UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State student chapter of the Institute for Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) has been honored with the institute’s Gold Award for the third consecutive year. The Gold Award is the highest honor in the professional organization’s University Chapter Recognition Program.
The chapter was honored for improvements, progress and overall achievements it attained during the 2017-18 academic year.
The 2017-18 University Chapter Activity Report (UCAR), which each student chapter of IISE must complete, is the basis for the award program. The UCAR provides a measurement to student chapters so they can see improvement trends and track progress. The scores also provide visibility so a chapter’s accomplishments can be publically recognized.
Gold, silver and bronze awards are given to University Chapters based on UCAR points scored.
Some of the activities planned by the group over the past year include: holding the annual Industrial Engineering (IE) Career Fair; hosting a Six Sigma Greenbelt Training through IISE; bringing in industry members to discuss the opportunities and challenges industrial engineers face, as well as resume building tips; representing Penn State by attending the annual regional IISE conference at the Rochester Institute of Technology; hosting the annual awards banquet; and organizing a Family Day event. This event, held during the spring semester, allows the families of industrial engineering students to tour the lab facilities in Leonhard Building and hear from faculty, students and alumni about the IE program and how it prepares students for the workforce.
The 2017-18 IISE officers that led the chapter’s efforts were: Tanner Weaver, 2018 IE, president; Charlotte Fei, 2018 IE, vice president; Maria Paula, 2018 IE, treasurer; Sophia Dyke, secretary; Jesus Cano, 2018 IE, co-corporate chair; Samantha Cugini, 2018 IE, co-corporate chair; Gabriel Di Biase, social chair; Sergio Viscarra, 2018 IE, merchandise chair; and Brady Bobbit, 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 system engineers.
IISE was founded in 1948 and it is the world’s largest professional society dedicated solely to the support of the industrial and systems engineering profession. As an international nonprofit association, IISE provides leadership for the application, education, training, research and development of industrial and systems engineering.