North Carolina State University
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Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
UPCOMING EVENTS & DEPARTMENTAL NEWS
Presentation Days were held on Monday, April 28 and Wednesday, April 30 in the Robert G. Carson Memorial Conference Room, 401 Daniels Hall, on the NCSU campus. 1st place awards were selected in three (3) project areas out of ten (10) project teams.
Full Story
Dr. Constance Lightner, a 2000 alumna of the Operations Research Program at NC State, was recently selected to receive the prestigious UNC Board of Governors Award for Teaching Excellence. She was supervised by NCSU ISE professor Dr. Shu-Cherng Fang.
More about Dr. Lightner
The department congratulates Clarence Smith, who was recently appointed by Governor Easley to the NC Board of Refrigeration Examiners. For the official news release click here.
Department is recognized in ISE student Jessica Jeppsson's debut piece in the "Emerging Technologies" section of IE Magazine. Click here to view a PDF version of the article.
Alumnus Dr. Rajendra Kumar Pachauri visits NCSU for the 2008 Emerging Issues Forum.
Pup's surgery could help humans
Professor Ola Harrysson works with the College of Veterinary Science to develop a titanium plate for "Pez" that may be a breakthrough in future surgery...for humans!
# 22
Engineers do good
Engineers Without Borders is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that partners with disadvantaged or developing communities around the world in order to improve quality of life. Activities are geared toward helping societies develop secure, stable and sustainable economies, governments and other institutions and include everything from finding ways to clear vegetation without burning to installing water infiltration methods that help prevent cholera and other diseases. Industrial engineers are proud participants in Engineers Without Borders.
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Cheaper by the Dozen
When you have 12 children, you’d better know how to use time and motion wisely. This may explain the pioneering work and major contributions of industrial engineers Frank and Lillian Gilbreth – including a system to categorize all work movements into subgroups known as “therbligs” (Gilbreth, spelled backward with a change or two). The best-selling book Cheaper by the Dozen – not to be confused with the films of the same name – was written by two of the Gilbreth children who chronicled their parents’ devotion to finding the “one best way” to perform any task.
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Women who led the way
There was Lillian Moller Gilbreth, Mother of Modern Management, America’s First Lady of Engineering and the first female to be elected to the National Academy of Engineering. There was Helen Augusta Blanchard, industrial engineer, holder of 28 patents and inventor of the zigzag sewing machine. There was Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards, the first woman admitted to MIT and the first female elected as a member of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering. And there were others, all leaving their unique mark on the world of engineering.
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Not what the name implies
It would be logical to assume that an industrial engineer is an engineer working in industry. Logical, but wrong. Instead, industrial and systems engineers work to solve organizational or production problems, or to design efficient manufacturing and information systems. They study people, machines, material, information and energy to determine the most effective ways to make a product or deliver a service. Most industrial engineers do work at manufacturing companies, but within areas of intense specialization such as ergonomics or robotics.
ISE Seminar Series
The department supports professional development seminar series. The seminar is preceded by a faculty or student speaker social beginning. Seminars provide an opportunity to hear distinguished speakers, to acquire new knowledge, and to stimulate one’s thinking.