the designer through a specific design process,” said Thormann.
Throughout the course of their project, Schieweck, Skrotzki, and Thormann worked closely together in the lab, sharing intense discussions about their project, cross-checking each other’s work, and gaining valuable feedback.
“One of the benefits of working with a team is that it increases the quality of your work,” said Schieweck.
The four months spent working on the capstone project gave the team an opportunity to look at a real world situation and decide how to examine it as an engineering problem. As they worked to complete their project, their faculty advisor provided support and guidance.
“Professor McGinnis gave us insight into the real challenges warehouse designers face on a daily basis. Through that insight and working with real data, we gained practical experience that will be valuable to us in a future real-world setting,” said Skrotzki.
McGinnis, who describes the capstone project as “a bridge between the classroom and real-world practice,” enjoyed advising this group of students and commended their work both on the project as well as in the classroom. McGinnis is part of a team of faculty members who teach SysML at Georgia Tech, the only academic institution working as a named contributor on the SysML project.
The MS SCE programis a professional graduate degree program created to meet the growing demand for business-savvy engineers who can design and operate highly complex global supply chains. The program's 12-month curriculum delivers knowledge in analytic methods, supply chain engineering, and enterprise management while building professional practice skills and real-world industry experience. For more information visit www.sce.gatech.edu.
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This final residence focused on manufacturing, logistics infrastructure in the Americas, and NAFTA-US-Canada-Mexico trade agreements. The students began the first week in Louisville, KY with a two-day course taught by Mark Spearman, founder, president, and chief executive officer of Factory Physics, Inc. The course covered Factory Physics, Inc.’s techniques within the four walls of manufacturing with the objective of removing constraints, and improving throughput and productivity.
On day-two, the class visited UPS Worldport Hub where UPS-SCS presented an overview on their global service capabilities, and air cargo security. Once that portion ended, UPS-SCS provided a tour of their End of Runway fulfillment and pharmaceutical/health care distribution. Lastly, the class began a tour of UPS Worldport HUB. Worldport serves all major, domestic, and international hubs, and tours can only take place between midnight and 2:00 a.m. to view and understand the operational footprint of an integrated carrier-forwarder involved in the domestic and international movement of small package, parcel, hundred weight, palletized heavyweight, and ground freight.
From Louisville, the class boarded a plane for Montreal, Canada. There they met with Allan Smith,CEO of BCG Logistics, who lectured on Canadian NAFTA Trade Relations with the U.S. and Mexico. Afterwards, Tim Trempert (MS IL 2012), assistant vice president of operations for Pacer International, and Peter Ladouceur, assistant vice president for International Canadian Railroad, held a discussion on International Canadian Railroad Infrastructure NAFTA Rail Trade. Following the discussions, the class boarded a bus for a site visit and distribution center tour with Pfizer Montreal. In preparation of the visit, Pfizer requested the EMIL-SCS students prepare and participate in a benchmark discussion on inbound freight management, strategic sourcing, outsourcing of services, best practices in manufacturing efficiencies, reducing costs through operational excellence, and best practices in distribution discussion.
The next day in Montreal, the class visited Canadian Tire, one of Canada’s most-shopped general retailers with 1,700 retail and gasoline outlets across the country, for an overview of the retail sales and distribution industry across Canada supporting the automotive, sports recreation, apparel, and the house/home market segments. Afterwards, the class visited the ALDO Group, a privately-held company which operates over 1,600 retail stores, approximately 1,000 of which are under the ALDO banner. ALDO specializes in the creation of high-quality fashion footwear, leather goods and accessories. The class was given an overview of their direct to consumer distribution channels, and a tour of the distribution center.
The week ended with a unique site visit to Cirque du Soleil, a Quebec based company recognized around the world for high-quality, artistic entertainment. The company has 5,000 employees worldwide, including more than 1,300 artists. There are close to 2,000 employees at the Montreal International Headquarters alone. The class was given this special opportunity to learn about the logistics and distribution network strategy used to support the global operations of Cirque du Soleil. Concluding their site visit, the class toured their facility, and was treated to Cirque’s newest attraction Amaluna.
The class returned to the Georgia Tech campus to complete the final course work of the program and receive instruction from:
Culminating their EMIL-SCS experience, the class presented their global supply chain projects to the EMIL-SCS staff and advisory board. In lieu of a traditional master's thesis, the student executives participate in a team based global supply chain project. Participants are encouraged to tackle projects with a minimum impact of $1,000,000. The projects give students an opportunity to gain knowledge through the EMIL-SCS academic curriculum garnered over the 18 month program and apply those resources to a critical supply chain concern specific to their sponsoring companies.
For more about the EMIL-SCS program, visit their website at http://www.emil.gatech.edu/.
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Read more about the newest members of the ISyE faculty:
Kamran Paynabar received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering from Iran University of Science and Technology and Azad University in 2002 and 2004, respectively, and his Ph.D. in Industrial and Operations Engineering from The University of Michigan in 2012. He also holds a M.A. in Statistics from the University of Michigan.
Paynabar’s research interests include data fusion for multi-stream waveform signals and functional data, engineering-driven statistical modeling, sensor selection in distributed sensing networks, probabilistic graphical models, and statistical learning with applications in manufacturing and healthcare systems. He is the recipient of the INFORMS Data Mining Best Student Paper Award, the Best Application Paper Award from IIE Transactions, and the Wilson Prize for the Best Student Paper in Manufacturing. His papers have been published or accepted for publication in IIE Transactions on Quality and Reliability Engineering, Journal of Quality Technology, ASME Transactions-Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering, and Quality and Reliability Engineering International Journal.
Sebastian Pokutta received both his master’s degree in 2003 and his Ph.D. in 2005 in Mathematics from the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany. Subsequent to his graduate studies he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the MIT Operations Research Center where the topic of his research was combinatorial optimization and cutting plane procedures. Upon completion of his postdoctoral fellowship at MIT, Pokutta was appointed as an optimization specialist at ILOG where he worked on production planning and supply chain optimization within the steel industry, automotive industry, and energy industry. In early 2008, he joined KDB Krall Demmel Baumgarten in order to set up a quantitative, state-of-the art risk management practice and develop risk management methodologies at top tier banks. He then returned to academia and held the position of a research scientist at the Technische Universität Darmstadt and was a visiting lecturer at MIT. Prior to joining Georgia Tech, Pokutta worked as a professor at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg.
Pokutta's research concentrates on combinatorial optimization and polyhedral combinatorics, and in particular focuses on cutting-plane methods, extended formulations, and on applications of optimization methods in supply chain management, production planning, mechanical engineering, and especially finance. His research is motivated by exploring these limits of computation and by applications in various disciplines requiring the solution of non-standard, highly complex optimization problems. Examples of Pokutta’s applied work include stowage optimization problems for inland vessels, oil production problems, clearing of electricity markets, portfolio optimization problems, and optimal liquidity management strategies.
Andy Sun received his Ph.D. in Operations Research from the Operations Research Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a bachelor's degree in Electronic Engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing. Before joining ISyE, Sun spent a year as a postdoctoral researcher at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center.
Sun conducts research in optimization and stochastic modeling with applications in electric energy systems and electricity markets. He also works on theory and algorithms for robust and stochastic optimization, and large scale convex optimization. Sun's doctoral thesis won the second prize of the George B. Dantzig dissertation award.
Chuck Zhang received his Ph.D. degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Iowa. Prior to the doctoral degree, he received an M.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in China. Prior to joining ISyE, Zhang served as a professor and chairman of the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at the Florida A&M University–Florida State University College of Engineering.
Zhang’s research interests include scalable nanomanufacturing, modeling, simulation, and optimal design of advanced composite and nanomaterials manufacturing processes, multifunctional materials development, geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, and metrology. Most recently, he has initiated new research and education programs in advanced materials and manufacturing engineering for orthotics and prosthetics (O&P) applications. His research projects have been sponsored by a number of organizations, including the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Army Research Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research, and Society of Manufacturing Engineers, as well as industrial companies such as ATK Launch Systems, Cummins, General Dynamics, GKN Aerospace Services, Lockheed Martin, and Siemens Power Generation.
]]>Rouse received his B.S. from the University of Rhode Island, and his S.M. and Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has over thirty years of experience in research, education, management, marketing, and engineering related to individual and organizational performance, decision support systems, and information systems. In these areas, he has consulted with over one hundred large and small enterprises in the private, public, and non-profit sectors, where he has worked with several thousand executives and senior managers. His expertise includes individual and organizational decision making and problem solving, as well as design of organizations and information systems.
Rouse has written hundreds of articles and book chapters, and is the author of several books, including his most recent Engineering the System of Healthcare Delivery, the third volume in the Tennenbaum Institute Series on Enterprise Systems. Rouse is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, as well as a fellow of four professional societies -- the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the International Council on Systems Engineering, the Institute for Operations Research and Management Science, and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. In 2011, he was given the Lifetime designation as a National Associate by the National Research Council and the National Academies. Rouse received the Joseph Wohl Outstanding Career Award and the Norbert Wiener Award from the IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society; a Centennial Medal and a Third Millennium Medal from IEEE; and the O. Hugo Schuck Award from the American Automation Control Council. He is listed in Who's Who in America , Who's Who in Engineering, and other biographical literature, and has been featured in publications such as Manager's Edge, Vision, Book-Talk, The Futurist, Competitive Edge, Design News, Quality & Excellence, and IIE Solutions.
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During the two-day event, representatives shared their perspectives on the current state of U.S. manufacturing, the challenges it faces in terms of global competition, and possible solutions to mitigate those obstacles, specifically in terms of supply networks and advanced logistics.
A joint Georgia Tech-Council on Competitiveness Report has been published that details the forum's findings, and contributes to the Council's National Manufacturing Strategy. According to the report, manufacturing in the U.S. is growing stronger; however, maintaining and strengthening America’s competitiveness in the global market will require a tremendous measure of planning, effort, and focused financial investment.
To view the report on the U.S. Manufacturing Competitiveness Initiative in its entirety, click here.
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The Roundtable discussions, held August 9th at the White House in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., brought together over 35 representatives from some of the country's most promising companies that are utilizing and developing advanced technologies for clean energy manufacturing - along with key research centers, public policy experts, and other stakeholders.
Participants discussed opportunities and challenges to continue improving U.S. competitiveness in advanced clean energy manufacturing in a wide array of topics - ranging from solar and wind to energy storage, vehicles, lighting, smart grid, fuel cells, and more - particularly through public-private partnerships in R&D, industry cluster development, and technology commercialization activities.
Dr. Wang said that, "The roundtable discussions were critical in understanding the capabilities, ideas, and expectations that these top experts in the field of clean energy have and hold; and how we in MaRC can strategically position ourselves to collaborate with them and lead the effort in advanced clean energy manufacturing."
Subjects discussed and debated at the roundtable will inform the U.S. Administration's evolving manufacturing strategy, particularly at the DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, where its Assistant Secretary and roundtable host Dr. David Danielson is leading an effort to identify areas of competitive advantage for U.S. manufacturers in the global clean energy economy.
The roundtable builds upon the recent report released in July 2012 by the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) Steering Committee of the President's Council of Advisors on Science & Technology (PCAST), "Capturing Domestic Competitive Advantage in Advanced Manufacturing."
The report offered a set of 16 recommendations around three pillars, including enabling innovation, securing the talent pipeline, and improving the business climate. The August 9th roundtable focused on the first pillar - enabling innovation - particularly as it relates to advanced clean energy manufacturing.
]]>With years of experience in the field of supply chain and logistics, Ratliff and Ramudhin provide leadership for SCL, a unit of the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, and the largest research program in the world devoted to the study of supply chains and logistics. Additionally, Ratliff serves on the WEF Logistics & Supply Chain Global Agenda Council which focuses on a wide range of issues and risks facing the broad logistics and supply chain industry, including trade facilitation, supply chain risk, transport infrastructure, supply chain talent, and sustainability.
The 2012 WEF’s Global Enabling Trade Report assesses 132 economies worldwide, exploring how the globalization of value chains impacts measurement of trade and trade policies. At the core of the report is the Enabling Trade Index, which ranks the countries on a range of factors. This year, Singapore came out on top, followed by Hong Kong SAR. Denmark and Sweden, with their small, open economies, entered the top 10, placing 3rd and 4th, respectively.
The Enabling Trade Report series focuses on measuring whether economies have in place the necessary attributes for enabling trade and where improvements are most needed. A widely used reference, the report helps countries in their efforts to integrate global value chains and companies with their investment decisions. It is intended to be used as a motivator for change and a foundation for dialogue.
]]>Hackman and Sokol developed an integrated approach to ISyE’s capstone Senior Design course that enforces consistency with improved project quality.
“Our students have always been well-prepared to do technical engineering work, and assessments show that their preparation has now especially increased in non-technical areas, as a result of our new structure that integrates internal and external resources for non-technical skills. Both an external review board and the most recent Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology review cited the new Senior Design course as one of ISyE’s strengths,” said Sokol.
Non-technical skills that ISyE Senior Design students are developing include: defining, scoping, and proposing engineering work; teamwork, leadership, and project management; presentation and writing for a variety of professionally-relevant audiences; professional communication and behavior; and legal issues with confidentiality, non-disclosure, intellectual property, and technology licensing.
All seniors in ISyE culminate their undergraduate educational experience with the capstone course, Senior Design. The course provides students with firsthand experience at solving real-world problems in a team environment. Student teams select a major design project from a company or not-for-profit organization and exploit all available resources in order to develop a solution for the project client.
The IIE Innovation in Curriculum Competition highlights outstanding innovation in the design or presentation of an IE curriculum or course. It recognizes faculty members who demonstrate outstanding creativity in instructional approaches or curriculum organization, design, or content, and who provide evidence of the effectiveness of their innovation.
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Cook has served as the Editor-in-Chief of Mathematical Programming Series A and Series B, and he is the current Editor-in-Chief and Founding Editor of Mathematical Programming Computation.
Cook's research interests are in combinatorial optimization and integer programming. He is also heavily involved in research dealing with computational issues involved in treating hard discrete problems such as large instances for the celebrated traveling salesman problem.
Four new council members were also elected to MOS, including former Algorithms, Combinatorics and Optimization Ph.D. student, Sam Burer (Ph.D. ACO 2001), who was advised by ISyE Professor Renato D. C. Monteiro.
Founded in 1973, MOS is an international organization dedicated to the promotion and the maintenance of high professional standards in the subject of mathematical optimization.
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Goldsman's research interests include computer simulation with emphasis on statistical output analysis, applied probability and statistics, ranking and selection, and the application of these areas in industrial engineering. Goldsman received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics/physics in 1978, and his master’s in mathematics and computer and information science in 1980 from Syracuse University. He received his PhD in operations research and industrial engineering from Cornell University in 1984.
IIE is the world’s largest professional society dedicated solely to the support of the industrial engineering profession and individuals involved with improving quality and productivity. Founded in 1948, IIE is an international, nonprofit association that provides leadership for the application, education, training, research, and development of industrial engineering.
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Panelists included Errika Mallett, IE 1996, Joan Nelson, IM 1984, John Quinn, IE 1977, Ricardo Salgado, IE 1998, and Julio Villafane, IE 1985, along with moderator, Jane Snowdon, PhD IE 1994. The event was open to all ISyE students looking to learn more about career options within the industrial engineering field, as well as an opportunity to network with panel representatives and other advisory board members in attendance.
In addition to answering questions from students, the panel spoke about their career and work experiences, and encouraged the students to find a mentor. Several members on the panel serve as mentors in the Georgia Tech Mentor Jackets program.
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Abayomi received his B.S. in public policy and industrial engineering from Georgia Tech in 2000. He received his M.S. in statistics in 2002, his M. Phil. in statistics in 2007, and his Ph.D. in probability and statistics in 2008 from Columbia University. Abayomi was the Class of 1969 Teaching Fellow at Georgia Tech in 2011-2012, a recipient of the 2010-2011 GT-Fire fund to support innovative research, a Young Practitioner at the 2009 INFORMS Practice Conference: Applying Science to the Art of Business, the VIGRE Fellow at Stanford University’s Statistics Department in 2008, a SAMSI Postdoctoral Fellow in 2007-2008, a CFD Predoctoral Fellow at Haverford College in 2006-2007, an IGERT Fellow for the National Science Foundation in 2003-2007, and a REU Fellow for the National Science Foundation Undergraduate Research Fellowship in 1999-2000. Abayomi received the Best Algorithm Award at the 2004 Conference for African-American Researchers in the Mathematical Sciences.
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GE Energy is a leader in the alternative energy field, installing over 16,000 wind turbines since 2002. For their project, The GE Energy team created tools to forecast the times of arrival of components to wind sites and optimize the allocation of offloading cranes. GE Energy can expect savings of $1.9 million from the implementation of these tools.
Finalists in the competition were the two Senior Design teams who worked with Railcar Management, Inc. (RMI) and Saia, Inc.
