News fromBuck The Department of Integrated Systems EngineeringISE at The Ohio State University Fall 2020 ise.osu.edu ISE Committed to Making Black Lives Matter May 25, 2020 will ultimately go down in history as one of the transformational moments in the Civil Rights movement in the U.S. That was the day George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, reigniting the Black Lives Matter movement. Amid protests across the country and in Columbus, including on The Ohio State University campus, ISE Department Chair Farhang Pourboghrat knew he needed to address the students, faculty, staff and alumni. In a letter to the ISE community, posted on the Department’s website, Dr. Pourboghrat wrote, “It is our responsibility to not remain silent about the experiences of people of color regarding racial profiling, police brutality, discrimination in the workplace, continued segregation in schools, lack of access to housing and so on. Black Lives Matter, and yet we continue to witness these injustices and atrocities committed continue to seek collaboration from Ohio State’s Office against the Black community. For our nation to continue of Diversity and Inclusion [see “EmPOWERment story on to be prosperous, all its citizens, regardless of race, page 7]. creed and gender must be treated with fairness and Associate Professor Yannis Korkolis has had great equality. And for that to happen, we all need to be a part success in recruiting underrepresented minorities for of the solution. his research, including his 10 years at the University “In the coming weeks, I will be empowering ISE faculty, of New Hampshire prior to his arrival at Ohio State in staff and students to participate in a conversation to January 2019. He said he has found many advantages. identify and carry out improvements that will make a For National Science Foundation grants, there have tangible change to the culture of ISE and make the been policies that allow utilizing two undergraduate Department a better learning environment and resource students, rather than one, to help with research if they for all students.” are underrepresented minorities. That’s not to say he doesn’t select those that are best suited for the job. He noted that the Department is committed to pursuing Capstones supporting Black Lives Matter “Underrepresented minorities, in many cases, they also initiatives, “especially if they involve data analytics, tend to be better performers because – to get here – support of Black-owned businesses and the Columbus they had to overcome challenges unique to their status, African American Chamber of Commerce.” An or are trying to show to themselves or others around Inequitable Systems module also is being added to the them what they are capable of.” Department’s Human Systems course. Associate Professor Ted Allen expects to have three Work has already begun on efforts for a more equitable articles published related to improving poll access in system within the Department and many ISE programs Continued on page 4
ADDRESSING THE COVID CRISIS - PAGES 2-3 ADDRESSING COVID-19 ISE Steps up to Meet Demand for PPE When crises hit, everyone turns to engineers for COVIDCommons is One-Stop solutions. That was certainly the case this summer when the coronavirus pandemic created a shortage of Source for Pandemic Data personal protective equipment (PPE). Medical facilities around the world were impacted and in Columbus, the ISE Assistant Professor Michael Rayo Ohio State Wexner Medical Center is lending his expertise to a data contacted the Ohio State Departments collection project in conjunction with of Integrated Systems Engineering Governor Mike DeWine’s Office, the and Mechanical and Aerospace Ohio State College of Public Health Engineering (MAE) for help. ISE and the Ohio Department of Health Professor Jose Castro and MAE to better advise public agencies Professor Vish Subramaniam, who regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Rayo were leading a College of Engineering Castro Franklin County Public Health; Columbus Public Health team providing support to the medical COVIDCommons is a data-sharing and the Mid-Ohio Food Collective. center, began collaborating when presented with the resource seeking to compile information on the global Environmental Health Sciences Assistant Professor challenge. pandemic in one location. The information will be Ayaz Hyder is serving as the principal investigator Initially, a molded visor was produced using MAE’s publicly available to aid decision-makers in determining for the project, which includes additional faculty Above: Injection Molding Lab in the best courses of action. 3D printers, but it was quickly discovered that the Baker Systems. and consultants from the College of Engineering, production rate would need to be ramped up beyond Housed at Ohio State’s Translational Data Analytics Department of Geography, College of Medicine, the 3D printers’ capabilities. MAE Shop Supervisor Left: Ohio State graduate Institute, other participating partners include the Ohio John Glenn College of Public Affairs, Department of student Dan Zhang models the Chad Bivens designed and machined an aluminum protective gear produced by Department of Education; Ohio Department of Jobs and Statistics, Mathematical Biosciences Institute and Ohio mold to produce the visors in the Injection Molding Lab ISE staff. Family Services; Ohio Department of Transportation; Supercomputer Center. in Baker Systems. Professor Castro, ISE Instructional Technology Specialist Matt Mulyana, ISE Machine/ new processes and Manufacturing Lab Supervisor Joshua Hassenzahl, ISE materials. “However, we Research Engineer William Tullos and ISE graduate can very easily step up student Dan Zhang began mass producing the visors. to mass production,” said Department Responds to Instructional Needs “We started with preliminary studies and molding in Dr. Castro, who brought a early April and finished the molding the first week of wealth of experience to the June,” Dr. Mulyana said. “We made roughly 10,000 project, having worked in As with other colleges and universities around the teach in whichever modality, I know that faculty all are molded headbands.” industry for more than 15 years. “Also, our Department world, the COVID-19 global pandemic has affected trying to make the best decisions for their students and is well-equipped to step up as needed as we have everyday life in the Integrated Systems Engineering themselves (and their families). The faculty are engaged Production stopped after the need was met, but Dr. capable people like Matt, Josh and Bill who have Department, especially when it comes to teaching and in thinking a lot about how best to teach within the Castro said, “We agree to remain ready with mold experience in manufacturing.” materials and equipment to be able to go back to mass learning. Department leaders spent constraints of the day. Once produced, the headbands are attached to clear the summer determining production as needed. We can also mass produce “I know that the faculty would much prefer to other parts, if needed, but this is not our main purpose. face shields manually. Volunteers from the ISE staff – best practices for autumn teach in person, just as students would much PR Coordinator and Chair’s Assistant Jennifer Morris semester based on Our main purpose is to develop new technology. As prefer to learn in person. But that is not the an example, Matt Mulyana – during his PhD thesis – and Fiscal Associate Ann Martyniak – stepped in to continually evolving world we are living in right now. Regardless, help with the assembly. information on the virus and developed a new process that can decrease the cycle we still want our students to have great time for injection molding by 50 percent.” “In the past, we have done much smaller scale of mass community spread. As a learning experiences in our course, and as result, a hybrid model of At peak production, the lab was able to produce 80 of production parts, usually a few days or a few weeks such, faculty have been busy planning for of production, but never at this scale,” Dr. Mulyana Sommerich online and in-person fall instruction.” the visors in an hour. “So, starting in the middle of April instruction is being to early June, we made about 550 to 600 parts per noted. “We are very proud of this achievement as a conducted. Sommerich credits Ohio State’s day,” Dr. Mulyana said. Department. We were able to work together, contribute Engineering Technology Services our expertise in different backgrounds, solve issues “Some courses will be fully online, with being extremely responsive In addition to the Wexner Medical Center, the visors and offer solutions to this project within very short time some will use a mixed-delivery and in providing essential computer were distributed to the Ohio State College of Dentistry constraints with a lot of unknowns, especially in the a few will be fully in-person,” said support, including with online with the bulk of the batches going to the Columbus beginning. We realized this is just a small contribution Carolyn Sommerich, ISE Associate meetings and software to better Public Health Department. to the overall fight against the virus, but we hope our Professor. “In making the choice to facilitate instruction models. Mass production is not the typical function of the lab; contribution can help people who are in high-risk its main function is to educate students and develop environments to be a little safer.”
