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September 30, 2005
Purdue industrial engineering celebrates past, looks to future
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue University School of Industrial Engineering is recognizing its 50th anniversary with special activities to honor its past and celebrate its future.
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"In 1955, Purdue was one of the first universities in the nation to recognize the necessity of educating future leaders in the growing world of industry and management," said Purdue President Martin C. Jischke. "The School of Industrial Engineering quickly established itself as a national and state leader and created an economic force. The impact of the school continues to benefit the state's economic development efforts through its partnerships with business."
Purdue will celebrate the school's anniversary on Oct. 14 with an open house from 2-4 p.m. in Grissom Hall, named for the late astronaut and Purdue graduate Virgil "Gus" Grissom, followed by an evening reception in the Purdue Memorial Union north and south ballrooms.
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The events are part of a two-week celebration leading up to Purdue's Oct. 15 Homecoming. Events focus on ways Purdue is improving education and helping the state of Indiana as part of the university's strategic plan and $1.5 billion fund-raising campaign.
Following the industrial engineering anniversary celebration, a history of Purdue industrial engineering will be published. The book, "The First 50 and Beyond: Purdue University's School of Industrial Engineering," is edited by James Barany, a professor of industrial engineering who came to Purdue in 1956. It will be published by G. Bradley Publishing Inc., St. Louis, Mo., within the next few months.
Purdue's industrial engineering school is the only accredited industrial engineering program in Indiana.
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"The School of Industrial Engineering is regularly ranked as one of the best in the nation, and this year U.S.News and World Report ranked its undergraduate program second and its graduate program fourth in the nation for such programs offered by research universities," said Linda Katehi, Purdue's John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering. "A key element in the school's strength is its continuing ability to adapt to change and contribute to industry."
The anniversary will highlight the numerous changes the school has made since its founding 50 years ago.
"When industrial engineering was established at Purdue, we had seven faculty and 13 students," Barany said. "Since that time, we've grown to 28 faculty members, 423 undergraduate and 185 graduate students. We have branched out from an emphasis on traditional manufacturing to areas in the service industry, such as health care, sustainable global manufacturing, alternative fuels, computer applications, product distribution and transportation scheduling. It is a completely different program than when it started."
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Barany said the future of industrial engineering will shift from manufacturing to other areas, such as:
• Using engineering principles to reduce the cost of health care, such as the work being done at Purdue through the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering in Discovery Park. The center is helping hospitals schedule operating rooms, providing prepackaged surgical tools and reducing medication errors through digitizing medication records.
• Further developing alternate fuels with clean-coal technologies, bio-diesel, solar, fuel cells and other energy sources through research at the Energy Center in Discovery Park. One example is the center's sharing an $85 million grant with the University of Kentucky and Southern Illinois University to study the potential use of clean-coal energies. The funding was part of the Energy Bill passed by Congress in July.
• Completing homeland security projects involving sensors to inspect shipping packages, emergency response systems for private and public institutions, and simulations for contingency planning.
• Providing new tracking devices, radio frequency identification technologies and global distribution processes for established service industries.
• Aviation cockpit design research to help general aviation pilots make a successful transition from traditional analog cockpit displays to glass cockpit technology.
• Helping companies implement sustainable manufacturing programs in order to minimize the impact of industry on its surrounding environment.
• Creating a five-year degree program with Purdue's Krannert School of Management in which students can simultaneously earn a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering and an MBA.
• Applying engineering applications to production distribution and promoting centralized distribution centers.
"Right now most freight comes in on the East and West coasts of the country," Barany said. "Indiana is known as the Crossroads of America, and in that capacity the state has great potential to become a major distribution center for industry and provide a means for the 'just-in-time' manufacturing system. With creativity and knowledge-based engineering methods, we can stem the amount of offshore manufacturing and produce better products less expensively and more efficiently. That is the future of industrial engineering."
The school has graduated more than 6,500 engineers since its founding. Through the past 50 years, the school has contributed to the development of the Krannert School of Management, College of Technology and the National Research Center on Intelligent Manufacturing Systems, based in the School of Industrial Engineering.
Writer: Cynthia Sequin, (765) 494-4192, csequin@purdue.edu
Sources: Martin C. Jischke, (765) 494-9708, mcjischke@purdue.edu
Linda Katehi, (765) 494-5346, katehi@purdue.edu
James Barany, (765) 494-5406, jwb@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
PHOTO CAPTION:
Women cadets work in the Michael Golden Laboratory in Purdue's School of Industrial Engineering in 1943. The lab focuses on numerous aspects of manufacturing, including product and process design, engineering, management, science and work force development. (Archive photo/School of Industrial Engineering)
A publication-quality photo is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2005/MGL-archive.jpg
PHOTO CAPTION:
In 1946, following World War II, returning soldiers studied industrial and mechanical engineering in Purdue's Michael Golden Laboratory in the School of Industrial Engineering. (Archive photo/School of Industrial Engineering)
A publication-quality photo is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2005/MGL-archive6.jpg
PHOTO CAPTION:
Robert Feyen, assistant professor in the Purdue School of Industrial Engineering, is a researcher in electronic flight instrument systems, also known as "glass cockpit" technology. This technology will change cockpit design and development and increase system reliability and safety. (Purdue News Service photo/Dave Umberger)
A publication-quality photo is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2005/feyen-avtech-simulator.jpg
PHOTO CAPTION:
Research in the Purdue School of Industrial Engineering will improve the shift from a traditional analog cockpit (shown) to glass cockpit technology. This research will improve cockpit design and improve system reliability and safety. (Purdue News Service photo/Dave Umberger)
A publication-quality photo is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2005/feyen-avtech-simulator2.jpg
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