UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Institute for Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) recently awarded the Penn State student chapter with its Gold Award. The award is the highest honor in the professional organization’s University Chapter Recognition Program.
The Penn State chapter was recognized for the group’s improvements, progress and overall achievements during the 2015-16 academic year.
The 2015-16 University Chapter Activity Report (UCAR), which each student chapter of IISE must complete, is the basis for the program. The UCAR provides a measurement to student chapters so that the groups can see improvement trends and track progress. The scores also provide visibility so a chapter’s accomplishments can be publicly recognized.
Gold, silver and bronze awards are given based on UCAR points scored.
The 2015-16 IISE officers who led the chapter’s efforts were: Matt Gorka, president; Emily Pringle, vice president; Zachary Santos, treasurer; Olivia Poppel, secretary; Lily Gordon, co-corporate chair; Andrew Smiddy, co-corporate chair (fall 2015); Sahil Bhatia, social chair; CJ Winand, merchandise chair; and Wes Dickson, webmaster.
Janis Terpenny, professor and head of the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, serves as the group’s faculty adviser.
The mission of the IISE student chapter at Penn State is to represent the industrial and systems engineering profession — and the Marcus department — responsibly and honestly while enhancing the capabilities of all of its members and developing the next generation of industrial and systems engineers.
Founded in 1948, the IISE is the world's largest professional society dedicated solely to the support of the industrial and systems engineering profession. It is an international, nonprofit association that provides leadership for the application, education, training, research and development of industrial and systems engineering.