2 Fall 2020 ise.osu.edu 3 From the Chair: Heeding the Call in Unprecedented Times ALUMNI NEWS
Farhang Pourboghrat its research and teaching in the areas of sustainability, Professor and Department Chair Lean Six Sigma, cybersecurity, energy sustainability, ISE Alum Rahimian Recognized in It would be an understatement networks, wireless systems, machine learning and to say that 2020 has been truly artificial intelligence. Pristker Awards, Joins Clemson Faculty an unprecedented year for the Our graduate and undergraduate students have also entire world due to the devastating been actively pursuing their research interests and Hamed Rahimian, ISE PhD ’18, joined the faculty impacts of the COVID-19. Our winning national awards and recognition for their of the Department of Industrial Engineering at nation was further impacted by work. Our PhD graduates have been historically Clemson University this fall. Dr. Rahimian was the the death of Mr. George Floyd that recruited for their research capabilities by both U.S. recipient of the prestigious Presidential Fellowship highlighted the ongoing racism and the inequality that and international universities. Most recently, Dr. Hamed in 2016 and the runner-up in the 2017 INFORMS is pervasive in our institutions. The ISE Department Rahimian (ISE PhD ’18) has joined the Department Computing Society Best Student Paper Award while was not spared from the impacts of the COVID-19 of Industrial Engineering at Clemson University. a graduate student at The Ohio State University. pandemic, which caused a major change in the You can find in this newsletter the list of other ISE Additionally, his dissertation, “Risk-Averse and delivery of our courses, the shut-down of our labs and PhD graduates who took an academic job in the Distributionally Robust Optimization: Methodology a reduction in the budget, to name a few. However, past five years. Despite the pandemic isolation, the and Applications,” written under the supervision despite the malaise, the resiliency and the cooperative undergraduate ISE’s professional organizations (IISE, of ISE Professor Güzin Bayraksan, received 2nd nature of our faculty, staff and students have helped us NSBE, SHPE , SWE, IRIS and BDAA) continued their place in the 2019 Pristker Doctoral Dissertation to not only survive the pandemic but also assist in the activities by organizing virtual meetings and providing Award, given by the Institute of Industrial and fabrication of crucial personal protective equipment members with opportunities to hear great speakers, Systems Engineers. The award recognizes (PPE) for the health care communities that most needed and to advance their industrial engineering knowledge outstanding doctoral dissertation research in our help. You can read more about this story in this and connection to their peers. industrial engineering. Dr. Rahimian’s dissertation newsletter. During this difficult time, the External Advisory Board makes significant contributions both to the theory Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and working remotely, (EAB) provided crucial leadership and support to the and practice of industrial and systems engineering, the ISE faculty were very active in their research areas Department, students, faculty and staff. Without this identifying scenarios that are critical to a decision- and their work has won them national recognition support, we would have had a difficult time responding making problem under risk and uncertainty. The and awards. The faculty’s hard work also resulted in to many students’ calls for financial support due to dissertation applies its methodological results to the establishment of new research labs such as the loss of jobs, internships, etc. The Board’s continuous solve real-world water resources management and Artificially Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (AIMS) support and assistance to the Department is greatly healthcare problems, revealing managerial insights. Bayraksan Rahimian Lab supported by industry and the Air Force Research appreciated. Finally, I would like to close by thanking Dr. Rahimian specializes in data-driven decision Lab (AFRL) and the NSF-NRT EmPOWERment lab for the ISE alumni for your generosity in giving back to making under uncertainty, specifically developing new models, theory, tools training future PhD students interested in energy- the Department. Your gifts make it possible for the ISE and algorithms for problems with broad societal impact. Methodologically, he system modeling; data science; energy policy; Department to design and execute plans that provide develops stochastic programming, distributionally robust optimization and business, legal and social-behavioral issues; and our students with the best educational program in the mixed-integer programming approaches to address large-scale problems energy technologies. With the recent hiring of three nation. I look forward to hearing from you with any arising in the allocation of scarce resources in uncertain complex environments, new faculty members, the department strengthened comments and suggestions. and usually subject to extreme events and disruptions.
