Industry Engagement

Penn State frequently collaborates with companies large and small that are interested in supporting industrial and manufacturing engineering education and research efforts.

Our partnerships are beneficial to companies, our department, and our students. We assist with engineering projects, processes, and problems while our engagement partners provide students with the real-world experience they need to be successful, industrial engineering professionals with a global view of business and manufacturing.

Engagement opportunities within the department include:

• Engineering Career Fair
  Fall Career Days
  Spring Career Week
• Industrial Engineering Career Fair (Fall semester)
  Contact Srini Tamvada, faculty adviser of Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) Student Chapter
• Engineering Career Resources & Employer Relations Office
  Engineering internships & Co-ops
• Information sessions/panel discussions
  Held via IISE
  Contacts: Sarah Silva, assistant to the IME Department Head; Srini Tamvada IISE faculty adviser
• Senior-level Capstone Design Projects
  Contact: Charlie Purdum, Director of Industry Relations
• Distributing internship and/or Co-op opportunities to industrial engineering students
  Contact: Reese Harlow, Academic Support Assistant
• Identifying industrial engineering courses
  Give a presentation/lecture related to the course content, which could also provide insight into companies.
  Contact: Reese Harlow or Elena Joshi, Undergraduate Program Coordinator
• Student Scholarship Support
  Provide scholarship funding
  Contact: Dan McCurdy, Associate Director of Major Gifts
• Partnering to provide applied research projects
  All levels: undergraduate, masters, and doctoral
  Contact: Charlie Purdum
• Organizing factory tours for students
  Run via either a student organization or IE-specific course
  Contact: Charlie Purdum
• Collaborating through research centers and/or labs
  Contact: Charlie Purdum
• Sponsoring departmental events:
  Such as the Annual Awards Banquet and Family Day held every spring, among others
  Contact: Charlie Purdum

Our corporate partners include:

• Case New Holland, Inc.
• Dresser-Rand
• First Wave Technologies, Inc.
• Fed-Ex Services
• Ford Motor Company
• Geisinger Health System
• General Electric
• General Motors
• Haas Automation, Inc.
• Honeywell, Inc.
• Ingersoll-Rand
• Ingram Micro
• Intel
• IQS, Inc.
• Kennametal
• Kimberly-Clark
• Lee Industries
• Lincoln Electric
• Lockheed Martin
• Muncy Valley Hospital - Susquehanna Health
• PepsiCo-Frito-Lay
• Philips Ultrasound
• Quaker Chemical Corporation
• Schlumberger Doll
• SEKISUI-SPI
• Steel Founders Society of America
• TMP Manufacturing
• Third Wave Systems
• Victaulic
• Volvo Group
• Whirpool Corporation

Get involved

If your company has a project for our students, a research question for faculty, or would like to help take advantage of a funding opportunity, please contact Charles Purdum at 814-865-5345.