Guided by faculty advisor Alexander Shapiro, students Lane Bourgeois, José Rodrigo Espinosa, Ashley Everett, Stephen Fausel, Brandon Hochstetler, Brenton Hochstetler, Katie Kim, and Donna Riggins made up the RMI team. RMI provides software solutions for railroad companies, and uses RailDOCS, a software suite, that manages the testing of fixed assets along railroads. For their project, “Schedule Optimization for Asset Inspection,” the team developed an optimization model, which provided an exact testing schedule that will minimize the number of tests performed per year. On average, the model saved 109 labor hours per maintenance worker - an estimated revenue of $235,000 to RMI.
The Saia, Inc. team was advised by Alan Erera, and included students Mark Gurevich, Leonardo Lacayo, Courtney Lynch, Andres Pavia, Jessica Reichsfeld, Matthew Schrichte, Baris Yildirim, and Zheng Zheng. Saia, Inc. is a super-regional, less-than-truckload (LTL) company. For their project, “Determining System Trailer Fleet Size and Terminal Assignment,” the team developed an approach to optimize the composition of Saia's trailer fleet, and to assign the fleet to appropriate terminals throughout the network. The approach relies on a large-scale integer program that models the flow of trailers of different types over time using a week-long planning horizon across Saia's network of nearly 150 terminals. Using the model for a number of planning weeks, the approach is used to determine the right size and composition of the trailer fleet and provides a purchasing strategy given a capital budget for new trailers. It is estimated that Saia will save $1.8 million annually using the fleet proposed by the approach.
All senior students in ISyE culminate their undergraduate educational experience with the Senior Design course in order to provide firsthand experience at solving real world problems in a team environment. Students typically work in teams of six to eight individuals with 15-25 Senior Design teams running each semester. Each group is advised by an ISyE faculty member, and the faculty coordinator manages the overall course. Companies interested in submitting a project for consideration can either contact Joel Sokol, at 404 894-6484 or can post a project through the ISyE webpage at http://www.isye.gatech.edu/seniordesign/. Senior design teams look for projects before the start of the fall and spring semesters.
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Johnson is renowned for both his research in integer programming and airline optimization. Among his many contributions to the theory and computational aspects of integer programming, is his fundamental work with Ralph Gomory, noted mathematician and former IBM executive, on the group problem. Johnson’s airline optimization contributions include the development of models and algorithms for crew scheduling, fleet assignment and routing, disruption management, and most recently, integrated planning and operations. He is universally recognized to be the leading academic researcher in the world on these airline problems.
Johnson began teaching and conducting research at Georgia Tech in 1989, while also serving as an IBM Corporate Fellow. Johnson retired from IBM in 1993 and became the Coca-Cola Chaired Professor in ISyE. Along with ISyE Professor George Nemhauser, Johnson co-founded and co-directed the Computational Optimization Center, which would form what is now the Supply Chain and Logistics Institute at Georgia Tech. He was also a primary figure in the creation and early development of the elite Algorithms, Combinatorics and Optimization PhD program in ISyE.
During his 25 years with IBM, Johnson worked in the T.J. Watson Research Center where he founded and managed the Optimization Center. Throughout his illustrious career, Johnson has held visiting and part-time academic positions at the National University of Singapore, State University of New York, Stony Brook, University of Pisa, University of Bonn, New York University, Columbia University, IBM Paris Scientific Center, University of Florida, University of Waterloo, and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Johnson was an associate professor at Yale University from 1964-1968.
Johnson received his bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from Georgia Tech in 1960. He received a master’s in mathematics in 1962 and PhD in operations research in 1965 from the University of California. While at UC Berkeley, Johnson was taught by the famous George Dantzig, one of the founding fathers in the field of operations research, and developed a close relationship which lasted through the remainder of Dantzig’s life.
A testament to his accomplishments in the field, Johnson has been the recipient of many prestigious awards and honors throughout his career. He has been elected a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, INFORMS, and The Airline Group of the International Federation of Operations Research Societies, and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He is the recipient of the INFORMS John Von Neumann Theory Prize, the George Dantzig Award for his research in mathematical programming, the INFORMS Lanchester Prize, and the Humboldt Foundation’s Senior Scientist Award. He is the co-editor of two books and has published a research monogram and over 100 papers.
A native of Georgia, Johnson grew up on a farm near Athens. Following in his older brother’s footsteps, Johnson came to Georgia Tech to study aerospace engineering before changing his major to math. When he is not in Atlanta, Johnson is at home on his 100-acre farm in Madison, Georgia. Appropriately called the 100- Acre Farm, Johnson’s land, eighty-six acres of which has been set aside as a conservation easement, is situated where the Apalachee River runs into Lake Oconee. Miles of trails run through woods and alongside creeks and ponds. And so that others can enjoy the land, Johnson also established the Farmhouse Inn Bed & Breakfast, which in addition to serving eggs from their own farm-raised chickens, is also one of the top ten bird watching B&B’s in the country.
On May 2, faculty, students, and staff of ISyE, along with some of Johnson’s friends and former colleagues, joined together to celebrate Johnson and his distinguished career. Speakers included Ralph Gomory, Earl Barnes, Professor Emeritus in ISyE, Cindy Barnhart, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the MIT School of Engineering, and Stefan Karisch, president of The Airline Group of the International Federation of Operational Research Societies.
The consensus among all who spoke was that Johnson is a visionary researcher whose ideas and encouragement of other has shaped the airline industry and the careers of many. His intellect, patience, and inordinate ability to lead by example, blends to create a unique style in the way he mentors his students as well as his colleagues. Johnson worked hard and had a passion for work. He knew the science of integer programming as well as the art of the field.
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During the first week, the class received instruction in:
In between week one and two, the class took a break from their studies and attended an Atlanta Hawks game.
During the second week, the class covered:
The lecture portion of the residence concluded with a discussion on identifying and developing personal skills and strengths with Karla Brandau, practice leader at Improving Human Capital, LLC.
Before returning home and back to work, the class formed into teams for their Global Supply Chain Project. With the guidance of John Vande Vate and Greg Andrews, managing director for EMIL-SCS, the class formed six teams that range in industries from retail to motor oil and lubricants. When the class meets again for Residence II, the Global Project Teams will provide a project update, and will continue to present their updates at each residence thereafter. The class will meet again June 10-22 for Residence II in Europe.
For more about the EMIL-SCS program, visit http://www.emil.gatech.edu/
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One of only two Americans in his Supply Chain Master’s class, Burrell had the unique experience of collaborating with students from all over the world, with a wide range of academic and professional backgrounds. In addition to the unique classroom experience, the intensive 12 month program gave Burrell the opportunity to learn from and network with industry leaders and experts in the field.
Read more about his experience in the interview that follows.
ISyE: What motivated you to pursue a master's degree in Supply Chain Engineering?
LB: Working at Syfan Logistics after I completed my MBA introduced me to the world of logistics and supply chains, and I became passionate about those fields and the opportunity to leverage them to make a positive impact on people, profits, and our planet. From there, I knew that getting more specialized skills through a master’s degree in supply chain engineering would allow me to become more impactful in those fields and more marketable as I looked to advance my career. I was encouraged by the owners of Syfan Logistics to further my education and Georgia Tech couldn't have been a more perfect choice.
ISyE: What influenced your decision to come to Georgia Tech?
LB: It's reputation, rigor, rich history, and ranking. In searching which school would be the best fit for what I was looking for, I performed detailed research on all of the nation's top programs in supply chain education, and Georgia Tech was continually at the top. Having a background in business and accounting, the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering's #1 ranking for the last 20+ years further proved to me that Georgia Tech would provide the best opportunity to see a sizable return on my education investment, in the quickest amount of time. In addition, Georgia Tech has such a rich history, and the opportunity to be a part of that was very exciting for me.
ISyE: What is it like moving through an intensive 12 month program with the same group of students?
LB: Unbelievable. Being one of only two Americans in the entire program, it was incredible to be able to work with, learn from, and become close to such a diverse set of classmates. We had students from Germany, Greece, India, China, Japan, Pakistan, Singapore, and Panama. I was able to learn from everyone's different experiences and backgrounds, as well as make plans to visit many of them in their home countries. I'm already scheduled to go to Singapore next summer to meet up with some of my classmates there, with India soon after. How exciting is that?! If I hadn't moved through the program with the same group of students, I wouldn't have been able to form deep friendships with people from all over the world and gain valuable insight into their countries and cultures.
ISyE: What skills did you acquire from this program?
LB: Well, beyond learning to work closely with people with very different backgrounds from my own, I learned a host of supply chain engineering skills, including: linear and mixed-integer programming, optimization models such as berth scheduling and network planning, and warehouse optimization, among many others. What was also exciting about the program was that we intertwined real-world experiences into all of our classes in order to better connect what we were learning to what happens outside of the classroom. We had numerous industry professionals present to us, we visited a host of interesting distribution centers and warehouses, and were exposed to real supply chain problems with the task of solving them.
ISyE: As a master's student, what has been your most memorable experience?
LB: Wow. There's so many! Among the most memorable would be meeting and becoming friends with so many smart and interesting people, being able to learn from world-renowned professors, and also, ironically, the struggles and hard work it took to make it through this incredibly rigorous program. (Winning the grad school intramural basketball championship was also a nice touch!)
ISyE: What extracurricular activities are you involved in outside of your studies?
LB: I enjoy working out, reading, playing guitar, traveling, and officiating college football. I'm currently the youngest college football official in the United States, although by coming to Tech I've unfortunately all but eliminated myself from ever working under the lights at Bobby Dodd Stadium. I think that's a small sacrifice to pay for what I've been able to experience and learn, however.
ISyE: What are your long-term career goals?
LB: Besides becoming an NFL official, my goal is to eventually work my way to a C-level position within the supply chain management field. It's such an exciting and ever-changing field, the problems and opportunities are endless. There aren't many other fields where you get to travel throughout the world and work to solve incredibly complex problems that have an impact on people's daily lives, while still being relatively unknown. Just like officiating, when supply chain managers are doing a great job they are hardly noticed, and that is the goal.
Burrell received his bachelor’s degree in accounting and MBA from North Georgia College and State University. He is an IDEALS Leadership School Graduate, a member of the Georgia Tech chapter of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, a member of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, and a member of the Advanced Technology Development Center. Burrell was also a NCAA Scholar Athlete from 2004-2008. Previous to his time at Georgia Tech, Burrell co-founded the Atlanta-based Edtech startup, and was a cost analyst and sales manager for Syfan Logistics.
More information on the MS in SCE:
The Georgia Tech Master of Science in Supply Chain Engineering is a professional graduate degree program created to meet the growing demand for business-savvy engineers who can design and synchronize highly complex global supply chains. The program's intensive 12-month curriculum delivers academic knowledge in analytic methods, supply chain engineering, and enterprise management while building professional practice skills and real-world industry experience, all leading to a respected graduate degree from the #1-ranked Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE). http://www.sce.gatech.edu/
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Congratulations to the following students:
Mariah Mathews and Matthew Fox received The H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering Leadership Award
The Leadership Award is given to officers of the student chapter of the Institute of Industrial Engineers and to the President of Alpha Pi Mu, IE’s honor society.
Jose Sarmiento and Meaghan McElroy received The H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering Senior Service Award
The Senior Service Award is given to a senior who has provided exceptional service to ISyE.
Zihao Li received the Alpha Pi Mu Academic Excellence Award
The Alpha Pi Mu Honor Society presents $500 to a senior with the best academic achievement, including GPA, difficulty in the curriculum, research, and other scholarly accomplishment.
Andrew Frazelle received the Henry Ford II Best Junior Award
The Henry Ford II Best Junior Award is administered in the College of Engineering and given to the student at the end of the third year with best academic performance in ISyE.
Sheereen Brown received the ALCOA Scholarship
The ALCOA Scholarship of $2,500 is awarded to a senior with excellent academic performance and service.
John Miller, Eran Mordel, and Leigh Nash received theKurt Salmon Associates Scholarship in Industrial and Systems Engineering
The Kurt Salmon Associates Scholarship of $900 is awarded to each selected senior in ISyE. The Scholarship is based on academic merit and contribution in the School.
Taylor Brownlow, Michael Gilkenson, Young Kim, Clara Moon, Tahsin Munir, Steven Murray, Caleb Steiner, and James Strait received theJack C. Webb Scholarship
The Jack C. Webb Scholarship is given to rising juniors or seniors in ISyE. The cash award of $1,000 each is based on scholarship, leadership, and extracurricular and community activities.
Caiyue Guo, Kinav Patel, and Madhav Srinath received theCouncil of Supply Chain Management Professionals Scholarship
The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals Scholarship of $2,000 is shared by the selected awardees with a GPA of 3.2 or above who have contributed to the supply chain engineering program at Georgia Tech.
Ramaswamy Annamalai received The Frantz Family Young Entrepreneurs Scholarship
The Frantz Family Young Entrepreneurs Scholarship is presented to an industrial engineering student who is interested in establishing a small business and gaining financial freedom. The student must have clear business objectives and goals along with the demonstrated determination to pursue and reach those goals.
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“This prestigious honor is a reflection of Roshan’s significant contributions in research, teaching, and professional service,” said Wu, who was elected a Fellow of ASA in 1985.
Vengazhiyil received his Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2002 and holds an M.Tech. in Quality, Reliability, and Operations Research, and a B.Tech. in Production Engineering and Management. His research focuses on developing novel statistical methods for solving engineering problems. Vengazhiyil's honors include Distinguished Dissertation Award from the University of Michigan in 2003, CAREER Award from National Science Foundation in 2005, Jack Youden Prize from the American Society for Quality in 2005, Coca-Cola Junior Chair Professorship from ISyE in 2008, and Best Paper Award from IIE Transactions in 2009. He is an Associate Editor of Journal of the American Statistical Association and Technometrics and also an editorial board member of Journal of Quality Technology. He was the past chair of the Quality, Statistics, & Reliability section of INFORMS.
The ASA Committee on Fellows evaluates candidates' contributions to the advancement of statistics, giving due weight to publications, the positions held by the candidates in the organizations in which they are employed, activities within the association, membership and accomplishments in other societies, and other professional activities.
ASA, founded in 1839, is the second oldest continuously operating professional association in the country. It is the world’s largest community of statisticians with about 18,000 members. ASA supports excellence in the development, application, and dissemination of statistical science through meetings, publications, membership services, education, accreditation, and advocacy. ASA members serve in industry, government, and academia in more than 90 countries, advancing research and promoting sound statistical practice to inform public policy and improve human welfare.
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“In my opinion, IE’s can go anywhere and do anything. I think my very diverse career is a reflection of that,” said Mallett. “My degree in ISyE prepared me for all of these opportunities by teaching me to look at a situation, analyze it, and be pragmatic in my approach.”
In her current role, Mallett identifies talent for Southwire and coaches new hires on how to develop their leadership skills and career paths. Additionally, she assists Georgia Tech students with developing their resumes and preparing for job interviews.
Mallett has approached her role as an alumna with as much energy as her career, maintaining an active presence on the Georgia Tech campus by supporting the Institute and its students. Mallett recently joined the ISyE Advisory Board for the 2012-2016 term, where she will serve as a sounding body for the School chair in an advisory capacity as well as assist with the School’s development goals. She is a member of the Alumni Association Board of Trustees where she supports the Student Alumni Association committee, the current president for the Black Alumni Organization, a Mentor in the Mentor Jacket program, a member of the Student Center Governance Board, and a new member of the board for the Women’s Alumni Network. Last year she served as vice chair of Georgia Tech’s 50th Anniversary Steering Committee for the Matriculation of Black Students year-long celebration.
“Being active at Tech, encouraging and empowering students, is very fulfilling and enriching for me,” said Mallett.
Additionally, Mallett is a former White House Fellow, a former President of the ANAK Society, the oldest known secret society at Georgia Tech, an alumna of the Xi Alpha chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., and a former chapter, regional, and national officer of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). She has had the honor of receiving such recognitions as a “Legend” by the African American Student Union (AASU), a Mentor of the Year by OMED: Educational Services, and a Mentor of the Year and an Outstanding Young Alumna by the Alumni Association.
Continue reading the interview that follows as Mallett shares more about her experiences and valuable career advice.
ISyE: Tell us about your professional background.
EM: After earning my bachelor’s degree from ISyE, I started my career in Sales and Marketing as an account executive for IBM. As a result of my success, I was selected for IBM’s Top Gun program at Harvard. Later, I matriculated to BMC Software, eventually becoming a Marketing Program Director. At BMC, I received the Director’s Excellence Award, created a customer reference program, and worked with senior BMC executives. In 2005, I leveraged my marketing background to create a marketing logistics company, Executive Business Solutions Inc., for small businesses and non-profit organizations. In 2010, I began working as an HR Manager for Southwire.