Continued from cover ISE By the Numbers... the U.S. this year. In an article submitted to the Boston solution quality guarantees. “ Current students by program Graduate growth by decade Globe, Dr. Allen presents an engineering perspective “In our expert witness work, 1500 to mail-in voting. “In our analyses of elections in Florida, we have found election results Michigan and Ohio elections, we have found that lines that would likely have been 1200 often discriminate against Black people, making them changed to honor the intent 57 65 PHD MASTER’S DEGREE wait 30 minutes or more on average than others,” he of voters if our program had STUDENTS STUDENTS 900 wrote. “A key part of this discrimination relates to long been applied,” he said. and variable ballot lengths and poor approaches for allocating resources.” As Dr. Pourboghrat wrote, 600 “Industrial & Systems Dr. Allen makes free software available, which “allows Engineering is all about 300 elections officials to predict waiting times (or line making things better. We can and will do that for our 302 166 lengths) and create optimal allocation strategies with ACCEPTED INTO PRE-MAJOR Department.” THE MAJOR 0 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 4 Fall 2020 ise.osu.edu 5 DEVELOPMENT NEWS Advisory Board Pivots to Address Patrick Lynch is at ‘Home’ Challenges of 2020
Supporting Connections to ISE Fellow BuckISE: This calendar year has been anything from ordinary and on behalf of Director of Development Patrick Lynch may be a new face to the the entire ISE External Advisory Board please know we are thinking ISE Department, but he is a familiar one to the Ohio State College of about all of you. My name is Bobby Smyth (BS ’12) and I have the Engineering. Patrick’s role with ISE began earlier this year after having distinct pleasure of serving as the current chair of the advisory joined the College of Engineering as Director of Strategic Engagement board. We have always tried to serve as a sounding board for & Alumni Relations in 2015. Four years later, he took on the role of the Department to help guide and advise from our personal and Senior Director of Strategic Engagement & Alumni Relations and professional perspectives. will continue to oversee the annual fund program for the College of This year, our role has been more critical than ever to help ensure Engineering while supporting major gift contributions to ISE. the Department, faculty, staff and students have the resources and “I try to be the link and the connection back to the Department,” Patrick support needed to navigate these difficult and uncertain times. During says. our spring board meeting we pivoted our agenda to focusing on the current needs of the Department as it navigated the coronavirus A Cleveland native, he received his undergraduate degree in Lynch marketing from Miami (Ohio) University. While working at the Queens pandemic. We strategized on how to best support the students and University of Charlotte (North Carolina) as Director of the McColl School help raise financial support for those in need. Excellence Fund & Special Projects, he earned his master’s in business In the months since that meeting, our focus has continued to administration. evolve. Through conversations with Department leadership, we He also has experience in industry having worked are working to help ensure the Department is aligning its efforts to as Operations Manager in the renewables and be an environment that is more safe, inclusive and supportive for environment field for Cleveland-based Garick. students of color. We also are working hard to ensure our board representation better reflects society and will continue to strive for “It was an intentional transition for me to this the most diverse board possible. role,” Patrick says of his new position with the ISE Department. “This is the engineering discipline that As we look ahead to the end of 2020 and the start of 2021, we want most mirrors my background. ISEs are all about the to ensure that the advisory board remains focused on supporting the bigger picture and the complete process. I look Department not just now, but for the long term. We have set key priorities forward to growing awareness about all the great for our board and organized five committees to things we are doing in the Department.” ensure we help move the Department forward. Those committees are: Benchmarking, Curriculum, Technical Prior to travel restrictions being placed as a result Depth, Digital and Time Talent Treasure. These of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Patrick had been committees will overlay our key priorities and ensure traveling the country to meet with alumni and he said consistency and continuity in our efforts to support he looks forward to doing that again in the future. For the Department. now, he is happy to host virtual visits with “anyone and everyone to share ideas and thoughts.” I encourage any of you who would like to learn more about the work of the board or our key focus areas to After having lived in North Carolina at the start of his reach out to myself or Patrick Lynch. You can also learn career, Patrick says he and his wife Kathleen are glad more about the board on our website: ise.osu.edu/ to be back home in Ohio and close to family. Kathleen about/external-advisory-board. is a program director for Ohio State’s College of Education & Human Ecology. The couple have two children: 6-year-old son Pierson and 2-year-old Go BuckISE, daughter Ada. To further his engineering experience, Bobby Smyth Patrick says he is “getting really good at building ISE External Advisory Board Chair Legos.” If you would like to schedule a virtual visit with Patrick, his email If you would like more information on ISE, or would like to discuss other opportunities to assist address is [email protected] and his phone number is 614-292-4081. the Department, please contact Patrick Lynch at [email protected]. If you would like to make a gift to the ISE Department, follow this link: go.osu.edu/supportISE.
