Dr. Richard A. Wysk To Join NC State ISE Faculty as Dopaco Distinguished Professor
Posted October 14, 2009
The Edward P. Fitts of Industrial and Systems Engineering at NC State is pleased to welcome Dr. Richard A. Wysk as the Dopaco Distinguished Professor beginning in January. Professor Wysk is currently the Leonard Chair in Engineering at Penn State University and one of the most recognized industrial engineers. Over his career, he has produced seminal work in advanced manufacturing and now focuses on developing new rapid manufacture processes for biomedical devices and developing a new generation of technologies to make medical implants antibacterial.
Professor Wysk is widely established as the leading expert in computer integrated manufacturing and one of the most respected industrial engineers globally. His speaking engagements and keynote addresses span four continents and he has been elected a Fellow of the Institute of Industrial Engineers and Society of Manufacturing Engineers. He is highly visible in the research community, working with a variety of professional societies in leadership roles, including Editor-in-Chief of all Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ journals. He is well regarded in the educational community for his groundbreaking text books that are used internationally.
Professor Wysk has produced over 170 refereed papers in areas of computer-aided process planning, manufacturing control systems, and computer integrated manufacturing, as well as 15 books and numerous book chapters. His research in computer-aided process planning is the seminal work in the field and often cited. Moreover, it spawned the original industrial systems that have evolved into what is widely used today. This work seeks to take digital representation of products and components and optimize their production with no (or limited) human input. Over the last two decades, the results have literally driven many productivity gains. His research in manufacturing control systems uses state space graphs to automatically configure control software for automated manufacturing systems. As with his work in process planning, this is the most heavily cited work in this area and the basis for a great deal of the control software currently implemented industrially. His efforts have been well-supported from government agencies and industry including operations outside the U.S.
His current research uses his process planning and optimization results to develop new means of rapid prototyping and manufacture. This innovative work is applied mainly to biomedical components and devices. He has also developed a technology for fabricating medical implants and other devices that will render them bactericidal through the electrical stimulation of silver. One can envision a new generation of human implants where his rapid manufacture technique is used to fabricate an implant customized for the recipient that is then treated to prevent infection.
Professor Wysk has also had significant impact on student learning through the development of new ways of teaching and subsequent papers and presentations on his collaborative work. His investigation into new approaches to teach creativity and hands-on education has been funded and he has several papers on these activities, including one that has won a best paper award. He is a dynamic teacher and has advised over 70 graduate students during his career, including successful engineers, managers and academicians. Among his former advisees are NSF PYI/CAREER Award winners, department heads, deans and university vice presidents.
Upon joining the NC State ISE faculty in January, Professor Wysk noted he will continue his focus on medical devices, with an emphasis on antipathogenic treatments and mass customization.