ISyE: What are some of the choices you made as a student, and later as a recent college graduate, that you feel were instrumental in the launch of your career?
EM: My decision to be involved and to become a leader in a large and impactful organization like NSBE was instrumental in the launch of my career. I gained valuable leadership and professional development experience through this organization. Through my involvement, I was exposed to several corporate leaders, and as a result, the corporate representative for IBM became a champion for me and was extremely instrumental in helping me to secure my first job within IBM.
My decision to actively support departments like OMED taught me that no matter where you go, you have to find ways to “pay it forward.” As a volunteer, and then an employee, I witnessed the efforts of alumni who would come back and work with OMED as a way to “pay it forward” and help the organization make an impact at Tech. Some may not see this type of mindset as valuable, particularly when you’re launching your career. But in today’s climate, companies are looking for well-rounded individuals. Employees that are actively engaged in their community, are mentors and/or are committed to extracurricular causes and/or opportunities, actually bring value back to their respective organizations. When I started at IBM, I immediately supported IBM’s efforts with Junior Achievement by becoming a counselor, their efforts with the Arts by becoming a representative for them at the Museum of Houston, and volunteered with the recruiting team to encourage other college students and share my positive experience.
In addition to being involved in my community, I also try to stay involved with Georgia Tech either through my sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, the Georgia Tech Black Alumni Organization, ANAK, or the Alumni Association. I want to support the students that are currently at Tech and “pay it forward” like so many others did for me when I was a student.
ISyE: What advice do you have for recent IE graduates entering the job market?
EM: Keep your options open! IE is one of the best engineering disciplines for allowing a diverse career. Because here’s the thing…even if you start off in one department within an organization, if you are successful and prove yourself to be valuable to the organization, you won’t remain in that department, unless that is your desire. As an IE, employers can (and you want them to) use your talents and abilities throughout the organization. The more knowledgeable and versed you become in varying aspects of the organization, the greater asset you are to the organization.
ISyE: How about for ISyE alumni who are currently seeking a new job?
EM: I would give the same advice to ISyE alumni as I would to recent graduates—keep your options open. At Southwire, candidates with ISyE backgrounds provide the basis for having a variety of career options within the company. Everything from traditional IE skill sets to experience in manufacturing systems, plant management, materials management, and technical sales lead to career paths in general management up to our most senior executive levels. Executive Vice President and President of Southwire's Energy Division, Charlie Murrah, IE 1984, and one of our Senior Vice Presidents, Robbie Blackmon, IE 1988, are both ISyE alumni.
ISyE: What are some of the skills and qualities you look for in candidates when identifying talent for Southwire?
EM: It’s not just about intelligence. As a graduate of Georgia Tech, we know that candidates have the capacity. More relevant attributes are applied intelligence, interpersonal skills, leadership skills, and effective communication skills. Southwire diligently assesses a candidate’s desire to work in a plant/manufacturing environment and proof of their work ethic.
ISyE: Did you have a mentor during your time as a student in ISyE?
EM: Dr. Augustine Esogbue was like a father figure to me during my time in ISyE and continues to be that today. Beyond ISyE, other mentors over the course of my time at Georgia Tech are great individuals like Dr. Gary May, Dr. Donna Llewellyn, and fellow Georgia Tech alumni S. Gordon Moore Jr. and Gavin Sams.
ISyE: How do you successfully manage your family life, career, and service to the community?
EM: By God’s grace. I’ve been extremely blessed. That does not mean there haven’t been challenges. Both my challenges and my opportunities have been blessings. In addition to His grace, my primary driver has always been passion. I have done the things that I am passionate about doing. And thus that has been my motivation to, as best as possible, ensure balance between my family, career, and service to the community.
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During her visit, Thomas met with Representative John Lewis, as well as with the staff of Representative Hank Johnson and Senator Saxby Chambliss. She highlighted the importance of federal funding for research, including funding from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy, as a way to help solve some of our current challenges in energy and to create a more sustainable way of life. She also spoke about her research on energy options in the southeast.
“Federal support of research is important both for fundamental research, that can provide the basis for future advances, and for progress on national priorities, including defense and energy,” said Thomas.
Congressional visits are imperative if we are to provide long-term understanding and communication between researchers and policy-makers she added. “We must emphasize the importance of research with members of congress and their staff, to thank them for their ongoing support, and to build long-term relationships.”
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Paul Flood is the Chairman and CEO of Chattahoochee Health Resources. His clients include hospitals, state hospital associations, and large physician practice groups. He is involved in strategic and tactical planning, establishing CEO and Executive goals and measurable objectives, executive compensation, succession and retirement planning. He has over 45 years of experience as a consultant, working in over 300 client organizations worldwide. Flood’s primary areas of expertise are strategic planning, organization and governance, executive performance compensation and supplemental executive retirement programs, corporate restructuring, integrated healthcare networks, managed care, and arbitration of managed care provider/payer disputes.
Elaine Johns is the President and CEO of EnerVision, Inc. where she leads the company’s nationwide consulting efforts as she builds relationships and pursues new business for the firm. She specializes in the development of comprehensive power supply strategies, provides expertise with contract negotiations, and is responsible for the overall leadership and direction of the company’s Power Supply Practice Area. Under her direction, EnerVision staff performs power supply support services for electric utilities in different states such as Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, and Michigan. Johns has over 27 years of consulting experience in areas ranging from strategic planning, power supply planning, utility rates, marketing, and economic analysis.
Stephen Kendrick is the Managing Director for IronPlanet Motors. He is responsible for establishing and growing the sales and operations of IronPlanet's automotive and powersports business. Prior to joining IronPlanet, Kendrick served as a Partner and Global Operations Lead for Supply Chain Services at Accenture (NYSE:ACN), where he successfully launched Accenture's Supply Chain Outsourcing business. Kendrick brings more than 25 years of international business experience focused on driving revenue growth and improving supply chain management capabilities in Fortune 1000 companies to IronPlanet, including a Group Vice President position with JDA, a leading supply chain management software company.
Errika Mallett serves as an HR Manager for Southwire, where she identifies talent for the company, assists students with developing resumes and preparing for interviews, and coaches new hires on how to develop their career paths within Southwire. Mallett is a member of the Alumni Association Board of Trustees, where she supports the Student Alumni Association committee, the current president for one of the Alumni Association’s Affinity Groups - the Black Alumni Organization, a Mentor in the Mentor Jacket program, serves on the Student Center Governance Board served as vice chair of Georgia Tech’s 50th Anniversary Steering Committee for the Matriculation of Black Students year-long celebration. She is a former White House Fellow, former President of ANAK, an alumna of the Xi Alpha chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., and a chapter, regional and national officer of the National Society of Black Engineers. As a result of her service to Georgia Tech, Mallett has been recognized as a “Legend” by AASU, a Mentor of the Year by OMED and the Outstanding Young Alumna by the Alumni Association.
Guy Primus is Chief Operating Officer at Overbrook Entertainment, the film, TV, and transmedia production company whose partners include James Lassiter, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Ken Stovitz. As COO, Primus oversees Overbrook’s operations and manages the company’s staff. He also heads Overbrook's strategic ventures group, an organization dedicated to expanding and optimizing Overbrook's business portfolio. Primus serves on the board of directors of Starling.tv, the social TV platform that allows viewers to chat, play and interact with one another while watching television, and on the advisory boards of JibJab Media, a leading provider of digital greetings and online entertainment, Fusion TV, a media company that produces and distributes high-definition action sports and adventure travel video content and Interactive One, the leading online platform serving the African American Community through news, information, entertainment and social networking. Primus is also a mentor at AmplifyLA, a hands-on technology startup accelerator in Los Angeles.
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The Mike Shinn Distinguished Member of the Year award is presented each year to one male and one female member of NSBE that have exemplified all that the NSBE mission embodies. In order to be considered for the award, a member must compile a nomination packet consisting of several recommendations, transcripts, essays, and a detailed resume. The mission of this award is to provide scholastic motivation to achieve and furthermore, serve as a tool that encourages members to continually strive for academic excellence, while developing professional skills through organization and community involvement. The award includes a $7,500 scholarship and a Golden Torch Award, as well as an additional convention travel stipend and waived registration.
Currently Morris is a member of the Black Graduate Student Association, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Society for Health Systems, and Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society at Georgia Tech. While an undergraduate at the University of Florida, Morris received numerous awards including being named to the University of Florida Hall of Fame, 2011 and being the recipient of the Outstanding Undergraduate Leadership Award, 2011; GEM Fellow; William G. Cross Award for Outstanding Leadership; J. Wayne Reitz Scholar, 2010-2011; NSBE Fulfilling the Legacy Scholar, 2010; and ExxonMobil Technical Scholar in 2008 and 2009.
]]>The new track in predictive health – a field of study that focuses on maintaining health rather than treating disease – will be within the existing Master of Science in Health Systems program, offered by the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) at Georgia Tech. The program, slated to begin in August 2012, consists of 30 semester hours that can be completed in one year.
In the program, students will learn how to analyze and model the risk factors in large, complex healthcare databases, as well as how to link clinical observations with medical knowledge to improve health care choices and decisions. Upon completion of the program, students will be prepared for leadership positions in the healthcare industry, capable of using quantitative and systems modeling to design, implement, and manage continuously improving healthcare delivery.
The new master’s program will also further the work of the Emory-Georgia Tech Predictive Health Institute. The Center for Health Discovery and Well Being, a unit of the Predictive Health Institute, opened in 2007 and has since screened 700 participants, collecting approximately 2,000 data points per visit (initial, six month, one year, two year, three year, etc.) of health related information. So someone who has been with the program for three years, for instance, will have approximately 10,000 data points in their history.
Georgia Tech students and faculty will analyze the collected data to understand the impact of the program. Such intensive analysis can be used to develop a model or algorithm for software that could potentially advance the understanding and implementation of predictive health programs.
“Over the past decade, we have seen continuously increasing healthcare expenses, which unfortunately have not resulted in an overall improvement in people’s health status,” said Pinar Keskinocak, Joseph C. Mello Professor in ISyE, director of research for the Health Systems Institute, and co-director of the Center for Health and Humanitarian Logistics at Georgia Tech.
“Predictive health focuses on maintaining health rather than on treating disease. This involves using patient data and new tools to identify and measure risks and deviations from health, and to intervene before a disease or health failure occurs. Given the unique features of the data and problems under investigation, there is a tremendous need for educating students and for new research,” Keskinocak added.
This partnership was made possible by a grant from the George Family Foundation.
For more information on the program, please contact Professor Keskinocak at pinar@isye.gatech.edu.
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MacGowan's supervisors at Lehigh were very pleased with her performance. Though she met expectations during her first semester of the co-op, MacGowan showed dramatic improvement and really came into her own during her second semester with the company. According to Koren Wah, Operations Manager for Lehigh, MacGowan was professional, resourceful, and valuable in many facets of their company.
“We encouraged her to be fearless in her pursuit of completing projects that she had been assigned and she demonstrated a real ability to do that. She tackled her projects with great enthusiasm and she was very good about taking care of any follow-up work that had to be done. Ginny is definitely one of the best co-op students that we have ever had,” said Wah.
During her co-op, MacGowan worked forty hours a week with Lehigh’s supply chain team on multiple projects that provided benefits for the company as well as real world training for MacGowan. One of her biggest responsibilities was to cut down the time it takes to ship out material by increasing communications throughout departments within the company. To do this, she conducted time studies on the shipping processes and identified weak spots in the system. With the help of her supervisor, MacGowan implemented a new procedure that made product easier to track down and shipping methods more efficient. She also used her strong organization skills to help the company convert all files and forms, such as data sheets and invoices, to a digital format, which helped Lehigh maintain records more accurately and efficiently.
“Supply chain work was very challenging when it came to getting everyone on board with changes. I learned a lot about working with others and understanding that there are ways to approach people which make implementing changes much easier. I’m really proud of myself for being committed to this role, putting my hard hat and steel toe boots on every morning to be at work by 6:45 a.m., and getting a lot done,” said MacGowan.
In addition to working with the supply chain team, MacGowan also worked as the secretary for the Lehigh Safety Team, a group of twelve people who are notified any time a safety incident occurs. While in this role, MacGowan coordinated the annual Safety Day at Lehigh, which promotes fire, equipment, and overall safety within the company. She also implemented a daily safety calendar which documented whether or not, and to what degree, a safety incident occurred. The calendar was successful in its intent to promote internal communication and safety within the company.
“I really enjoyed the work I did with the safety team at Lehigh,” said MacGowan. “The real life experience I gained through the co-op program helped me mature and I would suggest it to anyone who is interested. I definitely applied my IE education to my responsibilities at Lehigh, and I found it was extremely helpful to have prior knowledge of stochastics and an understanding of supply chain,” said MacGowan.
According to Wah, the co-op program is extremely valuable for the students as well as participating companies. In his opinion, the “real world” experience students receive from the co-op gives them an advantage over those who may not have participated in the program.
“The co-op program allows students to work outside of the classroom and see how the concepts they have learned are applied in an actual work environment. From the employer’s perspective, the program provides an opportunity to inject young, energetic people into their workforce, who can add value to the company,” said Wah.
Back as a student full time, MacGowan continues to gain valuable experience working for MARTA, Atlanta’s rapid transit authority. She works nine hours a week with the company’s infrastructure team analyzing all of MARTA’s assets (trains, sidewalks, escalators, etc.) to see what needs to be replaced and/or repaired.
Aside from school and work, MacGowan is an ambassador with the Society of Women Engineers at Georgia Tech where once a month she visits middle school and high school girls to talk about engineering.
“Not many girls know about engineering. I feel lucky to have the experiences to know what an engineer does. And I want to share that,” said MacGowan.
MacGowan also tutors fellow IE students several hours a week through the academic success center as a way to give back to Tech. It also helps her understand course material better while helping students at the same time. During her time in ISyE, MacGowan has learned valuable lessons which she shares with other students.
“One thing that I really try to stress with my classmates and those I tutor is to understand the material, rather than just memorize it. I have had a lot of IE professors emphasize this and I wish I had realized it sooner,” said MacGowan.
MacGowan, who has always excelled in math and science, chose to pursue her IE degree at ISyE because of the School and Institute’s excellent reputation. She is the recipient of Nelson K. Rogers Scholarship and the Michael Tennenbaum Scholarship. After graduation, MacGowan plans to move back to Virginia to be close to her family and pursue a career in her field.
Her advice for success is simple:
“Never be afraid to dig deep and find your will to not give up.”
]]>The class began the residence in Mumbai, India, a first time stop for the EMIL-SCS program. While in Mumbai, the class met Professor Mark Beeson, Winthrop Professor in Political Science and International Relations at the University of Western Australia and author of Regionalism & Globalization in East Asia, Politics, and Security & Economic Development. Beeson provided the students with an introduction to geopolitics and a macroeconomic overview of Asia with an emphasis on China, Japan, and Korea.
The following morning, the class met with Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, partner at Media Network of India, for a lessonon the geopolitics, economics, and infrastructure of India. That afternoon the class traveled to a corporate site visit at The Future Group’s supply chain solutions division, a food and home goods retailer in India, for a discussion on consumer preferences, taxes and regulations, the restructuring of their supply chain, and supplier management. The final site visit for the day was with Tata Consultancy Services, an IT services, business solutions, and outsourcing organization, for a presentation on their outsourcing processes, major services providers, and the logistical challenges they face with providing their services.
The next morning the class visited ThyssenKrupp Industries India Pvt. Ltd. (TKII), a leading supplier of plants and systems for mining, processing, and handling of raw materials and minerals. The class listened to a discussion about TKII’s inbound logistics regarding domestic transport of key materials to the plant, and out-bound logistics focusing on how projects are delivered to customers in various markets. Following a plant tour at TKII, the class boarded a bus for Pune, India and headed to Tata Motors Limited, India’s largest automobile company. The class was given an overview of Tata Motors and the Indian market, and engaged in a discussion on domestic transport of key materials to the plant and vehicle distribution. The class finished their visit with a tour of the automotive plant.
On the last day in India, the class met with Jasjit Singh Sethi, CEO of Transport Company of India Supply Chain Solutions, India's leading multimodal integrated supply chain solutions provider. The presentation focused on doing business in India and the current “status quo” challenges, such as infrastructure, truck sizes, state border taxes, time and delivery challenges, labor unions, and driver issues. The presentation ended with a discussion of India’s transportation plans for the next five years. Following the site visit, the class boarded a plane for Bangkok, Thailand, another first-time destination for the EMIL-SCS program.
The first morning in Bangkok, the class met with Dr. Ruth Banomyong, director for the Centre for Logistics Research at Thammasat University, for a discussion on the current state and future directions of logistical integration across ASEAN and the impacts on Western China trade. That afternoon, the class traveled to Sea Value, a top manufacturer in tuna, sardines, and mackerel, for an overview of the company, and a presentation on their supply chain process from fishing to canning to shipping. The visit concluded with a plant tour.