6 Fall 2020 ise.osu.edu 7 FACULTY NEWS Multidisciplinary Research ‘EmPOWERs’ AIMS Lab Puts Artificial Intelligence to the Test NextGen Energy Leaders
ISE Associate Professor Michael Groeber is hoping Ohio State’s EmPOWERment research trainee program is Dr. Sioshansi emphasized the importance of finding a to bridge the gap between academia and industry by opening new doors to harness the data revolution while diverse blend of trainees, including by gender, ethnicity testing artificial intelligence in manufacturing systems. preparing graduate students for both academic and non- and disciplines. Co-Principal Investigator and CFAES academic careers in sustainable energy systems. Professor Elena Irwin is working with the Ohio State Last fall, Dr. Groeber opened the Artificially Office of Diversity and Inclusion to encourage and Intelligent Manufacturing (AIMS) Lab in Ohio Through a five-year, $3 million National Science support participation of underrepresented minority State’s Center for Design and Manufacturing Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) grant, students enrolled in STEM graduate programs. Excellence (CDME) in a ceremony, which “Convergent Graduate Training and EmPOWERment for featured remarks by Lt. Governor Jon Husted, a Sustainable Energy Future” will provide PhD students “We want different ways of thinking and different who heads the state’s InnovateOhio office. with the opportunity to pursue interdisciplinary training educational backgrounds,” Dr. Sioshansi said. “The big in energy-system modeling; data science; energy policy; difference with this program is that it’s very cross-cutting. According to Dr. Groeber, “The AIMS Lab business, legal and social-behavioral One stylized example is a mechanical or electrical provides an industry-relevant venue to Groeber issues; and energy technologies. engineering student may know how to design a solution develop and optimize novel, hybridized Above, Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted speaks at the opening of the AIMS Lab. but may be looking at it in isolation and not looking at manufacturing processes; design and “We’re training students on how to the regulatory side of the problem.” test custom sensors and controls; study Left, undergrad student Antonio Montanez develop policy and the regulatory operating a robot in the AIMS Lab. and advance human-robot interaction; framework for a more sustainable Through the interdisciplinary program, EmPOWERment energy future,” said ISE Associate Chair will encourage students to examine a full spectrum benchmark cognitive computing Dr. Groeber serves as the AIMS Lab and Professor Ramteen Sioshansi, of issues and not just their specialty. “They’ll have frameworks; and define security and ethics- Faculty Director, managing it along with who serves as principal investigator. communications training and professional skills training,” based protocols.” CDME Senior Lead Engineer for Student “Basically, one of our goals is to Sioshansi Boghrat added. “It’s a skill-building opportunity and With a number of industry sponsors Programs Walt Hansen. AIMS Lab broaden and diversify a pool of a chance to build a professional onboard, the center’s three floor-to-ceiling founding project sponsors include Atlas students working in STEM fields.” network.” Yaskawa robot arms will test industry needs Industrial Contractors, Crown Equipment, Energy-system modeling in a university setting. Elite Manufacturing, Lincoln Electric, Dr. Sioshansi said the program Currently, EmPOWERment is not a builds on what Ohio State’s stand-alone degree program, but “The new lab fits into CDME’s core mission Ohio Development Services Agency, DATA SCIENCE Discovery Themes and Institutes Dr. Sioshansi said it may become an of working with industry partners in applied research ProcessChamp, Proto Precision Additive, Schunk, U.S. are doing in the areas of interdisciplinary graduate program and supporting undergraduate student development Department of Defense Office of Economic Adjustment energy policy sustainability, material research at some point. It will be noted as a during that research,” Dr. Groeber said. “The center and Yaskawa. and translational data. He said graduate interdisciplinary specialization helps industry partners work with university labs and Interested industry partners are encouraged to the College of Engineering is on participants’ degrees. equipment, in turn helping students become familiar contact Dr. Groeber at [email protected] for more BUSINESS well-represented on the team with their products.” information. Legal and social-behavioral issues In addition, Boghrat has been working that also includes the College of ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES with the Battelle Center to design Arts & Sciences; Fisher College curricular and co-curricular components Sound of Alarm Lets Medical Personnel Identify Patients’ Need of Business; Education & Human as modular “packages,” some of which are available to Ecology; Food, Agricultural & Environmental Sciences other interested graduate and undergraduate students Patients and medical workers at The Ohio Dr. Rayo’s research looks at (CFAES); Moritz College of Law; and John Glenn College as standalone options. State University Wexner Medical Center are distinguishing the sounds of the of Public Affairs. Boghrat also has partnered with several external seeing first-hand the benefits of ISE Assistant alarms enabling medical personnel Diane Boghrat is the administrative program coordinator organizations on energy, policy-making and regulatory Professor Mike Rayo’s hospital alarm to identify the urgency and the for EmPOWERment. Before joining ISE, she served guidelines. “These partners helped identify skills research. medical category as outlined in his as co-owner and CEO of Simuleer, an R&D company needed,” said Dr. Sioshansi. Working under the Wexner Medical paper, “Using Timbre to Improve based in LA. She said EmPOWERment is designed for The program begins with a two-week onboarding Center’s P30 Centers grant from the Performance of Larger Auditory students’ own pace, with 19 credit hours of curriculum “boot camp” with help from EmPOWERment’s external Agency for Healthcare Research and Alarm Sets,” which was published in requirements needed for completion, as well as co- partners. Dr. Sioshansi envisions internships and Quality, Dr. Rayo contributed to University Ergonomics. curricular requirements, such as participation in a externships will emerge from the interaction with these of Plymouth Professor of Applied Dr. Rayo is a member of the Association student community of practice that is focused on energy, businesses and agencies, which include American Psychology Judy Edworthy’s article, for the Advancement of Medical mentorship activities, annual research expositions and Electric Power, Cargill, ENGIE North America, First “Getting Better Hospital Alarm Sounds Into a Global Instrumentation Committee, led by Dr. communication activities. Boghrat anticipates training 80 Solar, Huntington, Siemens, Worthington Industries, Los Standard” for Ergonomics in Design: The Quarterly of Edworthy, to draft a new global safety standard for PhD students during the first four years and 20 students Alamos National Laboratories, Ohio Energy Project and Human Factors Applications. medical alarm signals. each year after that. the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
