First SEE 360 minor student eyes graduation in December

4/29/2019

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In December 2019, Pawornwan “Bam” Thongmak will become the first industrial engineering student to graduate from Penn State with the service enterprise engineering (SEE 360) minor. Thongmak is sponsored by the Royal Thai Government to study industrial engineering at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. after completing her undergraduate studies in December.

The Royal Thai Government offers five types of scholarships to students moving on to college. These scholarships are issued to students who meet a variety of criteria ranging from “wisdom” and competency in English, to high scores on academic assessments. Thongmak qualified for the Ministry of Science and Technology scholarship, which was sponsored by King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok. In 2015, Thongmak was one 58 students to receive the award. The scholarship allowed her to study industrial engineering at any university of her choice.

Thongmak said she was drawn to the Penn State Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering because it offers opportunities for undergraduate students to pursue research. Conducting research early in a collegiate career is important to students moving on to Ph.D. programs.

“I always wanted to participate in research as an undergraduate as early as possible, because I have to get my Ph.D. of course. That’s why I picked Penn State, because of the abundance of research grants,” she said. “There are a lot of opportunities for undergraduate students to get involved in research.”

Thongmak is complementing her industrial engineering degree with an economics minor and an SEE 360 minor. SEE 360 is an initiative within the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering that motivates students to use engineering concepts to optimize the service industries. Thongmak first learned about the initiative after reading SEE360 promotional material.

“I got a pamphlet last year about the projects SEE 360 was doing,” she said. “I think one was giving out parking tickets with drones and the other was doing simulations in the Penn State [Berkey] Creamery.”

These projects caught her eye because of their locality. Thongmak appreciated the work that was being done to better operations on campus and downtown.

“I think it’s very interesting how engineers can help improve the processes around campus, so I looked into SEE 360 as a whole and I saw that there was an option for a minor,” she said.

Thongmak quickly got involved with SEE 360’s projects around campus. One of these projects, Real-Time Optimization for Adaptive Snow Removal (ROARS), attracted the attention of college campuses, snow removal companies and local weather outlets when it was used to optimize snow removal at Penn State this past winter. As spring arrives and the threat from snow diminishes, SEE 360 researchers are turning their attention to campus lawnmowing. Thongmak called it an adaptation of the snow removal process, one that will similarly benefit Penn State campus operations.

While the unique projects were initially enticing, there are other benefits to taking the SEE 360 minor — one of which is practicing human interaction in the otherwise mechanical field of industrial engineering.

“I took human development and family studies classes that were very fun that counted toward the minor. It’s a fun way to de-stress as well because it’s not too technical. I enjoy it,” she said.

An interesting caveat to Thongmak’s sponsorship is a requirement to work for the Royal Thai Government upon completing her studies. Knowing this, Thongmak wanted to focus her studies on systems she can improve from her governmental position.

“Transportation is a problem in Thailand. Traffic jams are very bad. Even manufacturing, operations research, and supply chain logistics. I think there are a lot of fields that can be improved by engineering practices,” she explained.

For employment within the Royal Thai Government, Thongmak is becoming a professor of industrial engineering. This decision sprouted from a longstanding appreciation for academics.

“I want to pass on knowledge to other students, to the next generation of engineers,” she said. “I not only want them to do well academically, but I don’t want them to take academics for granted.”

For Thongmak, this means extending herself as a professor — making herself available for students to talk about studies and life. She believes professors can be more of a resource than students realize, and it takes a passionate professor for students to notice their investment.

“There are so many people out there who want the best for every student. There is so much more you can learn outside of what is taught in classrooms, such as doing research,” she said. “You can learn so much from your peers and professors. I really want them to make the most out of their college lives because there is so much to receive.”

Professor of Industrial Engineering Soundar Kumara made a strong impression on Thongmak while she was taking his class. His commitment to teaching and to his students is something Thongmak admired. Similarly, his ability to relate concepts in class to personal experiences aided in learning new concepts. She called Kumara a role model as she pursues a career in academics.

In Thailand, Thongmak plans on continuing her advocacy for integrating engineering in the service sectors. Service systems engineering is understudied in Thailand, where more focus is put on the manufacturing aspects of industrial engineering. She identified the opportunity to become the first researcher in Thailand to specialize in the service systems engineering.

“I would like to be one of the first people to improve service systems in Thailand. I would kind of be a pioneer,” she said.

For more information, or to learn how to get involved with SEE 360, contact Bárbara Venegas at 814-863-5742 or bbv105@psu.edu.

For more updates from Service Enterprise Initiative 360, visit see360.psu.edu.