Day two in Bangkok began with an intense discussion on strategic sourcing and procurement strategy with Francis Cherian, supply chain strategy consultant and 2008 EMIL-SCS alumnus. The lecture focused on how to develop a strategic sourcing methodology, supplier relationship management, supplier rationalization, and enablers, specifically, how to execute strategic sourcing within your company and how to create a framework for initiating strategic sourcing. The class then traveled to Siam Cement Group (SCG) where they engaged in a sharing session with John Vande Vate, Georgia Tech professor and executive director of the EMIL-SCS program, and Kan Trakulhoon, MS Management and MS ME 1986, SCG president and CEO.
For the second week of the residence, the class traveled to Hong Kong for a two day visit. First, they met with the Hong Kong Logistics Association to discuss logistics infrastructure in Hong Kong, in the Pearl River Delta, and the role Hong Kong will play as China continues their huge development in South China. That afternoon, the class visited Li & Fung Limited, the export trading arm of the Li & Fung Group, which manages supply chains for major brands and retailers worldwide. Following the overview and discussion, the class toured Li & Fung’s massive showroom.
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the international marketing arm for Hong Kong-based traders, manufacturers, and service providers, visited the class the following afternoon to discuss the value of Hong Kong serving as the gateway to China, and the opportunities for investment, trade, and development. Later that afternoon, the class visited Modern Terminals, an EMIL-SCS tradition, for a class discussion on berth capacity at the port, throughput, yard and terminal storage, yard management system, gate dwell time, peak volume, and the major steamships partners. The class also toured the port and control tower.
Leaving Hong Kong, the class traveled to Shanghai to begin their submergence into mainland China Logistics. Hua Li, Managing Director-ASO for Home Depot, visited the class and discussed sourcing strategies in Asia, and provided a comprehensive look at retail in China. That afternoon, the class met with UPS China Hub to discuss distribution and fulfillment in China, specific to Shanghai, and the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone (FTZ). The class learned the distinguishing features of the FTZ, such as the fundamental differences in China versus the U.S. and Latin America, specific China FTZ regulations, and provincial or territorial constraints. The day ended with a presentation from China Expeditors, a global logistics company, on fulfillment, consolidation and distribution efforts, import flow of raw material into China, export flow of finished goods out of China, and customs regulations and restrictions.
On the last day in Shanghai, the EMIL-SCS program co-hosted a conference with Manhattan & Associates titled, “Future of Retail in China.” The conference was by invitation only and featured presentations from Gary Tilson, EMIL-SCS 2006, director of aftersales operations, supply chain, logistics, and service for General Motors, and Joe Shearn, EMIL-SCS 2012, vice-president of distribution for Tiffany & Co. Ray Tien, chief operating officer for Carl’s Jr. China, also presented at the conference. In the afternoon, the EMIL-SCS class met with Martin Winchell, managing director for Schneider Global Logistics Tianjin, for an overview on trucking in China. The discussion points were the fundamental differences between China and the U.S., provincial and/or territorial constraints, road infrastructure, and driver availability/professional training certification.
While the EMIL-SCS class was meeting with Schneider Trucking, conference guests were given a tutorial on the retail financial supply chain connection, presented by Maria Rey, senior lecturer for custom programs at Georgia Tech and advisor for FinListics Solutions. The conference provided a unique opportunity to share the EMIL-SCS program with executives who may consider joining the EMIL-SCS program in the future.
The next destination for the EMIL-SCS Class of 2012 is Residence V which will be held May 13-25 in Louisville, Kentucky, Montreal, Canada, and Atlanta, Georgia.
For more on the EMIL-SCS Program, contact Erin Howlette at erin.howlette@isye.gatech.edu or visit http://www.emil.gatech.edu/.
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]]>In a review for The New York Times, writer JenniferSchuessler makes an interesting comparison between the famous Broadway play “TheDeath of a Salesman” and The Traveling Salesman Problem, both of whichcoincidentally got their start in 1949. According to Schuessler, solutions from Cook’s new book might have savedthe play’s “tragic hero,” Willy Loman, at least some of his exhaustion.
The Wall StreetJournal also recently featured a review of Cook’s book in an article titled“TheFuzzy Path May Be Shortest.” Writer JordanEllenberg, a mathematics professor at the University of Wisconsin, praises Cookfor focusing on how to solve The Traveling Salesman Problem practically, whileapplying it to real-world problems. Thoughthe book contains heavy mathematical content, Ellenberg states, “Mr. Cook'saffable style means that you're never too far from an enjoyable historicalanecdote or an offbeat application of a problem that has interested some of thebest minds in applied math for most of a century and that shows no signs ofgetting stale.”
Cook, also an adjunct professor in the School ofMathematics, is the author or editor of seven books, including The Traveling Salesman Problem: AComputational Study which was released in 2006.
]]>Also maintaining its ranking, the College of Engineering ranked No.4 for the eighth consecutive year, and nine other College of Engineering programs again ranked in the top 10: biomedical (No. 2), civil (No. 3), aerospace (No. 4), environmental (No. 6), electrical (No. 5), computer (No. 6), mechanical (No. 6), nuclear (No. 8), materials (No. 7), and chemical (No. 10).
The U.S. News & World Report’s 2013 rankings of Best Graduate Schools was designed to assist prospective graduate students understand the graduate school landscape and to identify programs that would be a good fit. The rankings highlight the top programs in business, law, medicine, engineering, and education, among other specialties, using indicators such as program size, external reputation, student selectivity, faculty honors, and research activity.
]]>David Sterling, partner with Sterling Solutions and co-founding member of IFC, authored the Cool Insights column for the March 2012 issue of Food Logistics, titled “Cold Chain Management Tools: Assessments and Audits.” In the column, Sterling discusses assessments and audits and their valuable role as an essential tool in the cold chain management process.
Previous installments of the Cool Insights column:
Food Logistics, January/February 2012: Nick Pacitti, co-founder of Sterling Solutions LLC, authored the ninth installment of the Cool Insights column titled “Cold Chain Technology is More Than Temperature Monitoring.”
Food Logistics, November/December 2011: Amar Ramudhin, director at the Center for Supply Chain Management and Technology at the Georgia Tech Supply Chain & Logistics Institute, authored the eighth installment of the Cool Insights column, titled “The Need for a Standard Reference Model for Food Chains.”
]]>That was one of the key points toemerge from a two-day conference titled, "U.S. ManufacturingCompetitiveness Initiative: Dialog on Next Generation Supply Networks andLogistics."
Representatives from industry,labor, government, and academia gathered at the Georgia Tech Global LearningCenter in Atlanta on Feb. 28-29 to share ideas on ways to improve America'smanufacturing competitiveness from the perspective of supply networks andadvanced logistics.
“Our challenge is to not only getback to ‘made in America' but also 'invented in America," said G.P."Bud" Peterson, president of Georgia Tech, in his opening remarks.“The same spirit of innovation and collaboration that once gave us preeminencein manufacturing can help us regain our competitiveness, thereby creating jobs,increasing exports and serving as a catalyst for a healthy economy.”
Several speakers noted that whileU.S. manufacturing has unquestionably suffered in certain industries, thenation's industrial base overall remains strong and is a leading exporter inkey areas including aerospace, chemicals, machinery and medical equipment. Infact, by capitalizing on its unique strengths, America is well-positioned tocontinue growing its manufacturing output and exports, thereby enhancing itsglobal competitiveness.
However, America's ability toproduce and export products to the global marketplace is threatened by seriousneglect of the country's transportation infrastructure -- manufacturing'scritical supply chain and logistical backbone. Furthermore, manufacturingindustries are facing a talent drain as older workers retire and young peopleopt for careers in other fields.
Discussion topics covered a breadthof national and regional issues ranging from efficient cargo rail systems tojust-in-time air delivery to tax and regulatory concerns. Among the pointsraised:
• Manufacturing accounts for 11percent of U.S. GDP. In dollar terms, the U.S. manufacturing sector is largerthan the entire GDP of Canada, India or Brazil.
• Public perception of factories asdirty, low-wage, unsafe workplaces are outdated. Today's manufacturing plantstypically require the skilled operation of complex machinery.
• The trend toward outsourcingmanufacturing is beginning to show signs of a reversal as rising transportationcosts and rising wages overseas are making it more cost effective to locatefactories closer to their markets.
• The U.S. transportationinfrastructure has stopped growing and faces a critical period of reinvestment.Basic but necessary improvements and repairs to the nation's highways andbridges will cost hundreds of millions of dollars — but further delay will onlyraise the cost.
• Savannah, the nation'sfourth-busiest port, is also the shallowest. Dredging the harbor will provideaccess for the new generation of ultra-large Panamex container ships, andelevate Georgia's global competitiveness as an import and export center.
• Intermodal freight rail expansionis a cost-efficient way to ease highway congestion and create capacity toimprove supply chain efficiency.
• Development of a long-range,comprehensive national manufacturing strategy and an energy strategy areessential ingredients for ensuring economic competitiveness.
• The tax and regulatory structuremust be simplified and streamlined.
In his welcoming comments,conference chair Chelsea C. “Chip” White III, Schneider National Chair inTransportation and Logistics at Georgia Tech said, “We are delighted to bepartnering with the Council on Competitiveness to address how the supply chainand logistics industry can help to provide competitive advantage for U.S.manufacturing and in so doing help to strengthen the U.S. economy."
Among the conference speakers were:Jack McDougle, senior vice president, U.S. Council on Competitiveness; ThomasMayor, senior executive advisor, Booz & Co.; Helmuth Ludwig, CEO, SiemensIndustry Sector, North America; Doug Stotlar, President and CEO, Con-Way; DebH. Butler, executive vice president of planing and chief information officer,Norfolk Southern; Chris Lofgren, president and CEO, Schneider National; RayReulbach, vice president, UPS customer solutions; Curtis J. Foltz, executivedirector, Georgia Ports Authority; Warren Jones, aviation development manager,Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport; Paul Yarossi, president, HNTB; Chris Cummiskey, commissioner, GeorgiaDepartment of Economic Development; and Chris Gaffney, senior vice president,Coca-Cola Refreshments.
Additional participants andpanelists included: Hal Long, executive vice president-operations, ShawIndustries; William L. Strang, senior vice president of operations, TOTO; BobRoberts, vice president, Jones Lang LaSalle Americas; Michael D. Meyer,professor and director of the Georgia Tech National University TransportationCenter; Jane Ammons, Chair of the School of Industrial & Systems Engineering;Leon McGinnis, professor emeritus and associate director of the ManufacturingResearch Center, Georgia Tech; Ron Jackson, commissioner, Technical CollegeSystem of Georgia; and Edward M. Rogers, global strategy manager, UPS.
"Dialogue on Next Generation SupplyNetworks and Logistics" was sponsored by Georgia Tech and the U.S. Councilon Competitiveness. The Council is a non-partisan, non-governmentalorganization composed of CEOs, university presidents and labor leaders. TheAtlanta event was the 13th in a series of conferences held around the countryaddressing various aspects of manufacturing competitiveness. Georgia Tech'shost role in the conference was coordinated by the H. Milton Stewart School ofIndustrial and Systems Engineering.
A joint Georgia Tech-Councilon Competitiveness Report will detail the forum's findings, and it willcontribute to the Council's National Manufacturing Strategy.
]]>Shetty joined ISyE in January of 1968 and retired inDecember of 1992 after 25 years of service to the School. He was instrumental in attracting new facultyto ISyE, many of which are now senior faculty and consider him a mentor.
Reflections from ISyE faculty:
“Mike first made anindelible impression on my life as a major professor in my Ph.D. program, wherehe was a wise and patient mentor. He wasencouraging and had a wonderful sense of humor. Later Mike became a senior faculty colleagueas I began my faculty career, where he served as an inspiration and helpfulguide to all of us.” – Jane Ammons, H. Milton and Carolyn J. Stewart SchoolChair
“Mike'sspecialization was classical optimization; he worked on hard, fundamentalproblems. Importantly, he was really the School's primary and most crediblelink to the methodological research culture in optimization that, frankly,thrived elsewhere at that time. But ascrucial as that role was in laying the groundwork for the exceptional, indeedworld-class strength in optimization that exists now in ISyE, I think many whoknew and interacted with him would agree that his broader role as the model ofwhat constitutes genuine scholarship was just as profound.” – R. Gary Parker,professor emeritus in ISyE
“When I first cameto ISyE all those years ago, Mike Shetty and Dick Serfozo were the two seniorfaculty who I most looked up to. Mike was a guy who exemplified what it meantto be a professor at a major research university.” – Dave Goldsman,professor in ISyE
“Mike was a truescholar, and a harbinger of ISyE's exceptional strength in optimization.” –Craig Tovey, professor in ISyE
“It was clear frommy first interaction with him that Mike was a true and serious scholar, and inthat role, his impact in shaping this School is immeasurable. He also struck me as a joyful person--I canstill see his grin and that distinctive shake of the head when he laughed.”– Leon McGinnis, professor emeritus in ISyE
"Mike wasinstrumental in giving birth to and nurturing the area of optimization whichhas become a key part of IE. Inaddition, he had that rare quality of character, which I admired and willalways remember." – Dick Serfozo, professor emeritus in ISyE
“I remember MikeShetty as a colleague who early on earned my respect from at least twoperspectives. He was at the epicenter of the transformation in academicreputation, which our School developed in the mid 1970’s, catapulting us intonational and international limelight. Although his primary research area wasanchored on nonlinear programming, he appreciated the centrality of dynamicprogramming in advancing the field of optimization. I personally found itrefreshing to engage him occasionally on their relationships. Perhaps, theother and more appealing of his scholarship to me, was his intellectual andprofessional integrity which were never colored by departmental politics ormyopia. Mike was an academician that one was proud to call a colleague. Thetransformational history of ISyE will be truly incomplete without a chapter onProfessor Mike Shetty's contributions to its current prominence.” – AugustineO. Esogbue, former professor in ISyE
]]>Watch this videoto learn more about Sokol’s research and LRMC predictions.
]]>Not only was this an exciting experience for John, itwas also a unique one. His father, ChangW. Kang, PhD, visiting professor in ISyE, advised a team of Senior Designstudents who were selected as finalists in the fall 2009 competition for aproject sponsored by Manheim Auto Auctions.
“Seeing the Senior Design finalist posters displayedin ISyE depicting my dad and his team motivated me to prove myself through myown Senior Design project. I have to say that winning was somewhat of a surrealmoment, and joy. As a group, we wanted to be the Senior Design finalists,but to win it all was simply amazing,” said John Kang.
Dr. Kang also shared in his son’s excitement afterlearning John’s team was selected as first place winners.
“When my son sent me the list of winners and I sawhis name, it was a dream come true. Iknew he would take Senior Design and hoped he would do well,” said Dr. Kang,also a professor in the Department of Industrial and Management Engineering at HanyangUniversity in Korea.
To be successful in Senior Design, both John and hisfather agree that teamwork and meaningful collaboration among the advisor,students, and client are essential.
John, who now works as an analyst at PROS RevenueManagement, the world leader in profitability management and optimizationsoftware solutions, feels that Senior Design helped prepare him for his currentposition. According to him, the coursetaught him the importance of working well with groups, as well as how to managedifficult or challenging problems.
Like John, Dr. Kang also realizes the value thatSenior Design has on an IE student’s future.
“When I see students do well in Senior Design, I knowthey will do well in the real world,” said Dr. Kang.
Dr. Kang has contributed to ISyE over the lastseveral years through his collaborations between Hanyang University in Koreaand ISyE. In 2011, he co-authored a bookwith Paul Kvam, associate chair for graduate studies and professor in ISyE,titled Basic Statistical Tools forImproving Quality, an introductory book on improving the quality of aprocess or system, primarily through the technique of statistical processcontrol.
]]>Özlem Ergun, who is also a visiting associate professor at Harvard, took this work to a group of Harvard students who were participating in the IACS Computational Challenge.
The students were given the following scenario: Imagine a powerful hurricane has wreaked havoc on the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Thousands of residents are injured, but debris blocks roads everywhere, preventing medical workers from reaching the victims.
Crews are mobilizing to clear paths between the victims and two medical centers, Mount Auburn Hospital and Harvard University Health Services. Which roads should they open first, in order to quickly reach the largest number of victims? How many of those roads can they actually clear each day with the equipment available?
The competition was part of ComputeFest, a two week program hosted by the Institute for Applied Computational Science (IACS) within the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
To read more about this competition and Ergun’s involvement, click here.
]]>Election to NAE is among the highest professionaldistinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributionsto "engineering research, practice, or education, including, whereappropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature," andto the "pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, makingmajor advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementinginnovative approaches to engineering education."
George is the author of five best-selling books: 7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis, True North:Discovering your Authentic Leadership, Finding Your True North (workbook),Authentic Leadership, and the recently released True North Groups: A Powerful Path to Personal and LeadershipDevelopment. At Harvard, George teaches leadership and leadershipdevelopment.