8 Fall 2020 ise.osu.edu 9 Ohio State ‘Homecoming’ for Daniel Gingerich Tracy Owens Brings and has been an adjunct faculty member for the MBA programs at Capital University and the University Daniel Gingerich joins the faculty as an Assistant intellectual home in a single department. However, ISE of Dayton. He is a Fellow Member for the American Professor in ISE and Civil, Environmental and Geodetic demonstrated that they value this interdisciplinary work Union of Theory and Society for Quality and has worked in industry for Engineering. Dr. Gingerich also is a Core Faculty by supporting a position like mine that is split between LexisNexis, Smiths Medical and Penske Logistics. He member with The Sustainability Institute. two departments and an interdisciplinary institute.” served as Senior Interrogator for the U.S. Army and Practice to ISE conducts Black Belt training and coaches candidates to He did his post-doctoral He is looking forward to bringing the different skillsets project completion with his company, Solve4X Tactical Associate Professor of Practice research at Stanford University together “to do research that will guide society’s Consulting. Professor Owens is the Founder and Tracy Owens is bringing his 20 and Carnegie Mellon transition to more sustainable infrastructure and to Principal Consultant for Ohio Six Sigma. University, and was an Oak help train the next generation of engineers in these years of experience as a Lean Ridge Institute for Science interdisciplinary perspectives.” and Six Sigma practitioner to He acknowledged the challenges of teaching students and Education Postgraduate the ISE Department. Professor during the COVID-19 pandemic. “In the last several “Sustainability challenges are wicked problems that Owens began teaching ISE years, I have been teaching the Lean and Six Sigma Research Fellow at the will involve rethinking and redesigning systems where National Energy Technology 5810-Lean Sigma Foundations curricula via web-based media, so I’m familiar with society, the environment, and technology interact,” he and coaching the project remote delivery,” he said. “The material does not Laboratory. Dr. Gingerich said. “As a systems engineer, I have a set of frameworks earned his PhD in Engineering leaders for 5811/5812-Lean lose anything in a digital format as long as we get the and tools for thinking about how to analyze and create Sigma Certification Project I & II student’s undivided attention when the teaching is and Public Policy from new systems. But as a trained environmental engineer Carnegie Mellon, his master’s autumn semester. underway. The pace of delivery may need and policy analyst, I also bring to the table a deep to be accelerated, though, in Civil and Environmental Gingerich “In addition to the great understanding of the environment and the technologies Owens especially if we are dealing Engineering from Auburn satisfaction and learning that I and policies we use to protect it.” with a shortened semester.” University and a bachelor of science degree in Civil gain from working in the field, Engineering and bachelor of arts degree in Political Dr. Gingerich also brings with him deep family I have always enjoyed teaching others how these Professor Owens said he Science from Mississippi State University. connections to Ohio State and Columbus. “My tool kits can really change the way we work,” he said, hopes to enhance the union grandfather got his DDS from OSU and I live a few “and sometimes even the way we think. The industrial of theory and practice in Dr. Gingerich said he was interested in Ohio State blocks from where he grew up in Columbus,” he said. because of its appreciation for an interdisciplinary engineer has always been a role or person who I admire his new role with ISE. “Plus, “When my grandmother passed away, I inherited her for the thoroughness of their process evaluation. We will this field is not stagnant. New approach to learning. “All of the interesting questions cat called Scarlet (the Gray). My mom was born at Ohio in how we build a society that is more sustainable learn from each other.” developments and approaches State’s hospital and after she played the Michigan fight are emerging and we all need to and resilient are interdisciplinary – even if you’re Professor Owens earned his master’s degree in song on the piano (the first song she learned as a kid); stay sharp. Marrying the traditional only looking at one aspect of society – in my case International Business from Seattle University and a her parents abruptly ended her piano lessons. In many with the innovative is a genuine infrastructure.” He says. “Because you aren’t doing work ways, coming to Ohio State feels like a homecoming!” bachelor of science degree from Excelsior College that fits neatly into one field, it can be hard to find an pleasure.”
Dr. Yener Brings Passion to INSPIRE by Innovation and Research in Engineering’ – our her PhD and master’s in Electrical and Computer acronym is INSPIRE. Our research areas include Engineering from Rutgers and earned bachelor’s cybersecurity, energy sustainability, networks, degrees in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, and Professor Aylin Yener hopes to inspire the next wireless systems, machine learning and AI, with core Physics from Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey. generation of engineers. She joined Ohio State’s competency in information theory, communication She currently serves as the IEEE Information Theory College of Engineering in Spring 2020 and holds the theory, signal processing, statistical learning and Roy and Lois Chope Chair in Engineering, as well as Society President. Her publications include five book optimization. I will be teaching courses related to chapters, 92 journal papers and 228 conference being a professor of ISE, Electrical and Computer these areas. Engineering, and Computer Science and Engineering. papers. She has been awarded research funding for “Additionally, I am passionate about equity in 16 National Science Foundation grants, two Defense “As a faculty member, my duties are advancing the academia and, in particular, supporting women at all Advanced Research Projects Agency programs, one science in my disciplines by conducting world-class levels – from undergraduate students all the way to Army Research Laboratory Collaborative Technology research, educating the future of scientists and senior faculty.” Alliance grant and nine other programs. engineers, and serving the Ohio State academic community,” she said. “My research is in foundations Dr. Yener previously was a University Distinguished Dr. Yener said she was drawn to “the broad expertise of networked systems and my expertise areas relate Professor of Electrical Engineering at Penn State and excellent scholarship in the ISE Department. The Yener to the three departments in the College of Engineering University and has taught at Stanford University environment is collegial and collaborative, which I in which I hold the professor position. My research and Lehigh University, and was a graduate research also really liked. I look forward to being part of this group is called ‘Intelligent Networked Systems Powered assistant at Rutgers University. She was awarded outstanding Department.” 