Penn State faculty, alumni and students honored at IISE Conference

5/21/2019

Several faculty, alumni and graduate students from the Penn State Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (IME) were recognized for their accomplishments at the 2019 Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) Annual Conference and Expo in Orlando, Florida, on May 20.

IISE/Joint Publishers Book-of-the Year Award

Vittal Prabhu, professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering, and A. Ravi Ravindran, professor emeritus and the provost’s emeritus teaching scholar, along with Paul M. Griffin, professor of industrial engineering at Purdue, won the IISE/Joint Publishers Book-of-the-Year Award. This award recognizes an outstanding published book that focuses on a facet of industrial engineering, improves education or furthers the profession. Their textbook, “Service Systems Engineering and Management (Operations Research Series),” emphasizes the use of engineering principles to the design and operation of service enterprises, relying on mathematical models and methods to solve problems in the service industries.

IISE Manufacturing and Design Division Outstanding Young Investigator Award

Saurabh Basu, assistant professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering, was presented the IISE Manufacturing and Design (M&D) Division Outstanding Young Investigator Award. This award recognizes an M&D Division member under the age of 35 for technical contribution to manufacturing and design. The recipient must have made high-impact scientific contributions to the manufacturing and design field as evidenced by research endeavors, including publications, intellectual property, and other funding and dissemination activities.

Boeing Excellence Award for Collaboration in Productivity, Workplace Safety and Ergonomics

Andris Freivalds, Lucas Professor of Industrial Engineering, received the Boeing Excellence Award for Collaboration in Productivity, Workplace Safety and Ergonomics. The award recognizes the strategy and policy deployment for productivity, safety and ergonomics, with a focus on how projects and initiatives fit into the overall organization’s operational excellence initiatives. Beyond his research, Freivalds currently teaches five undergraduate industrial engineering courses and three graduate industrial engineering courses at Penn State.

Manufacturing and Design Divisions’ Outstanding Service Award and the IISE Regional Adviser Award

Janis Terpenny, Peter and Angela Dal Pezzo Department Head of IME, was honored with two awards this year: the Manufacturing and Design Division’s Outstanding Service Award and the IISE Regional Adviser Award. The Manufacturing and Design Division’s Outstanding Service Award recognizes M&D division members who have demonstrated leadership, made significant contribution to public and community matters related to the manufacturing engineering profession (academia and/or industry), and who have been active in the IISE M&D community. The Regional Adviser Award is presented to one adviser per region who has demonstrated substantial contributions to the chapter by supporting officers and student activities through excellence as a teacher, adviser and mentor.

Medallion Award

Susan Steadman (’83 IE, ’90 M.B.A.), a member of the Penn State SEE Advisory Board, was presented the Medallion Award for her impact on the industrial engineering profession. The award honors those who have made significant contributions to the field in several areas. Recipients are recognized for exceptional leadership as advisers in developing and promoting young engineers, for creating a body of knowledge for the practice of industrial engineering through innovations in organizing educational materials that advance the development of industrial engineers, and for influencing the productivity of a company through applications of industrial engineering methods. Steadman previously served as the director of finance and administration at the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and as the vice president of continuous improvement at The Hershey Company before her retirement in 2017.

UPS Minority Advancement Award

Kerri Bair (’02 IE), a member of the Penn State College of Engineering Industrial and Professional Advisory Council (IPAC), was the recipient of this year’s UPS Minority Advancement Award. The award recognizes organizations or individuals that, through innovative means, have developed programs or projects with the aim of advancing women, minorities or individuals with disabilities in the field of industrial engineering. Bair has been an employee of Walt Disney World for more than 13 years and currently serves as the director of planning and industrial engineering.

IISE Logistics and Supply Chain Division Outstanding Industry Practitioner Award

Rodolfo Portillo (’08 M.S. IE, ’09 Ph.D. IE & OR) was presented with the IISE Logistics and Supply (LSC) Chain Division Outstanding Industry Practitioner Award, which recognizes excellence in industry practice of logistics and supply chain courses. The objectives of this award are to show appreciation to the industry practitioners of IISE who are outstanding in implementing logistics and supply chain techniques, as well as encourage practitioners to raise standards in the practice and dissemination of logistics and supply chain concepts in engineering. Portillo currently works for Amazon, overseeing customer service for the Americas and leading the expansion effort for the company in Canada, Mexico and Brazil.