George is the former chairman and CEO of Medtronic andcurrently serves on the boards of ExxonMobil and Goldman Sachs. He is also atrustee of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the World EconomicForum USA. He has made frequent appearances on television and radio, and hisarticles have appeared in numerous publications. He has been named to the “Top25 Business Leaders of the Past 25 Years” by PBS.
George received his bachelor’s in industrial engineeringwith high honors from Georgia Tech, his MBA with high distinction from HarvardUniversity, where he was a Baker Scholar, and honorary PhDs from Georgia Tech,St. Thomas University, and Bryant University.
In 1999, he and his wife Penny founded the George FamilyFoundation as a way to foster wholeness in mind, body, spirit, and communityand to further the development of authentic leaders. Their interests includeintegrative medicine, leadership, spirituality, and community.
The Georges, who reside in Minneapolis, MN, also supportacademia at Georgia Tech through fellowships and an endowed chair in the areaof health systems.
Click herefor a full list of newly elected NAE members and foreign associates follows.
]]>To read the article in full, click here.
]]>To read the article in full, click here.
]]>“During Dr. Yuan’s time on the ISyE faculty, he has made valuable contributionsin research, teaching, and service. Dr. Yuan’s exceptional teaching ability isevident in the excellent teaching evaluations and student praise hereceives. We are fortunate to have him as a colleague and now as theISyE’s newest Coca-Cola Junior Professor,” said Jane C. Ammons, H. Milton andCarolyn J. Stewart School Chair.
The Coca-Cola Junior Professorship is supported by a gift from Coca-Cola, inorder to support research and development in ISyE. Endowed professorships, suchas this one, are awarded to outstanding faculty, ensuring them the resourcesthey need to remain at the forefront of their fields and to lead teaching andresearch efforts in their key areas.
In addition to this recent honor, Yuan was the recipient of the NationalScience Foundation Career Award in 2009 for his exemplary work in sparsemodeling and estimation with high-dimensional data. He was also named asa Distinguished Cancer Scholar from the Georgia Cancer Coalition in 2007, andwas the recipient of the John van Ryzin Award in 2004.
Yuan received his PhD in statistics from the University of Wisconsin atMadison. He also holds a master’s in computer science from the University ofWisconsin, and a bachelor’s in electrical engineering and information sciencefrom the University of Science & Technology of China. Yuan's currentresearch interests include statistical learning, bioinformatics, and methods ofregularization.
]]>ISyE can also be found on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GeorgiaTechISyE,and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/GeorgiaTechISyE. Click here to subscribe tothe ISyE-Newsletter.
]]>The NSF offers this award as part of the Faculty EarlyCareer Development (CAREER) Program in support of junior faculty who exemplifythe role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education,and the integration of education and research within the context of the missionof their organizations.
Dey received this award for his research to improve thecurrent generation of mixed-integer programming (MIP) solvers by devising newgeneral-purpose cutting-plane methods. A great deal of useful information thatcould be used in deriving and selecting cutting-planes is often left unused bystate-of-the-art MIP techniques. This project investigates some of thefollowing non-traditional paradigms for incorporating more information intocutting planes: (i) Use information from multiple constraints simultaneously toderive cutting planes, instead of using a single implied constraint. (ii)Design suitable cutting planes and then verify their validity before use,instead of deriving cutting planes without any control over their quality.(iii) Incorporate information from explicit enumeration of integer points toguide the choice of cutting planes and improve their strength. Since manymathematical challenges need to be overcome in order to tap the potential ofthese non-traditional paradigms, results from this project could significantlyenhance the mathematical toolkit used by integer programmers for the generationand analysis of cutting planes.
Dey suggested this project will not only make theoreticaladvances in mathematical programming, but also lead to significant improvementsin the performance of MIP solvers, leading to huge gains in a broad spectrum ofapplications of MIPs. A key educational objective is to develop an operationsresearch puzzle competition to foster and enrich an environment forundergraduate research. He would also like to design a new graduate course withthe aim of disseminating research results directly to future practitioners andto bring students from different engineering communities together, thusproviding opportunities for new research directions and collaborations.
]]>In his newest book, Cook examines the origins and history ofthe traveling salesman problem, one of the great unsolved problems incomputational mathematics, and explores its many important applications.
Book summary from Princeton University Press:
What is the shortest possible routefor a traveling salesman seeking to visit each city on a list exactly once andreturn to his city of origin? It sounds simple enough, yet the travelingsalesman problem is one of the most intensely studied puzzles in appliedmathematics--and it has defied solution to this day. In this book, William Cooktakes readers on a mathematical excursion, picking up the salesman's trail inthe 1800s when Irish mathematician W. R. Hamilton first defined the problem,and venturing to the furthest limits of today's state-of-the-art attempts tosolve it.
Cook examines the origins andhistory of the salesman problem and explores its many important applications,from genome sequencing and designing computer processors to arranging music andhunting for planets. He looks at how computers stack up against the travelingsalesman problem on a grand scale, and discusses how humans, unaided by computers,go about trying to solve the puzzle. Cook traces the salesman problem to therealms of neuroscience, psychology, and art, and he also challenges readers totackle the problem themselves. The traveling salesman problem is--literally--a$1 million question. That's the prize the Clay Mathematics Institute isoffering to anyone who can solve the problem or prove that it can't be done.
InPursuit of the Traveling Salesman travels to the very threshold of ourunderstanding about the nature of complexity, and challenges you yourself todiscover the solution to this captivating mathematical problem.
To coincide with the release of his latest book, Cook recentlywrote an article for The New York Timestitled “TheProblem of the Traveling Politician,” using the traveling salesman problem tosuggest optimal travel routes that will save time and gasoline for politicianswho are preparing to hit the campaign trail. His book once again appeared in The NewYork Times’ blog “Wordplay,”where writer Pradeep Mutalik references Cook’s work on the traveling salesmanproblem and related problems that cannot be solved in reasonable time by theworld’s fastest computers. Additionally, Kyle Munson, an Iowa columnist for theDes Moines Register, revealed hisplans to follow Cook’s suggested campaign routes in a blog titled “99counties, 1 week, 1 Iowa columnist.”
]]>The conference was made up of students from fifteendifferent schools that all came together to network with their peers and futurecolleagues, and to further their interest in industrial engineering.
Additionally, the team has been invited to attend The 2012Annual IIE Conference and Expo in Orlando, Florida May 19-23, where their paperwill compete against the first place papers from other regions.
]]>“It is an incredible honor. I feel extremelyfortunate to be part of a great program that is seeking to introduce andencourage the next generation to become engineers. It is also a reflection onthe wonderful mentors in my life who helped me become an engineer and continueto inspire me in my career today.”
Most recently, Goin has been working withChildren’s Healthcare of Atlanta (Children’s) as a strategy and planningconsultant, leading system efforts to drive innovation and improvements inpediatric care across the organization. In March, Goin will be joining ShepherdCenter as a Senior Improvement Consultant on their Quality, Outcomes, andPatient Safety team. She will be leading clinical and operations teams to drivesystem wide process improvements to increase efficiency and effectiveness,enhance care delivery, and drive improved patient outcomes.
Goin has been making a positive impact in thehealthcare industry since she was a student in the Stewart School of Industrialand Systems Engineering (ISyE). She originally partnered with Children’sduring her graduate studies at ISyE through a joint venture with the GeorgiaTech Health Systems Institute, Children’s, and ISyE’s Center for HumanitarianLogistics in the Supply Chain & Logistics Institute. On the project, Goinworked with a team of other master’s students to optimize patient flow atChildren’s at Egleston.
Goin has been a member of IIE since 2002, andbelieves that her participation with the organization has contributed to herpersonal and professional development, and has also helped her to establishrelationships with other IE's across the country. In addition, Goin, along withher partners at Children’s, published two papers in the Society for CriticalCare Medicine that won the 2010 Scientific and Administration awards, andshe was selected to present at the 2009 and 2010 Society for Health Systemsconferences.
Read the interview below to learn more aboutGoin and her work in the healthcare industry.
ISyE: Describe a typical day at work.
KG: As an IE, I love working with people tohelp solve problems and develop new systems and processes. As an internalconsultant at Children's, I was very lucky to work on a variety of projects andlearn about many aspects of the hospital and our business.
In this type of work, every day is a little bitdifferent, which keeps things interesting. A key aspect of my role withChildren’s was leading and facilitating multi-disciplinary teams to solveproblems and develop recommendations for new business plans. There was a greatmix of analytics, problem solving, and research, coupled with leading meetingsand developing presentations. Meeting with our physicians and nurses and seeingpatients in the hallways provided a great deal of inspiration for the work.
ISyE: What have been some of your achievements whileworking in the healthcare industry?
KG: I have been very lucky to work with otherengineers, clinicians, and professionals throughout my career to enhancehealthcare delivery. Many of my projects have focused on applying IE skills inunique and collaborative ways to improve quality, outcomes, and access forpatients by designing more efficient and effective healthcare systems. Some ofthe achievements from these collaborative efforts include: optimizing patientflow to reduce length of stay and maximize capacity, improving physician andnursing workflow in the pediatric ICU, reducing medication errors and waste,developing plans to increase access to innovative diagnostic care, and modelingstatewide childhood obesity prevalence to guide interventions. Many of theseprojects and results have been shared through national forums.
ISyE: What are some of the projects you havebeen involved with at Children’s?
KG: I have been supporting Children's effortsto optimize outpatient services to improve access to care for patients andfamilies. We are analyzing operations and facility space to maximize capacity,throughput, quality of care, and the patient and family experience. This willhelp Children's better meet the needs of patients today and plan for thefuture.
We have been developing new models of care formedically complex patients with one or more chronic illnesses. Our goal is toimprove the quality of care and reduce cost through improved care coordination,protocols, and care management approaches.
We are also partnering with Georgia Tech to identifycollaborative research projects to leverage technology to improve child health.
ISyE: What influenced your decision to pursue amaster’s degree in health systems at ISyE?
KG: After a close family experience I realizedthere was/is a great need to improve healthcare delivery and the impact onpatients and families. Through that experience I developed a passion to be apart of the incredible mission of healthcare organizations. When I learnedabout the Georgia Tech Health Systems program at ISyE, it was the perfect wayto integrate my systems thinking with the complex nature of the healthcareindustry. Health Systems was a key factor in my transition into the healthcareindustry and preparing me to be able to make a significant impact in the field.
ISyE: How do you apply your IE skills in thehealthcare industry?
KG: There are so many incredible opportunitiesto bring data driven approaches and systems thinking like Six Sigma and Lean tothe healthcare industry. Partnering with clinicians to understand key areas ofopportunity and how we can work together to solve complex problems has been akey to success. Together we have applied IE skills to improving throughput inthe emergency department, creating just-in-time medication productionprocesses, determining root causes for patient safety errors, increasing timeat the bedside for nurses, and more. There are many pioneers in the field andorganizations like Georgia Tech's Health System Institute, IIE, Society forHealth Systems, and Institute for Healthcare Improvement that are continuing topave the way for IE's in healthcare.
ISyE: What is the most important thing youlearned while at ISyE?
KG: The structured problem solving, robustanalytical thinking, and innovation at Georgia Tech is incredible. I thinkthese skills, coupled with the ability to effectively communicate complexinformation, is the most important thing I learned while at ISyE. The abilityto effectively communicate an opportunity, recommendations, and impact iscritical to the success of any project.
ISyE: How do you stay connected to GeorgiaTech?
KG: One of the key ways I have stayed connectedis through collaborative projects between Children's and Georgia Tech. I havepartnered with faculty and students from Georgia Tech's ISyE program on variousprojects, and the expertise and innovation of these partnerships hasaccelerated the outcomes. I have also been honored to give guest lectures andparticipate on alumni forums. Of course, watching and attending Georgia Techsports is a great way to stay connected.
ISyE: What are your goals for the future?
KG: I want to continue to explore the best waysto promote and implement IE skills and methods to improve the healthcareindustry. This is still in its infancy with incredible opportunity to makesignificant impact. I plan to continue to grow my skills and track theimplication of healthcare reform on improving healthcare systems.
ISyE: What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
KG: Time with family is my first priority. Iwas born and raised in Atlanta, so I am very lucky to have family close. We love sports - both watching and playing. We are avid Braves, Falcons,Tech, and Auburn fans. I play tennis and have completed a half marathon for theTrain to End Strokes program and two sprint triathlons that benefit Children's.I also love to cook and am always looking for new recipes and techniques on theFood Network.
ISyE: Is there any one person who has been aninspiration to you?
KG: Both of my grandfathers have been greatinspirations to me. I have one grandfather who has a doctorate in microbiologyand was the Chief of Microbiology for the CDC. My other grandfather was amechanical engineer from Georgia Tech who worked with IBM and NASA. Bothmade incredible contributions in the fields of engineering and healthcare andtaught me great ethics and values.
ISyE: Can you tell us one interesting thingabout yourself that you don't mind us sharing with the rest of the world?
KG: Before working in the healthcare industry,I was an Industrial Engineer at the Walt Disney World Company. One of myprojects at Disney was to redesign the monorails to increase capacity. Ahighlight of the project was driving and parking one of the newly designedmonorails into the maintenance bay (of course, after the parks were closed andwithout any guests on board)!
]]>G. P. “Bud” Peterson, president of Georgia Tech, arrivedin April 2009. He was followed by Rafael L. Bras, who became provost inSeptember 2010. Gary May, dean of the College of Engineering, and Jane Ammons,the H. Milton and Carolyn J. Stewart School Chair at ISyE, both started theirnew duties on July 1, 2011.
From their diverse backgrounds, these Georgia Techleaders are crafting a vision of the future. Looking forward, they areenvisioning exciting possibilities and enlisting others in a shared view tolead Georgia Tech from excellence to preeminence. The four recently shared theirthoughts on Tech’s path forward.
Thereis a lot of discussion regarding the “Grand Challenges for Engineering” for thetwenty-first century—some of which are health, clean energy, national security,and education and lifelong learning. What is Georgia Tech’s role in meetingthese challenges?
Peterson:We believe that over the next twenty-five years, many of the world’s mostcritical problems will be solved at research and educational institutions likeGeorgia Tech. We’re already working on breakthroughs in a number of fields.
Bras:Our tradition is not only to create knowledge but also to use that knowledgefor the betterment of society. The Georgia Tech Strategic Plan states: “GeorgiaTech has accepted the challenge to create the conditions that lead to solvingcritical global problems. Rather than settle for incremental steps forward, wehave set forth a course to facilitate bold and deliberate contributions tohuman progress.”
May:As the proprietor of the largest, most diverse, and one of the best engineeringprograms in the nation, it is incumbent upon Georgia Tech to be a leader increating solutions and empowering students to meet societal challenges. The“Grand Challenges” are so named because they will require significant time,effort, and resources by a variety of constituencies to resolve them.
Ammons:Georgia Tech faculty, students, and alumni are creative, bold, solution-drivenleaders when addressing the complex grand challenges of today. ISyE leaders areparticularly equipped with holistic systems thinking approaches. Their successand impacts to date make us optimistic as we cultivate the leaders of tomorrow.
Howcan we help stimulate future collaborations of engineers with social scientists,industry, government, business, and other friends of the Institute to addresscomplex societal issues?
Peterson:Tech has a long track record of creating collaborative partnerships withgovernment, business, and industry, and we must continue. New interdisciplinaryfields are emerging that span technology, science, policy, business, law, andthe arts. Our success will depend on our ability to utilize science andtechnology to build on our history of excellence and shape our future.
Ammons:We celebrate the many ways that ISyE faculty, students, and alumni havecollaborated with our disciplinary partners as well as business, government,and not-for-profit organizations to improve complex societal issues. Examplesinclude our need for national economic competitiveness in manufacturing andsupply chain engineering, our critical healthcare delivery systems, importantenvironmental and sustainability thrusts, and humanitarian logistics anddisaster relief. We will stimulate future collaborations by building on thesesuccesses and developing our students as leaders with systems thinking andcollaborative mindsets.
Howdo we leverage our state and national leadership roles to advance our globalaspirations?
Peterson:During the past two decades, Tech has grown into a globalized university, withpartnerships in more than thirty countries and campuses and operations inFrance, Ireland, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, and China. Our LogisticsInnovation and Research Center established last year in Panama, and the newTrade and Logistics Innovation Center in Mexico are prime examples of how wehave leveraged our leadership and partnered internationally on projects thatwill benefit several countries, including the United States.
Bras:Tech is already a global university. The Times Higher Education’s WorldUniversity Rankings place Tech tenth among the world engineering and technologyuniversities. More than 40 percent of our undergraduate students have aninternational experience, far more than most competitors. Through the prominentleadership roles of many among our faculty and our globalization efforts, weare in a unique position to propel our reputation for excellence to a new, veryhigh level.