10 Fall 2020 ise.osu.edu 11 Faculty Awards, Honors & Recognition Once a Buckeye, Always a Buckeye Güzin Bayraksan, Associate Professor of ISE and the management sciences. They Multifaceted Mathematics for Rare, High-Impact Events have demonstrated exceptional Outstanding scholars in Complex Energy and Environment Systems Principal accomplishments and made significant Investigator, was elected Chair of the Stochastic contributions to the advancement continue to walk the halls Programming Society. The SPS is a worldwide group of OR/MS over a period of time. of Baker Systems. Here’s of researchers and practitioners who are developing Professor Conejo was recognized a look at the roles recent for his contributions to formulation and applying models, methods, theory and software Conejo graduates have taken on tools for decision-making under uncertainty. As chair, and implementation of optimization Alizadeh Dominguez Duggan Ha Hwang she will lead the SPS governing board, the Committee models for operations and planning of since completing their on Stochastic Programming and serve a four-year electric energy systems and electricity markets, and for doctorates and post- term. Under Dr. Bayraksan’s leadership, SPS began a outstanding service as an educator and leader in the webinar series called “Decision Making in an Uncertain INFORMS community. doctorate work at The World,” featuring prominent researchers from around Ohio State University the world; initiated a newsletter highlighting real-world Mike Rayo, Assistant Professor of Health & Rehab Department of Integrated impacts of stochastic programming; and launched SPS’ Sciences and ISE, was tapped to serve as a co-director Systems Engineering. social media platforms, including Twitter, LinkedIn and of a Lab in Residence for Ohio State’s Translational Data Rahimian Roychowdhury Sheidaei Zhang YouTube to reach a broader set of researchers and Analytics Institute. Centered around the healthcare practitioners. system, the goal will be to improve the detection Mina Alizadeh, ’19, advised by William S. Marras, is a Bassam Mohammed, ’17, advised by Farhang rate of hospital acquired infections and patient postdoctoral researcher at The Ohio State University. Pourboghrat, is a member of the faculty at University of At the XV International Conference on Stochastic decompensation, while improving the overall design “Ardi” Ardiyanto, ’20, advised by Carolyn Sommerich, Basrah, Iraq. Programming in Trondheim, Norway, in August 2019, process. is an instructor on the faculty of the Engineering Hamed Rahimian, ’18, advised by Güzin Bayraksan, is a Dr. Bayraksan delivered a plenary presentation on Department of Mechanical and Industrial University at the member of the faculty at Clemson University. “Effective Scenarios in Distributionally Robust and ISE Professor and Associate Chair Ramteen Sioshansi Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yoyakarta, Indonesia. Sayak Roychowdhury, ’17, advised by Theodore T. Risk-Averse Stochastic Programs.” The talk detailed will be recognized at the Institute of Industrial & Ruth Dominguez, ’15, advised by Antonio Conejo with Allen, is an Assistant Professor Grade-I, Department of the framework to identify scenarios that are critical to a Systems Engineers Annual Conference & Expo this Miguel Carrion, is a member of the faculty at University of Industrial and Systems Engineering, at the Indian Institute decision-making problem under risk and uncertainty. fall with the 2020 Operations Research Division’s Castilla-La Mancha. of Technology Kharagpur. Excellence in Teaching Award. Dr. Sioshansi is being Dr. Bayraksan co- honored for his course, ISE 3210 Nonlinear and Joseph E. Duggan, Jr., ’18, advised by Ramteen Azadeh Sheidaei, ’15, advised by Farhang Pourboghrat, organized a workshop Dynamic Optimization, which was developed to meet Sioshansi, is a member of the faculty at the University of is a member of the faculty at Iowa State University. on “Mathematical the needs of students facing complex optimization Dayton. Radin Zaid Radin Umar, ’15, advised by Carolyn Optimization of Systems challenges in their capstone course projects. Dr. Jinjin Ha, advised by Yannis Korkolis, is working as a Sommerich, is a member of the faculty at Universiti Impacted by Rare, High- Sioshansi and ISE Professor Antonio Conejo developed faculty member at the University of New Hampshire. Teknikal, Malaysia Melaka. Impact Events,” together the textbook for the class, “Optimization in Engineering: Jaejin Hwang, ’16, advised by William S. Marras, is a Lin Zhang, ’19, advised by Allen Yi, is a postdoctoral with researchers from Models and Algorithms,” to introduce the advanced member of the faculty at Northern Illinois University. researcher at Keio University, Japan. subject matter making it accessible to the general Argonne National Bruce McFall, ’18, advised by Jose M. Castro, is an Bining Zhao, ’18, advised by Antonio Conejo and Laboratory, the University engineering undergraduate audience. adjunct instructor at University of Cincinnati. Ramteen Sioshansi, is a postdoctoral researcher at of Wisconsin-Madison and Pennsylvania State University. the Courant Institute at New York University. The Aimee Ulstad, Associate Professor- workshop’s goal was to provide a worldwide forum Clinical ISE, received the Ohio State for exploring new models and solution approaches College of Engineering Charles E. for optimization under uncertainty to address these MacQuigg Award for Outstanding ISE By the Numbers... challenges. Dr. Bayraksan gave a talk on how to Teaching for 2019. The award is address rare, long-term, extreme droughts to better named for the late Dean of the Top four states where ISE alumni live 6,098 35 manage water resources at the workshop, which took College of Engineering and is LIVING ISE ALUMNI COUNTRIES ARE place June 24-28, 2019, in Providence, Rhode Island. presented annually to faculty who Ulstad HOME TO ISE ALUMNI have demonstrated, in a superior ISE Professor Antonio Conejo was elected as manner, their interest in and willingness CA OH INFORMS Fellow, one of the highest honors in the to help students, their interest in improvement of the 353 2,627 operations research profession. He was honored at the high reputation of the College of Engineering and 2019 INFORMS annual meeting in Seattle in October their outstanding teaching ability. Award recipients are 732 $576,673 2019. INFORMS Fellow are examples of outstanding nominated and elected each year by students in the TX FL ISE ALUMNI RAISED FOR ISE DEPARTMENT lifetime achievement in operations research and College of Engineering. 229 211 DONORS TO OHIO IN FY ’20 STATE IN FY ’20 12 Fall 2020 ise.osu.edu 13 STUDENT NEWS Students’ App is Finalist in mHealth First Urban Air Mobility International Symposium
Symposium Showcases Ohio State ISE students Jesse Marquisee, Christine Marquisee, who served as the team Jefferies, Greg Metzger and Jacob Keller were finalists lead, said the idea for the Personal Birthplace of Aviation for the 2020 International Symposium on Human Electronic Health Record (PEHR) came Factors and Ergonomics in Healthcare Mobile Health for together by combining two ideas. Throughout his undergraduate career at Ohio State, Consumers Application Design Competition. “One idea was an app that acts as a George Valcarcel, ISE ’20, was known for taking his Their mobile application allows individuals to manage centralized and curatable data hub interests to the highest level. In the summer of 2019, their own healthcare data as well as provides a for your healthcare information in while interning at Ascension Global, a boutique aviation translation engine between electronic health records. a telehealth setting,” he said. “The consultancy in Washington, D.C., his innate curiosity Think smartphone wallet for second idea was saving patients’ ignited an excitement to learn more about the emerging healthcare information. time and money by reducing the industry of urban air mobility. The Urban Air Mobility Symposium focused on use cases; number of trips they needed to operational challenges; vertical take-off and landing vehicles The team received a $250 make to the hospital for a set of “In October 2019, I pitched and enabling technologies (like the drone pictured here); award with Marquisee elective surgeries. We integrated a workflow the idea for a symposium infrastructure; and community integration and economic development for the air mobility ecosystem. presenting their design at the and screening process to improve a user’s healthcare to Dr. Elizabeth K. Newton 2020 symposium originally experience by utilizing user-centered design and at the OSU Battelle Center scheduled for Toronto, but cognitive systems engineering principles.” for Science, Engineering offer a common vision and call to action to take the next switched to online due to and Public Policy,” says steps toward contributing to air mobility. the coronavirus pandemic. The app includes questions to screen symptoms and Valcarcel, who as a student allows users to select their preferred hospital where “Our event was unique because it is one of the first in It was presented during the was a University Innovation services are offered. When finished, the information is the U.S. to focus on what air mobility will mean for a Digital Health session of the Fellow, member of Ohio sent to the selected hospital’s care team for review. specific community – in this case Ohio – and also was conference State’s Integrated Business Marquisee one of the first major air mobility events hosted by a and Engineering Honors state university,” Valcarcel said. Program, and co-founder of Interdisciplinary Resource for Valcarcel Panelists and keynote speakers addressed use cases; Innovative Students (IRIS). operational challenges; vertical take-off and landing vehicles and enabling technologies; infrastructure; and Valcarcel had taken Dr. Newton’s course, Rapid We’ve Got Spirit! community integration and economic development. The Innovation for Public Impact. Soon he had her support, list of speakers was just as impressive, representing along with her team at the Battelle Center, and that of NASA, Uber Elevate, Sikorsky, Honeywell Aerospace, We may not be able to cheer on the Buckeyes in the ‘Shoe this year, but we can still show our Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Jim Elroy Air and the Federal Aviation Administration, and Buckeye pride at home. The Ohio State College of Engineering has launched “Party in a Box,” Gregory and Knowlton School of Architecture City and included a keynote by Dr. John S. Langford, President of complete with pompoms, Koozies and pennants. Show your ISE spirit while cheering on the Bucks. Regional Planning/Center for Aviation Studies Professor the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Get yours at engineering.osu.edu/buckeye-engineering-party-box. Sales of the boxes will Amber Woodburn McNair. and the Founder of Electra Aera. help fund the College of Engineering Priority Fund. He then approached Fred Judson, Director of the Ohio “I also owe credit to [Department Chair] Farhang Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center, and Tim Sweeney, Pourboghrat and my ISE Professors Sam Krening, Director of Advanced Manufacturing, Aerospace Martijn Ijtsma and Mike Rayo for supporting me through and Aviation for JobsOhio, who agreed to serve as a crazy year as a student planning this conference, organizing partners. as well as for showing interest in attending my event/ With his team all set, they put together the Ohio Urban getting the word out across – not only our Department Air Mobility Symposium, which took place Feb. 27 at the – but to other faculty and students across the College of Blackwell Inn Conference Center, and showcased The Engineering,” he said. Ohio State University and the State of Ohio’s strategic Two hundred people, including faculty, students, air mobility projects. government stakeholders/regulators and members of Valcarcel said the event’s goals were three-fold: the industry attended. Valcarcel is currently recruiting generate awareness of the progress being made in a team of Ohio State students to co-chair and continue Ohio and bringing thought leaders to the Buckeye to host the symposium, while he plans to remain an State; promote networking and connections among advisor even after he heads to Chicago to work as an academia, government and industry participants; and Incoming Business Analyst for McKinsey & Company.
14 Fall 2020 ise.osu.edu 15 NSBE BuckISE on the Move The National Society of Black Engineers kicked off the 2020-2021 academic year with its first general meeting via Ohio State ISE students participate in a variety of student chapters of professional Zoom in early September, which coincided with NSBE Week. organizations that add to their education and help prepare them for the workforce. Here’s Other activities included networking events and a talk on “Start Your Semester Strong.” The group’s activities also have a roundup of some of the activities sponsored by Big Data and Analytics Association included a virtual Recruiting Bootcamp with General Electric, (BDAA), Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE), Interdisciplinary Resource an activities fair and a scavenger hunt. Upcoming events include meetings with companies: for Innovative Students (IRIS), National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Society of Accenture, Boeing, Eaton, Honda, Marathon, PepsiCo, Texas Hispanic Engineers (SHPE) and Society of Women Engineers (SWE). Instruments, Thermo Fisher Scientific and WillowTree NSBE strives to increase the number of culturally responsible black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community. Currently, the organization at Ohio State includes more than 100 members, who have given more SHPE than 50 hours of community service and represent 13 engineering majors. The Society of Hispanic Engineers focuses on chapter development, professional development, academic development and community outreach. In May, following the civil unrest sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, NSBE Ohio State Chapter President Kamila “We strive to create an environment that feels like home – a family away from Thompson posted on social media with the hashtag Black Lives your family,” said SHPE Vice President Omer Alrefaai. Matter, “We do not judge how every person expresses their anger Past activities have included: and stand with those who fight for justice as we continue to uplift • Mentorshpe – providing mentoring for new and continuing black engineers to be culturally responsible in how members we reject racism. We applaud everyone’s bravery in these tough times and encourage everyone to use • Networking brunch – offering members the opportunity to prepare their voice and continue to demand change. Thank you for career fairs NSBE fam for representing us well and stay safe in this • Dia de Ciencias – an event to give back to the community fight.” In addition, Alrefaai said, “We try to expose STEM-related majors That same month, NSBE won the 2020 Outstanding to high schools and provide them with information about college Diversity and Inclusion Enhancement Award during application deadlines, sponsorship, and the Diversity, Outreach and Inclusion Ohio State’s Student Organization Awards ceremony. office here at Ohio State.” NSBE was cited for its work with other universities The group meets biweekly, and Alrefaai said, “While the pandemic has impacted to advance STEM through 12 outreach projects and our activities, we have a great eboard working digitally to get our events online encouraging K-12 students to become engineers. and provide that familia aspect safely, yet creatively to our members.”