May:During the last two decades, the College of Engineering has played a leadershiprole in establishing Tech’s global reputation. Not only do these activitiesbetter prepare our graduates for an increasingly “flatter” world, but they alsoallow the university to have better access to international student and facultytalent, to partner more seamlessly with multinational corporations, and tocontinue to build its brand.
Whatcan be done to heighten interest in engineering and science education andresearch to increase the visibility and importance of these areas to society?
Bras:First we need to articulate the excitement of the creative nature of scienceand engineering, the value we bring to society as knowledge and wealth creatorsand drivers of progress, our role as providers of solutions to societalproblems, and our capacity to transform and preserve life. Second, we mustcontinue outreach efforts to K-12 education—that leaky pipeline must be fixed.And third, we must plug our own leaky pipeline by improving the delivery of oureducation, making it exciting, rewarding, and fun. Technology can help in thattask.
May:Research shows that the general public still has a poor understanding of whatengineers do. Data suggest that the public believes engineers are not asengaged with societal and community concerns as scientists or as likely to playa role in saving lives. When judging the relative prestige of professions,people tend to place engineering below medicine, nursing, science, or teaching.
As engineers, we clearly have a vested personalinterest in more people having an accurate and positive impression ofengineering. In addition, a better understanding of engineering would encouragestudents—particularly women and underrepresented minorities—to pursueengineering careers.
A consistent effort by the College of Engineeringand its constituents can create positive momentum toward making engineeringmore appealing and better understood by students, educators, parents,policymakers, and society at large.
Peterson:Einstein once said that in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. I believewe’re experiencing this now as our nation and our state look for answers togrowing globalization, the need for stronger domestic manufacturing, the needfor innovation and getting those innovations to the marketplace to help createa stronger economy and more jobs, and the need to prepare the workforce for thefuture. Georgia Tech has a seat at the table for President Obama’s new AdvancedManufacturing Partnership. Georgia Tech is a leader in science, technology,engineering, and math (STEM) education and is involved in four of the five“Race to the Top” projects recently selected by the state for funding. Today,we’re helping to recruit and educate tomorrow’s leaders in the STEM fields.
Ammons:We have a mandate to spread the excitement and creativity of science and engineering,including its role in creating wealth, jobs, and making our world a betterplace. From K-12 outreach to more inspiring hands-on learning experiences atthe college level, we need to cultivate the spirit of the National Academy ofEngineering’s “Changing the Conversation” to inspire our current generation ofengineering students that “Dreams Need Doing.”
Whatshould we be doing to prepare our graduates with the skills necessary to besuccessful and to adapt, change, and advance in a truly global marketplace?
Ammons:Perhaps our task is as much about helping students “learn how to learn” andbeing stewards of their own intellectual and interpersonal development as it isunderstanding current knowledge and technology. They face a world with increasingtechnical and social change that will require them to continually increase thefirst and second derivatives of their personal growth and adaptation.
Peterson:Technology changes so rapidly that our graduates must commit to lifelonglearning. I also feel that interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary experienceis becoming a must. And, we need to continue to prepare leaders who are bothinnovative and entrepreneurial.
Bras:We cannot forget that an educated person needs understanding of much more thanjust science and engineering. We must provide our students with thecommunication skills, the knowledge of cultures and societies, and the socialawareness and sensitivities to lead wherever they are.
May:We have the most talented students that we have ever had in the history of theInstitute. These students have grown up with nearly instantaneous andubiquitous access to information. Given these realities, it makes little senseto educate them exclusively using traditional methods in traditionalengineering curricula. On the contrary, our objective must be to empower ourstudents to be independent learners and fearless in the face of complexproblems. To accomplish this, the educational experience must maximizeflexibility, have a multidisciplinary orientation, and encourage thinking thatfacilitates the creation of solutions.
Howis the changing availability of resources affecting our students and facultyboth near- and long-term?
Bras:During the past three years, the state support of Georgia Tech has been reducedby more than 90 million dollars. Although we have recovered a portion of thatloss with tuition and other income, the overall support from the state is downto less than 20 percent of total annual expenses. Staff and faculty are doingmore with a lot less, our student-to-faculty ratios are higher than ever,beyond what they should be to ensure continuing excellence. We will need tothink of new revenue-generation ideas, new ways of controlling costs, and newways of delivering education without sacrificing quality and excellence.
Ammons:ISyE faculty, staff, and students have been significantly impacted by thereduction in resources. ISyE has one of the largest student-to-faculty ratiosof any Georgia Tech unit, and our students are frustrated by the very largeclass sizes and significant waiting lists for classes. On the positive side,our faculty and staff have been creatively seeking new revenue sources,controlling costs, and innovating in the classroom.
May:As we know, student and faculty interaction is also critically important andinextricably linked to the student-to- faculty ratio. The quality of studentand faculty interaction will definitely improve with a more manageable ratio.Our students want and deserve an improved environment for intellectualexchange, and we are committed to that objective.
Peterson:We’re all feeling the pinch of this global recession in one way or another, andit is definitely impacting higher education. Students have increasedcost-sharing in their education. We continue to preserve the quality of ouracademic programs to ensure that we are able to provide an educationalexperience consistent with the very best institutions in the country. In timeslike these, we are particularly grateful to members of the Georgia Tech family,friends, and supporters who have contributed to Campaign Georgia Tech.
Whatis your vision for further developing the diversity of our students, staff, andfaculty to leverage the diverse talent and perspective that is needed to solvethe important societal problems?
May:The economy is critically dependent on the talents and knowledge of a diverseand available technical workforce. U.S. jobs are growing fastest in areas thatrequire knowledge and skills stemming from a strong grasp of science, technology,engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In some areas— particularly in computerand information technology— business leaders are warning of a critical shortagein skilled domestic workers that is threatening their ability to compete in theglobal marketplace. To realize a diverse technical workforce, the educationalenvironment for underrepresented engineering students must be systematicallyimproved across all levels of the kindergarten to PhD educational continuum.
Particular attention must be paid to transitionpoints along that continuum—for example, from high school to college, collegeto graduate school, and graduate school to the workforce. At Georgia Tech,we’ve seen that a key factor for motivating students to pursue advanced degreesand research careers in STEM is a fruitful research experience as anundergraduate. As the nation’s most diverse engineering college, this isnothing short of an obligation for us.
Peterson:We are continuing to strengthen our national leadership position in the totalnumber of engineering degrees awarded to underrepresented minority students andwomen. And, we now have a number of programs in place to recruit and retainunderrepresented minorities in all of the academic programs we offer—not justengineering—and in the past three years, we have increased the number ofunderrepresented minorities in the freshman class by nearly 40 percent andwomen by 8 percent. As we commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of thematriculation of the first black students at Tech, we are reminded of how farwe have come and how much more we need to do to recruit, develop, retain, andengage a diverse cadre of students, faculty, and staff to create a campuscommunity that exemplifies the best in all of us and fosters inclusive excellence.
Arethere any capabilities, human or institutional, that we have that areunder-developed or under- utilized, and what should we do about that?
Ammons:The heart of Georgia Tech is our people—our students, alumni, staff, andfaculty. We have the opportunity to grow stronger and more impactful as weenhance the diversity of talent and perspective in people and our Georgia Techleadership.
May:Our human resources—faculty, staff, alumni, and students—are our greatestasset. I would like to see us make greater use of these resources byidentifying and utilizing more mechanisms for these constituencies to providesubstantive input to our decision-making processes. We have access to manysmart, gifted, and dedicated people. If two heads are better than one, thensurely we as leaders can benefit from our people.
Bras:Of course, every organization can improve. We have an enormous opportunity totransform education with the opening of the G. Wayne Clough UndergraduateLearning Commons. We have an opportunity to reinvent the delivery ofundergraduate education and redefine the role of libraries as a center oflearning.
Peterson:As we create a more inclusive environment and campus community, we will be evenmore effective in realizing our full potential. In addition, we must continueto think and plan long term, looking at the big picture. And, without a doubt,the biggest wins will come through collaborative partnerships, withindisciplines, with other universities, with government, business and industry,and with our alumni.
Whatare the things Georgia Tech should be most proud of as an organization, andwhy?
Peterson:Our people! Georgia Tech students, faculty, staff, and alumni are developinginnovations, conducting breakthrough research, saving lives, and changing theworld.
May:Georgia Tech has a culture of excellence. We believe in going far beyond theordinary to pursue the extraordinary— in academics, technology, research, andservice. We have a rich culture characterized by attributes such as rigor, pragmatism,collegiality, entrepreneurship, and diversity. Since its inception, GeorgiaTech has embraced a “can do” spirit that is evident throughout all facets ofcampus.
Ammons:Our Georgia Tech core—the quality, drive, commitment, and successes of students,alumni, faculty, and staff.
Bras:We should be most proud of our students, past and future. We must be proud ofour legacy of offering opportunity to all willing to work hard, many of whomare the first generation of college students in their families. We must find away of making sure that cost is never an impediment to any meritoriouscandidate.
Fromyour perspective is there a message or call to action we need to deliver to ourconstituents?
Ammons:Our call to action is clear: let’s work together to address the important needsof today’s world while developing well-prepared leaders of tomorrow.
May:The challenge in sustaining and enhancing the Georgia Tech culture requires anintellectual shift in focus from merely training technical professionals toempowering leaders capable of creating the solutions required by the globalsociety. Within the College of Engineering, we will focus on the Georgia Techglobal brand through fostering innovation, leadership, strong student-facultyrelationships, and interdisciplinary studies.
Bras:“What does Georgia Tech think?” will be a common question in research,business, the media, and government. The only thing I have to add is to ask allalumni, students, staff, and faculty not to wait until asked—let’s tell theworld what we think.
Peterson:Our Industrial and Systems Engineering program is the best in the nation, andit is because of the commitment and quality of our people. In addition to beingproud of your alma mater, we challenge you to find ways to partner with theInstitute and to help us develop leaders for the next generation.
Special thanks to Kay Kinard and Patti Futrell for their contributions and assistance with this article.
]]>Tech joined other top universities—the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, University ofCalifornia-Berkeley, and University of Michigan—in the $500 million AMP push toguide investment in emerging technologies and increase the supply ofhigh-quality manufacturing jobs and overall U.S. global competitiveness.
“We applaud this initiative, and Georgia Tech ishonored to collaborate to identify ways to strengthen the manufacturing sectorto help create jobs in Georgia and across the United States,” Peterson said.“Many of our challenges can be solved through innovation and fostering anentrepreneurial environment, as well as collaboration between industry,education, and government to create a healthy economic environment and aneducated workforce.”
Today, the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial andSystems Engineering (ISyE) leads the way in advanced manufacturing research anddevelopment at Georgia Tech. ISyE faculty specialize in many relateddisciplines, including computer-integrated systems, controls for flexibleautomation, manufacturing systems design, analysis and simulation, leanmanufacturing strategies, and performance measurements.
Advanced manufacturing involves not only new ways tomanufacture existing products, but also new products emerging from advancedtechnologies, observes Stephen E. Cross, Georgia Tech’s executive vicepresident for research. Cross, who is also a professor in ISyE, is working withPresident Peterson to support the AMP.
“ISyE’s competencies in manufacturing, logistics,supply chains, and methodological work in operations research, statistics,simulation, and decision support provide the intellectual core for arenaissance in advanced manufacturing,” Cross said recently. “ISyE’s trackrecord of excellence, combined with equally stellar research throughout therest of the Institute, has made Tech one of the leading research universitiesin the world.”
ISyE Professor Leon McGinnis is supporting bothPeterson and Cross in their work with the AMP Steering Committee. McGinnis isbeing joined by Ben Wang, who in January will assume the role of executivedirector of the Manufacturing Research Center (MaRC) at Georgia Tech and alsobecome a professor in ISyE.
Both educators will serve on a Georgia Tech workinggroup that will focus on ways in which research and education can maximize theimpact of emerging technologies on the U.S. manufacturing sector.
Other ISyE faculty serving the advancedmanufacturing thrust includes Professor Chelsea (Chip) White III, SchneiderNational Chair in Transportation and Logistics, and Harvey Donaldson, associatechair of Industry and International programs. Both are involved in a workshopfocusing on the Council on Competitiveness’s U.S. manufacturing competitivenessinitiative. The meeting, planned for early 2012 at Georgia Tech, will focus onhow the supply chain and logistics industry can best support U.S. manufacturingcompetitiveness.
“Advanced manufacturing can be viewed as a system ofsystems that involves design, processes, equipment, information, energy,materials, and the entire supply chain,” said Wang, who served as director ofthe High-Performance Materials Institute at Florida State University beforecoming to Georgia Tech. “This new kind of manufacturing relies on a highlyeducated workforce and on truly innovative research capable of furnishing thebasis for new companies as well as supporting existing industry—and ISyE isuniquely positioned to supply both the skilled workforce and the innovativeresearch.”
ISyE faculty members conduct some $6.5 million insponsored research annually, in areas that support all facets of manufacturingand industrial systems– optimization, stochastic systems, logistics,simulation, statistics, natural systems, economic decision analysis, andhuman-integrated systems analysis.
Below are instances (in alphabetical order) of thecutting-edge work being performed by ISyE faculty in areas related to advanced manufacturing.
Jane Ammons, who is the H. Milton andCarolyn J. Stewart School Chair and a professor in ISyE, collaborates onreverse production systems with Matthew Realff, a professor in the School ofChemical & Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE) and David Wang Sr. Fellow. Formore than ten years, the team has focused on two important areas: the recovery andreuse of carpet wastes and ways to reduce electronic waste (e-waste).
Ammons, Realff, and their team have developed amathematical framework to support the growth of used-carpet collectionnetworks. Such networks could help to recycle much of the nation’s annualcarpet waste total of 4.7 billion pounds. The successful reuse of that carpethas a potential value of $2.8 billion, versus a cost of $100 million to sendthe waste to landfills.
In other work, the team is studying the problem ofe-waste—unwanted electronic components such as televisions, monitors, andcomputer boards and chips. The e-waste stream includes multiple hazardousmaterials containing lead and other toxins, yet effective management and reuseof e-components can be profitable. Ammons and Realff have devised mathematicalmodels that address the complexities of e-waste processing, with the goal ofhelping recycling companies stay economically viable.
“Working with both, companies and government, ourgoal is to eliminate as much product disposal in landfills as possible,” Ammonssaid. “By extending our work to address new operational control andinfrastructure design problems, we can help to address uncertainty andvariability in closed-loop supply chain flows on a global scale.”
AssociateProfessor Nagi Gebraeel conductsresearch in the area of detecting and preventing failure in engineering systemsas they degrade over time. The goal is to avoid both expensive downtime andunnecessary maintenance costs.
“We could be talking about a fleet of airlines,trucks, trains, ships—or a manufacturing system,” Gebraeel said. “In any ofthese cases, it’s extremely useful for a number of reasons to be able toaccurately estimate the remaining useful lifetime of the system or its components.”
In one project, Gebraeel and his team worked withRockwell Collins—a Cedar Rapid, Iowa, maker of avionics and electronics—tomonitor and diagnose the performance of circuit boards that control vitalaircraft communication systems.
Since the exact time of component failure isunknown, airlines are forced to anticipate when replacements are needed.Scheduled maintenance can result in replacement of parts that still have usablelife. Using circuit boards until parts actually fail will result in unplannedand expensive downtime.
As Gebraeel methodically exposes an avionicscomponent to heat and vibration, he employs a network of computers and sensorsto record and analyze data on the degradation rate of the part he is testing.If he can reliably predict the failure rate of a component, he can helpairlines replace parts at the most cost-effective time.
In another effort, Gebraeel has developed anadaptive prognostics system (APS), a custom research tool that allows him toinvestigate how quickly components degrade under vibration and other stresses.Gebraeel and his team can use APS to test a complex system—such as a gearbox—byusing multiple sensors in a triangulated pattern to detect the frequencysignals coming from individual components.
Gebraeel is currently in talks with a major airlineto use APS to analyze critical engine components. The aim is to be able topredict engine wear rates in ways that will help optimize aircraft maintenanceprocedures.
“There’s a real need for information about the remaininglife of components, so that users can find the economical middle ground betweenthe cost of scheduled replacements and the cost of failure,” he said. “Think ofthe everyday problem of whether we really need to replace vehicle engine oil at3,000 miles. If we replace it early, we sacrifice some useful time, but if wereplace it later, we risk engine damage. It’s very useful to have detailedinformation about degradation in a system over time.”
ProfessorLeon McGinnis focuses on model-basedsystems engineering, an approach that uses cutting-edge computational methodsto enable capture and reuse of systems knowledge among multiple stakeholders. McGinnis,his team, and other faculty collaborators are pursuing several sponsoredprojects in this area.
In one notable project, McGinnis and his team areworking with Rockwell Collins, the Iowa-based maker of avionics andelectronics. The aim is to help the corporation speed transition of newproducts by automating the process that simulates physical manufacturing.
In order to optimize the resources needed to makeproducts at the required rate, McGinnis explains, Rockwell Collins creates acomputerized simulation model of the manufacturing processes. Development ofsimulation models has traditionally been the province of experts who areskilled in using initial system designs to simulate the demands of actualproduction.
“This is not a trivial task—producing a simulationmodel requires some 100 to 200 hours per product,” said McGinnis, who holds theEugene C. Gwaltney Chair in Manufacturing Systems. “Due to expert resourcelimitations, the company was only able to generate a few production models at atime, which created something of a bottleneck.”
To analyze the model-development process, an ISyEteam interviewed Rockwell Collins engineers on the methods they used to developa simulation model. The Georgia Tech investigators carefully analyzed the stepsand methods that the engineers used to progress from an original system designto a simulation model.
Then the ISyE researchers turned to SysML, alanguage that enables the computerized modeling of complex systems. SysML letsdesigners delineate a new product—and multiple related factors such as people,machinery, and product flows—in a standardized way.
By describing the evolution of a given product usingSysML, McGinnis and his team were able to automate the movement of that productfrom design to simulation. Even more importantly, the ISyE team created adomain-specific version of SysML that was customized to the Rockwell Collinsenvironment. That achievement allowed any of the company’s new products andsystems to be plugged into an SysML-based automation process.
This new way to doing things appears to reduce thetime required to build simulation models by an order of magnitude McGinnissaid. It also allows multiple products to be developed concurrently andencourages “what-if” studies that couldn’t be performed before.
“Essentially, this technology lets the people whoown a process validate it without the middleman—the simulation expert,” hesaid. “There’s a two-part philosophy here—one is to articulate the system in away that all the stakeholders can agree on, and then to automate the bringingof information and knowledge to the stakeholders without requiring mediation byexperts.”
McGinnis is also working on several other projects.In one effort, he is collaborating with the School of Mechanical Engineeringand the Manufacturing Research Center (MaRC) to develop semantics formanufacturing processes under a DARPA contract. In another project, he iscollaborating with the Tennenbaum Institute to address the challenges ofidentifying and mitigating risks in global manufacturing enterprise networks.In other MaRC research, he is investigating the integration of product designand manufacturing management of flexibly automated production throughout anentire manufacturing system.
SpiridonReveliotis, an ISyE professor, is currently involved in aproject that addresses a cutting-edge approach to automation in manufacturing.This concept, known as flexible automation, involves variable-size batchproduction and the ability to reconfigure and rebalance the shop floor quicklyto accommodate differing product mixes.
To date, Reveliotis explains, flexible automationhas been most successful at the level of single manufacturing processes. Toaddress this limitation, he is developing the analytical capability andcomputational tools to enable effective deployment and in the methodologicalareas that define the technical bases for these works.
Reveliotis is using the representation of a ResourceAllocation System—an enriched version of a queuing network model—and alsoemploying modeling and analytical capabilities derived from modern controltheory, computer science, and operations research.
Using these, he is seeking to build a framework andmethodology to enable rapid reconfiguration of automated production systems,with control logic capable of managing the system operation in each newconfiguration. One challenge, he said, involves managing the trade-offs betweenthe quest for a high-fidelity model of the underlying shop floor dynamics andthe need to keep the control logic and its deployment manageable.
In another project, Reveliotis is developing methodsto help remanufacturing facilities approach component-disassembly tasks in themost efficient ways. This work, sponsored by the National Science Foundation,uses a learning-based approach comprised of efficient sampling techniques andnovel machine-learning algorithms to determine the optimal disassembly plan foreach product type.
Beyond addressing important practical problems inthe manufacturing and remanufacturing domains, both of the above lines of workare also contributing seminal analytical results enterprise development for theaerospace industry.
ProfessorJianjun (Jan) Shi’s researchaddresses system informatics and control. He uses his training in bothmechanical and electrical engineering to integrate system data—comprised ofdesign, manufacturing, automation, and performance information—into models thatseek to reduce process variability.
Shi, who holds the Carolyn J. Stewart Chair in ISyE,is currently working on several sponsored projects. In one effort, Shi isworking with nGimat, a Norcross, Georgia-based company that was a 1997 graduateof the Advanced Technology Development Center startup-company incubator atGeorgia Tech.
nGimat is currently addressing the challenge ofmass-producing a type of nanopowder for use in high-energy, high-densitybatteries for electric cars. With sponsorship from the Department of Energy(DoE), Shi is supporting nGimat as it works to increase its output of thisnanopowder by several orders of magnitude.
“This nanopowder product has very goodcharacteristics, and the task here is to scale-up production while maintainingthe quality,” Shi said. “We must identify the parameters— what to monitor, whatto control—to reduce any variability and do so in an environmentally friendlyway.”
In work focusing on the steel industry, Shi is pursuingmultiple projects including investigating sensing technologies used to monitorvery high temperature environments used in steel manufacturing. With DoEsupport, he is working with OG technologies to develop methods that employoptical sensors capable of providing continuous high-speed images of very hotsurfaces—in the area of 1,000 to 1,450 degrees Celsius.
In steel manufacturing, Shi explains, continuouscasting and rolling lines can be miles long and production can take hours.Variations in the process temperature—currently difficult to detect—can lead tocostly quality problems, increased labor costs, and increased carbon dioxideemissions due to wasted energy.
“We want to catch defect formation in the very earlystage of manufacturing,” Shi said. “By using imaging data of the producteffectively with other process data to eliminate defects, we can help optimizethe casting process.”
In another representative project, Shi isinvestigating ways to use process measurements and online adjustments toimprove quality control in the manufacturing of the ubiquitous silicon wafersused in semiconductor electronics. In work sponsored by the National ScienceFoundation, he is working with several manufacturers to examine the root causesof undesirable geometric defects in wafer surfaces.
Shi explains that the first step of his approachinvolves developing a software model capable of detecting and accuratelycharacterizing surface characteristics on a silicon wafer. If waves arepresent, the model must be able to capture both their mean profile as well asdetect and characterize particular types of waves.
The second step requires using this model to judgewhether an actual wafer surface is of acceptable quality. If the surface isfaulty, the model returns data on what must be done to improve it.
“Wafer manufacturing is another instance of acontinuous process where, if you catch imperfections early, you can quickly andcost-effectively return to a previous step in the process and correct theproblem,” Shi said.
AssociateProfessor Joel Sokol, A. RussellChandler III Chair and Professor GeorgeNemhauser, and Professor ShabbirAhmed recently completed a project supporting a major float glassmanufacturer. The company was automating a process where finished glass platesare removed from the production line and packed for shipment.
The company was concerned that the new machines thatpick up and remove glass from the production line might fall behind, allowingvaluable plates to be heavily damaged. What was critically needed was thecapability to carefully schedule the sequence of production so the machinescould function at maximum capacity with as little waste as possible.
The ISyE team tackled development of new softwarethat could minimize production scheduling problems. They devised algorithmsthat allowed the machines to work at their maximum efficiency and enabled themto handle input data with more than 99 percent efficiency.
“The algorithms we delivered can also be usedstrategically to determine how many machines of each type should be installedon a production line,” Sokol said.
In another project, Sokol, Nemhauser, and Ahmed are collaborating on aproject for Korea-based Samsung. The aim is to support production throughput ata Samsung semiconductor- manufacturing facility.
The challenge involves the physical movement ofsemiconductors from one processing station to another throughout the factory.Because the routing of semiconductors between processing machines can differfrom item to item, there’s no linear assembly- line type of procedure; instead,hundreds of automated vehicles pick up an item from one processing point andmove it to its next step.
Because of the facility’s structure, these automatedvehicles encounter congestion that can delay the production schedule, Nemhausersaid. The ISyE team is developing ways to best route and schedule the vehiclesto minimize congestion and move items between machines in ways that don’t delayproduction.
“This is clearly a highly complex challenge thatwill require development of an accurate system model,” added Ahmed. “But it’sexactly the type of problem that can be solved by devising effective softwareand hardware modifications.”
Valerie Thomas, Anderson Interfaceassociate professor of Natural Systems in ISyE, is conducting research on theuse of information technology, mediated by bar codes or radio frequency (RFID)tags, to improve recycling and end-of-life management for electronics and otherproducts.
This work has been presented to the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Congress and has been featured inthe New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
In another area, Thomas is collaborating withProfessors Matthew Realff and Ron Chance in the School of Chemical &Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE) and with ISyE PhD students Dexin Luo and DongGu Choi on the design, energy efficiency, water management, and carbonfootprint for facilities to produce biofuels. This work is supported by AlgenolBiofuels as part of their $25 million DoE-funded pilot plant for the productionof ethanol from cyanobacteria.
AssociateProfessor Chen Zhou, associate chairfor undergraduate studies, and Professor Leon McGinnis tackled sustainabilityissues for Ford Motor Company in a recent project.
The issue involved shipping gearbox components fromChina to the United States in ways that would minimize not only cost butgreenhouse gas emissions and waste.
It turned out that packaging was at the heart of theissue. The researchers had to configure component packaging so that the maximumnumber of components could be placed in a cargo container yet also allow foroptimal recycling of the packing materials to avoid waste and unnecessary cost.
“This was definitely a complex problem,” Zhou said.“You must track every piece of packaging from its source to its final restingplace, when it either goes into another product or into a landfill.”
The team created amodel—a globally sourced auto parts packaging system— that optimized cargocontainer space. The model also enabled the use of packing materials that werefully reusable; some materials were sent back to China for use in futureshipments, while the rest was recycled into plastics that became part of newvehicles.
]]>What’sin a name?
No matter the stakes, your bet was pretty securebecause there is a very high probability that those dozen responses to thequery posed above will be all over the proverbial map; some will have to betightened to even reach the level of “nebulous.” And, even if a couple ofdescriptions are the same, it is entirely likely that both are vague, outmoded,or simply nonsensical. So is there a punch line here—a resolution of a riddle?Actually, there is not (at least from this author), but there is an article, andits theme is this: We don’t really have an air-tight definition of OR either,but we do believe that in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial andSystems Engineering (ISyE), we do it at least as well as anybody and quitepossibly better than any other academic program.
In order to have at least a fixed point, suppose wego straight to the description offered up by what many will argue is theflagship professional society representing this identity-conflicted field. TheInstitute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) tellsus on their website, www.informs.org,that“operations research is the discipline of applying advanced analytical methodsto help make better decisions.” Paraphrasing the well-known sentiment expressedby Churchill regarding democracy as a system of government, thischaracterization of OR might well strike you as not so hot, but then none ofthe others we know about appear to be any better. Indeed, the professionalsociety recently rolled out a somewhat slicker marketing version calling OR the“science of better.” Take your pick.
No matter one’s view on the definitional issue, itdoes remain that OR seems to occupy at least “brand name” status. Even if theycan’t agree on a formal description (this is not a new frustration but ratherone dating to at least the Second World War when the phrase was first introduced),most people queried will certainly know the name. Universities, after all,teach plenty of courses directly related to if not actually titled OperationsResearch, many award degrees (mostly graduate) specifically designated as OR,and some even have Operations Research in their academic program name.
If we return to the INFORMS- sponsored versionstated above, we are also instructed that the section in the descriptionreferring to “advanced analytical methods” includes the following fundamental methodologies:simulation, optimization, probability, and statistics. Okay, let us check the fall2011 roster of fifty-one academic faculty with full-time appointments in ISyE.From that list, let us apply a conservative, if not fairly stern test thatcounts only faculty members who either originated and/or teach an advancedcourse in statistics, optimization, or stochastics (probability/simulation).
Since you’re reading this, I ask that you trust meto count for you; I get thirty- three. This means that nearly two of everythree ISyE faculty members are apparently “doing OR” under the INFORMSdescription. But then if you turn back and focus on the word “applying” fromthe INFORMS description, and add those faculty who are, by their own admission,demonstrable and routine users of the stated methodologies, I can easily identifyat least ten additional faculty that can be counted.
So, thirty-three for sure and possibly as many asforty-five of fifty-one current ISyE faculty members are either teaching andconducting research directly in the methodologies of OR as defined by no lessthan the parent professional society or are doing work that routinely drawsupon OR tools in their research applications. Would not even the most casualobserver wonder: “Why isn’t it the Stewart School of Operations Research?”Well, it probably could be; however, tradition and history play a major role innegotiating that question and that’s how it should be. Indeed, it is quitecommon for industrial engineering (IE) programs to have much (or at least some)activity in operations research; to be sure, many ISyE faculty who are countedin the forty-five above have their educational backgrounds firmly rooted inmodern industrial engineering and fully appreciate and respect that identity.On the other hand, many, especially from the gang of thirty-three, have theirdegrees in mathematics, statistics, and operations research. The larger pointis, though, that the boundaries defining fields where operations research isdone legitimately are blurred at best and without a doubt overlapsubstantially.
In fact, one of the reasons that your bet in theopening paragraph was pretty safe is that on the spectrum of academic programsat universities, there are a host of points where operations research isgetting done, more or less. This easily includes programs in mathematics,statistics, computer science, various other engineering departments, andcertain business schools. So, those dozen “random” people indicated above,chosen, and asked to define OR, might well know the discipline and offer honestdescriptions of just what they think it is, at least what it involves, butthose descriptions will likely be tailored or influenced by their respectivedomains and academic cultures.
Academics
If you’re a prospective student (at any level, butespecially for those at the graduate level), and you want to avoid anycoursework requirements covering OR methodology, you can save the cost ofapplication to ISyE. In the current list of active courses taught by ISyEfaculty, nearly forty-five are devoted explicitly to methodology inoptimization, stochastics, or statistics. A half-dozen of these are at theundergraduate level, in support of the BSIE; the remaining courses are Master’sand doctoral-level courses.
At the master’s level, the School offers eightdesignated degree options, two of which are focused explicitly on OR andstatistics (MSOR and MSStat, respectively) even though most of the othermaster’s (MS Industrial Engineering, MS Health Systems, etc.) also require ORmethodology courses somewhere in their programs of study. At the doctorallevel, the PhD in OR is (surprise) intensive in its requirements of advancedmethodology courses, particularly in optimization and stochastics, but the PhDin IE, which breaks into four specializations, has heavy doses of the very samecourses sprinkled throughout depending upon one’s chosen specialization, e.g.,supply chain engineering, economic decision analysis, etc.
Again, these methodology courses are the hard-core, fundamentalcourses, taught almost exclusively by those thirty-three faculty membersmentioned earlier. Naturally, we also teach many additional courses pertainingto the classic as well as contemporary application domains commonly identifiedwith our fields and that apply these methodologies. Faculty whose primaryresponsibility is covering those courses constitute, by and large, the othersthat produced the larger estimate of forty-five “OR- related” faculty.
Peopleand Research
In this section, we profile just some of theSchool’s senior faculty members who make us look particularly good in the worldof OR as we have interpreted it. It needs to be stated that many not on thislist have equally justifiable cases to have been included. As genuinely uncomfortableas this dilemma is for this author, it does serve to corroborate theexceptional strength of the OR faculty in the School.
The position that the School has risen to among theelites in the context of OR owes its origin to a small number of individualswho, upon their arrival, sent clear signals to the broader community that ISyEwas ready not only to build upon existing competence but also to move to thenext level. The obvious pioneer in this group would be George Nemhauser (PhD inOperations Research, 1961, from Northwestern). Attracted from Cornell in 1985,he came to Georgia Tech as the Russell Chandler Chair, the first endowed chairin ISyE. He also owns the remarkable distinction of being the first individualat Georgia Tech to be elected to the National Academy of Engineering while asitting faculty member (1986). Long noted for basic work in integer programmingand combinatorial optimization, a hallmark of much of his research career hasbeen influenced by an attraction to interesting applications that validate hismethodological work. Many claim such interests, of course—George Nemhauseractually does it. Working with generations of students and colleagues spanningmore than forty years, he has done impactful work in a broad spectrum of practicalsettings, including vehicle routing, production, transportation, and evensports scheduling.
Insisting that work in applied areas possess seriousresearch content, he routinely attracts doctoral students who come from strong,theoretically rounded backgrounds (and who are recruited precisely because theydo), but who also are interested in seeing their methodological work validatedin practical settings. Always supported from sources typically aligned withfunding basic/theoretical work (e.g., NSF, ONR, etc.), he is one of our mostsuccessful faculty in attracting industrial sponsorship. Bridging the dividebetween theory and applications in a program of our stature and at the levelexhibited by George Nemhauser is a rare feat.