network with other industrial engineering students While time on campus was cut short in the spring due IISE throughout the Midwest and learn about their programs to the COVID-19 pandemic, IISE still hosted virtual The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers and experiences. One of the unique features of this meetings. Members had the opportunity to hear from hosted its annual Leadership Summit January 25, 2020. conference was the opportunity to visit Western Kevin Condon, who is the vice president of engineering Students who attended heard from key speakers, Michigan’s new medical school. Students were invited & optimization for Target Food and Beverage, and learn including Princeton City School District Superintendent to tour this state-of-the-art facility and learn various about how his role changed during the pandemic. “It Tom Burton and Former Accenture Senior Director Jim ways industrial engineering applies to the healthcare was very interesting to hear some of the solutions his Dickey. Attendees had the opportunity to receive a industry. team came up with in order to adapt to the changes in professional headshot, participate in mock interviews IISE is proud of its cohort program that serves as a demand throughout the country,” said IISE Member Erin and attend breakout sessions focusing on financial mentorship program for students in the club. Some of Abramczyk. wellness, opportunities and time management. this year’s events included bowling, ice skating and a In the coming year, IISE plans to continue hosting In February, IISE members traveled to Western Michigan football watch party. Outside of the cohort program, IISE meetings and events virtually in order to provide its University in Kalamazoo Michigan for the Regional IISE also offered several social opportunities to its members members with opportunities to advance their industrial Conference. This was a great chance for students to through happy hours and intramural sports. engineering knowledge and connection to their peers. 16 Fall 2020 ise.osu.edu 17 Slager. “The Wellness Program was established to help SWE our members prioritize their own well-being and still The Society of Women Engineers is an organization stay involved in SWE through events such as workout supporting women in engineering at Ohio State classes, healthy eating challenges and body positivity and seeks to provide an inclusive community for its workshops.” members since engineering is a predominantly male Other outreach events included interaction with Girl field. “Our mission is to empower women to achieve Scout troops, middle school STEM events, and a full potential in careers as engineers and leaders, pen pal program with high school girls interested in expand the image of the engineering and technology engineering. professions as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and demonstrate the value of diversity and Twenty-seven members attended the national inclusion,” according to SWE’s Vice President Amanda conference in Raleigh and 31 members attended the Slager. WE19 SWE conference in Anaheim, participating in an IRIS outreach event called Invent-It-Build-It where more This year, SWE’s theme centers around making the than 3,000 young girls joined them to learn about connection, which is especially important in the current Four years ago, Interdisciplinary Resource for • An onsite visit to Nationwide’s new innovation hub engineering. COVID-19 climate and the move toward hosting mainly Innovative Students was founded by several students in the Arena District with Innovation Product Manager virtual events. Upcoming events include virtual professional in the Integrated Business and Engineering Honors Zach Friedman, discussing the “Scaffolding of development, social, educational and alumni events. Program. They sought to tap into the wealth of talent Abstraction,” a term he uses to describe the biases we Slager said the most successful events last year SWE also will be holding the annual SWE Career Fair from students of all majors and academic talent. IRIS’ take with us when addressing complex problems. included the Dress for Success Fashion Show and the in the spring to help Ohio State engineering students members are unified under the concept of Design Wellness Program. “About 70 engineering students • Natasha Pongonis , co-owner of Nativa, a multicultural obtain internships, co-ops, full-time jobs and research Thinking – a process for human-centered innovation. attended the fashion show where members modeled marketing agency, visited with IRIS students to show her opportunities. some of their own clothes to give ideas of what to Students in the club learn valuable skills for product work with data analytics using web-scraping and natural wear in various professional settings,” according to development while connecting with successful language processing to analyze public sentiment about professionals in the Columbus area – from startups certain topics. to Fortune 500 companies. Events from the past year • Morgan Howard, innovation manager of Safelite, led a have included: discussion of the “empathy” portion of Design Thinking • An onsite visit to Lextant, a Columbus-based and the importance of utilizing it in effective market consultancy with a strong foundation in Design Thinking research. to enhance user experience. Lextant’s workshop gave IRIS plans to continue hosting similar events, as well IRIS members insight into their methods of using images as pursuing a partnership with a client for a long-term to better understand what consumers are seeking in a project throughout the semester. product.
BDAA “We are still working to finalize plans for this upcoming year. However, we remain dedicated to BDAA’s mission: Inspire, Empower, Connect,” The 2019-2020 school year saw the continuation of many longstanding Big according to Meaden. “The plan is to host all meetings in a virtual format Data and Analytics Association events, “such as the BDAA Career Fair in the fall, to keep our events safe and our members healthy. We intend to have many fruitful Tech Talks with our sponsors, and BDAA socials at campus-area meetings on Tuesday evenings via Zoom. To accommodate students who restaurants,” according to BDAA Internal Relations Director Kelly Meaden. “We are located in different time zones, have other schedule conflicts, or are also hosted the first-ever BDAA Formal in November. We hope to host many just curious to learn more from our speakers, we hope to bring our Tuesday more formals in the future, when it is safe to do so.” guests back for a virtual chat session on Thursday afternoons.” Other activities included an Intro to Analytics workshop series for freshmen (and BDAA is partnering with the College of Arts & Sciences to co-host other students who were new to the field) last fall, along with a Python workshop the Quantitative & Data Career Expo in September. Meaden said, it series in the spring. BDAA partnered with CoverMyMeds for tours of their office. is believed that “this collaboration will provide the best opportunity Additional student visits were taken to COTA and Alliance Data. “This spring, we for all students at OSU to find jobs and internships within the data hosted a few virtual meetings,” Meaden said, “and many of our members were analytics field at a myriad of great companies.” able to engage with the Can’t Stop Columbus campaign to aid in coronavirus research and analytics in Columbus.” For more information, follow BDAA on social media: @bdaaosu. Over the summer, BDAA matched its members’ donations to Campaign Zero In the coming year, Meaden says plans include expanding the and The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, raising a total of $1,958 BDAA mentorship program, which connects upperclassmen and for the two organizations. underclassmen, and hosting a lecture series on data analytics.
18 Fall 2020 ise.osu.edu 19 Keep in Touch!
The Ohio State University Department of Integrated Systems Engineering would love to hear from you. Please drop us a line to tell us about stories or information you would like to see in future issues of BuckISE. Contact Jen Morris at [email protected].