A giant in integer programming, Ellis Johnson (PhDin Operations Research, 1965, from Berkeley) has been directly associated withno fewer than three of the most famous and influential names in the entirehistory of methodology fundamental to Operations Research. His PhD advisor was GeorgeDantzig, the father of linear programming. While at IBM (and beyond) andworking with Ralph Gomory, he of cutting plane theory that bears his name,Ellis produced elegant results pertaining to so-called corner polyhedra.Finally, with Jack Edmonds, the person who probably more than anyone isresponsible for creating the prominence associated with the discipline ofcombinatorial optimization, Ellis authored fundamental results pertaining tothe storied Chinese postman problem that still stand as seminal in the field.
In 1988, he began a substantive collaboration withGeorge Nemhauser and others in ISyE, including several long-term facultyvisits. Then upon retirement from the mathematical sciences group at IBM'sWatson Research Center, he joined the School as a permanent faculty member,taking the Coca-Cola Chair in 1993. If there is a “double-play combination”most responsible for sending a message that ISyE was ready to join the majorleagues in OR, it would be the early presence of the Nemhauser-Johnson tandem.
But as renowned as his work in fundamental integerprogramming theory is, Ellis Johnson’s name also resounds in an applicationarea that he, almost single-handedly, invented: airline operations research.His research, applying the tools from linear and integer programming andnetwork flows, has enjoyed enormous success in modeling and treating myriad,hard transportation and scheduling problems specific to the airlines; hisinfluence in passing this expertise on to numerous students and youngercolleagues is well known. His stature is corroborated as the recipient of anumber of research awards of the first rank; he was elected to the NationalAcademy of Engineering in 1988.
The traveling salesman problem (TSP) is arguably themost celebrated example in combinatorial optimization. Required is that onefind a minimum-distance itinerary that visits all of the cities in a setexactly once before returning to the starting point. While particularly easy tostate, the problem is notoriously difficult. In fact, its position as one ofthe hardest of hard problems has been formalized by being named one of theso-called Millennium Problems by the Clay Mathematics Institute. Still, muchwork continues on and around this perplexing problem.
Its applications are myriad in the real world andresearch on the problem itself, while not close to a formal resolution, spawnsimportant results in related areas along the way; this is what forms goodscience, and ISyE has the MVP in this game.
Bill Cook (PhD in Mathematics, 1983 from theUniversity of Waterloo), holder of the Chandler Family Chair in the School,combines knowledge of and a personal research record pertaining to the TSP thatmay have no rival anywhere in the world. He has written the definitive book onthe subject and was awarded the prestigious Lanchester Prize for the effort.Importantly, he, along with research colleagues elsewhere, have been able toverify optimal solutions for the largest known instances of a special butimportant class of TSPs. Bill is one of the world’s ranking researchers incomputational optimization. Because of his reputation, he is an in-demandspeaker in prestigious, public scientific forums and provides great visibilitynot only for ISyE but for Georgia Tech and across boundaries that span OR,mathematics, and computer science. He was elected to the National Academy ofEngineering in 2010.
If anyone in academia can stake a claim as theranking engineering statistician in the country if not the world, a safe bet isthat it is likely to be Jeff Wu (PhD in Statistics, 1976, from Berkeley).Luckily for us, he holds the Coca-Cola Chair in Engineering Statistics in theStewart School. Following distinguished careers at Wisconsin-Madison(Statistics), Waterloo (Statistics), and the University of Michigan(Statistics/ Industrial and Operations Engineering), he has continued toconduct cutting- edge research in applied statistics that increasingly blendsin and interacts with the activities historically prominent in OR, i.e.,optimization and stochastics.
That this is noteworthy follows because if we are tobe true to the characterization of OR from INFORMS, statistics is a staple in the portfolio of methodologies thatsupport the discipline; with Jeff Wu’s role, the strength of that staple ismore than secure in ISyE. As a research advisor, he routinely attracts the bestdoctoral students seeking work in statistics. Importantly, through his personalpower of attraction coupled with a judicious hiring policy, he has added amarvelous group of young statisticians who, when added to existing strength,have made the engineering statistics group in ISyE an exceptionally strong one,certainly the best in the country.
With particular expertise in experimental design, hetoo represents the School in prestigious, international forums. In August ofthis year, he was honored by giving the famed R. A. Fisher Lecture, named forthe legendary statistician. In 2008, he was awarded a prestigious, honorarydoctorate in mathematics from the University of Waterloo; he was elected to theNational Academy of Engineering in 2004.
The British scientist and writer Jacob Bronowski said:“A genius is a man who has two great ideas.” Now, we know that Bronowski hungout with the great physicists and mathematicians in the first half of the lastcentury, so the application of his claim to that population assumed a prettylofty bar on what constituted a “great” idea. Still, we can surely understandwhat his rule implies in general, and in that regard, if there is a candidatein ISyE who would meet the test, it would be Arkadi Nemirovski (PhD inMathematics, 1974, from Moscow State University).
A world leader in continuous optimization for morethan thirty years, he has made three major breakthroughs in the field: the ellipsoidmethod for convex optimization, the extension of modern interior-point methodsto convex optimization, and most recently, the development of a theory ofrobust optimization. He has won three of the most prestigious scholarly prizesin operations research and applied mathematics: the Fulkerson Prize, theDantzig Prize, and the John von Neumann Theory Prize. In fact, he was the firstindividual to have won all three of these awards. Interestingly, when he wasawarded the Fulkerson Prize in 1982, he was not permitted to leave his nativeRussia to accept the honor.
Fortunately, in time, such barriers were dissolved.After some years on the faculty of the Technion in Israel, he was attracted toISyE in 2005 and presently holds the John Hunter Chair. In 2006, he was honoredwith an invitation to give a plenary talk at the International Congress ofMathematics. To underscore this achievement, he is the only sitting facultymember from Georgia Tech ever to have been so honored. He was awarded anhonorary doctorate in mathematics from the University of Waterloo in 2009.
It takes a certain level of “wizardry” to invent andultimately present effective algorithms for hard problems that impress the userwith their near- primitive level of simplicity, e.g., “How can something thissimple, actually work so well?” Meet Manhattan Associates Chair of Supply ChainManagement John Bartholdi (PhD in Operations Research, 1977, from theUniversity of Florida), and you’ll likely get some insight. Working often withhis students as well as colleagues, John Bartholdi mines deeply for problems ofgreat practical value—notably, ones arising in common manufacturing andlogistics domains but that are, nonetheless, inherently difficult at theircore. Yet, he manages to produce approaches that yield good quality solutionscoupled with efficacy not by taking liberties that dismiss analytical ormathematical insights but to the contrary, by applying them.
His work, employing some old and fairlysophisticated notions from geometry pertaining to space-filling curves in orderto produce approximate solutions to various classes of routing problems, iswell known and has been applied in a host of practical settings such as Mealson Wheels. Similarly, his “bucket- brigade” notion, which induces a self-organizing phenomenon for assembly lines based on fundamental results instochastics, is so simple that even ants can appreciate it. The models have been and still are being usedin such real world settings as Subway, Readers Digest, Radio Shack, McGraw-Hill,and many others.
With little debate, most observers (at least thosewho have been around long enough) would agree that in the early 1980s, the mosthighly regarded doctoral programs in OR resided at Stanford and Cornell;Berkeley and MIT were close, but maybe a notch below. Lumped together, the fourformed something of a closed set in that graduates from those programs tendedto join the faculties of those programs. Moreover, honesty compels one to admitthat we were simply not competitive in the recruitment of those graduates toISyE.
However, in 1981, then-School Chair Mike Thomas madea concerted effort to change that state of affairs and convinced Craig Tovey(PhD in Operations Research, 1981, from Stanford) to come to Georgia Tech. LikeEllis Johnson, Craig conducted his work under the icon George Dantzig (who hadmoved from Berkeley to Stanford). Importantly, he brought a talent andscholarly depth to the School that was influenced by the culture from hisStanford experience and that took root in ISyE through his presence in teachingand research. Earlier in this piece, reference was made to various core ORcourses that PhD students endure early in their programs; more advancedversions follow, of course. These are fundamental and quite rigorous coursesthat cover deterministic optimization as well as courses in applied probabilityand stochastics. If there is a list of ISyE faculty who could legitimatelyteach, at the level our best doctoralstudents demand, more than two or three of these courses, that list would notbe very long indeed, and it would most certainly include Craig Tovey.
This breadth of rigorous, technical talent coupledwith genuine depth carries over to his research, the span of which may also beunrivaled in the School, ranging from mathematical models of voting systems toformalisms of graph algorithms, from circuit board assembly to polyhedralcombinatorics. He is the only ISyE faculty member to have an Erdös number of 1.
Jim Dai (PhD in Mathematics, 1990, from Stanford) cameto Georgia Tech in 1990 as a new assistant professor holding a jointappointment in the School of Mathematics and ISyE. He continued to hold thejoint appointment all the way through his promotion to the rank of fullprofessor after a remarkably short period of only eight years beyondgraduation. In 2001, he reconstituted his appointment to only ISyE, and in2007, he was named the Edenfield Professor in the School.
Trained in applied probability and stochastics, oneof his major research specializations is in the area referred to asheavy-traffic queuing theory (think of a large call center or a dense roadwaynetwork subjected to rush- hour traffic jams). Jim Dai has studied suchproblems for twenty years.
Using advanced, multidimensional Brownian motionapproximations to estimate performance characteristics for such systems, hisresearch has led to important results that yield keen insights into attributessuch as queue waiting times, expected lengths of queues, as well as variousanomalous outcomes, e.g., is it possible for expected lengths of lines thatform to drift off to infinity, yet for servers to have an abundance of idle orfree time? (The answer is yes.) He tackles deep, subtle real-life problems withsophisticated mathematical machinery and enjoys unquestioned recognition as oneof the top world leaders in the field of applied queuing theory.
Distinction
This is a short section; don’t expect any chants of“We’re number one.” Indeed, there are no formal rankings of OR programs akin toones read about every spring in U.S. News & World Report.
On the other hand, you can always just ask aroundand the bet is that a very, very short list will emerge that more or lessdefines the elite programs in the discipline; the claim is that the OR done inISyE will be firmly rooted on that list. The eight profiles listed in the priorsection could easily have been altered with several substitutes without missinga beat or diminishing the point that is being made. We could have spotlightedyounger faculty who are poised or are already starting to earn world-classrecognition, colleagues such as Shabbir Ahmed and Santanu Dey in optimization,Ton Dieker in stochastics, and Ming Yuan in statistics. They, and severalothers like them, represent our future; they would not come to a program likeours were it not for the attractiveness of working alongside world-classscholars already here. Name a major prize or award in or related to OR andapplied statistics and somebody on this faculty has probably won it; many willhave won several.
This program is simply exceptional and theassemblage of faculty expertise and reputation is arguably second to noneanywhere.
Summary
Within the set of similarly constituted or namedacademic programs,11 ISyE is far andaway the largest. But far more relevant, it’s also an exceptionally strongprogram. Derived directly from the quality of its faculty, this level ofstrength spans a broad expanse of areas, many of which are unambiguously andfundamentally aligned with the field of Operations research. We began thisarticle on a light-hearted but hopefully somewhat instructive note; we finishwith a similar exercise: suppose every academic unit at Tech (schools anddepartments) was asked to ascertain where its faculty members would relocate atthe Institute if their unit were eliminated. Now, there are some rules: a valid case has to be made that a facultymember actually fits in somewhere else, i.e., where they can teach realcourses, sit on committees, and such. However, let us also require that theyhave to land at a place where their tenure is legitimate, where they could havebeen hired in the first place, and if not tenured, can earn it within the newunit’s guidelines and standards; that their presence at the new place actuallymakes the latter better not just that it adds to the workforce. This is apretty tough litmus test. Against this backdrop, suppose we define the “width”of a unit to be the number of distinct colleges at Tech where at least onemember of the evaporating academic unit’s faculty can be taken in legitimatelyas defined by the test just described. A program with a high- width numberimplies great breadth and strength that is deep, not cosmetic; those with alower width, less of both.
So what’s the width of ISyE? At Georgia Tech, thereare six distinct Colleges: Engineering (CoE), Sciences (CoS), Computing (CoC),Management (CoM), Architecture (ARCH), and the Ivan Allen College of LiberalArts (IAC). If we are to compute the width for ISyE, we pull out the currentroster and start down the list: where could this faculty relocate (ifanywhere)? For sure some would stay in CoE; likely homes would probably bemechanical engineering (for manufacturing) or civil engineering (for logisticsor transportation) and maybe others. Some would land in CoM (for operationsmanagement, strategic planning, etc.). We even have a couple who could find ahome in IAC (for public policy). This calculation gets our width to three, notbad. Now here’s what’s impressive. We have, within our exceptionally strong ORgroup, faculty members who would be welcomed in the School of Mathematics (CoS)and others, some of whom are interchangeable with the mathematics candidates,in CoC. You’ve seen the profiles of some of these above.
So, ISyE has a pretty solid argument that its widthis at least five (who knows, there may be somebody who would make a case forArchitecture, but let us not push it). Given that the width of any unit at Techis bounded from above by six, this is no small thing, but neither do we intendfor this illustration to be gratuitous. If you can argue that another school ordepartment at Tech rivals our width, that they can legitimately argue that itsfaculty could be placed in other college’s units without the latter holdingtheir noses or having the dean twist their arm, then so be it. In fact, youmight be hard-pressed to name another IE or OR academic program in the countrythat betters the Stewart School width at their respective institution. Here, weare only paying attention to the Stewart School, your School, and how it cancontinue to thrive, knowing that much of its reputation rises and falls withregard to its presence in the field of OR—no matter whose definition isapplied.
]]>“Thestrength of an institution lies in its ability to recruit great educators andleaders,” said Gary May, Dean of the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech.“Ben is an outstanding scholar and a trailblazer in his field, andmanufacturing leadership is a critical issue for national competitiveness. I am excited about the great opportunities that I see arising from hisefforts. We are grateful to the Gwaltney family for their generous supportwhich allowed us the opportunity to bring Ben to Georgia Tech where he cancontinue his important work.”
Wangcomes to Georgia Tech from Florida State University where he served as directorof the High-Performance Materials Institute. He also served as an assistantvice president for research in engineering and held the following threedistinguished professorships: the Simon Ostrach Professor of Engineering, theFSU Distinguished Research Professor, and the U.S. Department of Energy SamuelP. Massie Chair of Excellence. He is a Fellow of the Institute of IndustrialEngineers, Society of Manufacturing Engineers, and the Society for the Advancement of Material and Processing Engineering.
“Overthe last 30 years, I have worked in various positions related to manufacturing— from operations and planning to strategy and policy,” Wang said. “Theapproach we will take to reaching the center’s goal of becoming the world’smanufacturing thought leader and trendsetter is to create an innovationecosystem. We will add substantial commercial, economic and societal values toTech professors’ inventions to license the technology to a company, create ajoint venture or form a new spin-off company.”
Wang’sprimary research interest is in applying emerging technologies to improvemanufacturing competitiveness. He specializes in process development foraffordable composite materials. Wang also does research in nanotechnology andis widely acknowledged as a pioneer in the growing field of nanomaterialsscience. His main area of research involves a material known as “buckypaper,”which has shown promise in a variety of applications, including the developmentof aerospace structures, the production of effective lightweight body armor andarmored vehicles, improvements in energy and power efficiency, enhancements inthermal management of engineering systems, and construction of thenext-generation of computer displays.
Wangearned his bachelor’s in industrial engineering from Tunghai University inTaiwan, and his master’s in industrial engineering and Ph.D.from Pennsylvania State University.
]]>Solveling is co-advised by Ellis Johnson, Coca-Cola Chair and professor in ISyE, and John-Paul Clarke, an associate professor in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering with a courtesy appointment in ISyE.
Solveling’s abstract reads:
Efficient runway operations are a necessary input for the optimal use of the air transportation system. Most efforts at improving runway efficiency have failed to capture the impact of environmental costs. Here we develop an integrated approach that models this complex relationship, and provides insights regarding the value of environmental optimization for runway scheduling. More specifically, using actual flight data we compare environmentally optimal schedules with first-come-first-serve based policies and fuel-optimal schedules. We determine that while significant savings in environmental costs can be achieved through environmentally optimal schedules, these savings are not very different than those obtained through fuel-optimal schedules. Further, we find that any increase in the operational costs of airlines due to an environmentally optimal schedule is minimal.
The PARTNER Hartman Paper Competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students world-wide, and seeks to capture the best ideas concerning technical solutions, economic analyses, methodologies, and processes that work towards reducing aviation noise and emissions exposure through source reduction technologies, alternative fuels, operating procedures, compatible land use management, and policy implementation. The Competition is named in memory of Professor Joseph A. Hartman of Boise University, a founding PARTNER member and a lead investigator, who passed away in 2004.
PARTNER, a leading aviation cooperative research organization, is sponsored by the FAA, NASA, Transport Canada, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. PARTNER research fosters advances in alternative fuels, emissions, noise, operations, aircraft technologies, and science and decision-making for the betterment of mobility, economy, national security, and the environment. The organization's operational headquarters is at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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