2023 UF ISE INSIDER Magazine

2023

ISE INSIDER NEWS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL & SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

IN THIS ISSUE:

MACHINE HUB EMPOWERS FLORIDA’S WORKFORCE Katie Basinger-Ellis, Ph.D., is conducting bootcamps with other UF researchers as part of a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine training program.

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FACULTY NEWS PAGE 4

DEPARTMENT NEWS PAGE 8

ALUMNI & STUDENT PAGE 10

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR In this issue of ISE INSIDER, we highlight several current initiatives, the contributions of diverse groups to the discipline of industrial engineering, new department graduate programs, and recent achievements of our alumni and students.

This year, the ISE department research awards exceeded $4 million with some of this funding resulting from programs supporting translation of research to education. A new college partnership with Autodesk Corporation will support research in advanced manufacturing and production that provides a basis for new courses on human-centered design and design for manufacturability. ISE faculty were instrumental in Autodesk’s support for our programs.

Related to this activity, Katie Basinger-Ellis, Ph.D., ISE’s Undergraduate Coordinator and an instructional assistant professor, collaborated with Sean Niemi, Ph.D., an instructional assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, to secure funding from the America’s Cutting Edge (ACE) initiative to support workforce development in Florida. This program provides training in advanced manufacturing, including machine tool use and advanced 3D modeling software, specifically Autodesk’s Fusion 360 (page 6).

The department has also received support from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for the integration of cuttingedge knowledge on collaborative (co)-robots and standards for safety in work with humans. UF was one of only five institutions to be awarded this type of funding, which will allow our faculty to complement current coursework in occupational safety engineering and human factors applications. The safety course has an undergraduate section, which is highly subscribed annually, allowing faculty to support the future generation’s knowledge of human-robot interaction principles (page 4).

The department has also received other recent support for novel research in optimization methods for shared electric micro-mobility systems (Yu Yang, Ph.D., assistant professor) and federated learning approaches to collaborative smart farming (Mostafa Reisi Gahrooei, Ph.D., assistant professor) in collaboration with UF Institute of Food & Agricultural Science faculty. The projects represent inaugural and additional NSF (National Science Foundation) grants for tenure-track faculty in the department that will provide support for additional Ph.D. students. Related to this, department Ph.D. student enrollment has substantially increased this year with 15 new students entering in this fall term. Current active research awards for the department are at $7M+ with an overall Ph.D. student population of ~46 students.

ISE continues to focus on recruiting faculty and students with diverse backgrounds and experiences. This fall our undergraduate program enrollment has increased with a projection of 462 students, including 47% female students and 45% underrepresented groups. Over the past five and a half years, ISE department female faculty representation has increased from 25% to 48% with ISE faculty currently advising the Society of Women Engineers chapter for the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering. The department has also hosted recent events to highlight contributions and experiences of women in engineering (see article in this issue).

Toward accommodating broad student interest in ISE-related topics, we have developed several new graduate programs in the past three years. Aside from the certificates covered in this issue, the department most recently received approvals for additional masters-level certificates in “Financial Math & Optimization,” “Financial Risk Analysis and Management” and “Financial Technology.” These programs will be delivered on-campus and are candidates for the new UF Jacksonville Graduate Center. We believe these activities have contributed to the recognition and reputation of the ISE graduate program with an elevation in our public graduate program ranking to #11 (USNWR, 2023).

Lastly, this year also brought achievements and accolades for our ISE alums and current students. Our alumni, who have developed their own companies (e.g., Michael Hirsch and Trey Lauderdale - page 11) continue to excel with a Gator100 award and induction in our ISE Hall of Fame. Other alumni (Josh Bass - page 10) have developed outstanding corporate careers and have given back to the department in terms of their time and expertise. This has also led to recognition in our Hall of Fame. Finally, our students continue to excel in competitions, including Anushka Radhakrishnan (page 10) winning the Raytheon annual Tech Competition for supply chain solutions.

Related to this, the department awarded 23 scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students along with four other Latin-American Caribbean program scholarship recipients. We are fortunate to have such outstanding students in ISE and graduates, who are impacting our world.

As an update to our spring newsletter, the department has recently completed its search for a new chair, and I anticipate a leadership changeover at the beginning of the new year. Once again, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to lead such a forward-looking department in a high-growth college of engineering over the past five and a half years. I believe the department has made major strides in terms of the faculty team, academic program development and research enterprise. I believe the vision to create a broad-based ISE department at UF was an incredibly positive and transformational change for the faculty and students. There is additional growth to come for the department in expanding instructional capacity and breadth of coverage of the ISE discipline even further to support innovative teaching and scholarly activities. I look forward to the future of the department.

As always, we welcome your input on department initiatives and programs. We also hope to hear about any new developments in your careers and/or personal achievements. Please reach out with any feedback at: info@ise.ufl.edu. We hope to hear from you!

Best regards and GO GATORS!

David Kaber

David Kaber, Ph.D. Department Chair, Dean’s Leadership Professor

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

#11 04 FACULTY NEWS FEATURE 06 08 DEPARTMENT NEWS ALUMNI & STUDENT

BEST PUBLIC INDUSTRIAL & SYSTEMS ENGINEERING GRADUATE PROGRAM 2023 U.S. News & World Report

462

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

45%

48% WOMEN

10

UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS

200

GRADUATE STUDENTS

FORREST MASTERS, PH.D. Interim Dean, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering

80%

DAVID KABER, PH.D. Dean’s Leadership Professor & Department Chair YONGPEI GUAN, PH.D. Associate Chair of Graduate Studies & George E. Rolande G. Willis Professor

#12

SERDAR KIRLI, PH.D. Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies & Instructional Professor

OF ALL UF ISE STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN EXPERIMENTAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDING RESEARCH, INTERNSHIPS, AND STUDYING ABROAD

BEST PUBLIC INDUSTRIAL & SYSTEMS ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM 2022 U.S. News & World Report

3 NEW GRADUATE CERTIFICATES

ALLISON LOGAN Communications Manager & Magazine Editor

All students admitted to UF are eligible for the new Systems Engineering, Occupational Safety, and FinTech Certificates.

UF ISE FEMALE FACULTY HAS INCREASED FROM 25% TO 48% SINCE 2018.

BY THE NUMBERS PAGE 3

FACULTY

AUTODESK GIFT SUPPORTS STUDENTS AND INNOVATION

From left: Steve Blum (Autodesk) shakes hands with Forrest Masters, Ph.D., P.E., interim dean of Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, after signing the gift agreement.

On April 5, the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering and the College of Design, Construction and Planning (DCP) received a $300,000 gift from Autodesk Inc., an American multinational corporation that provides software products and services for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, education and entertainment industries.

The designation of $150,000 for each college will support student success as it aims to bring the research disciplines into alignment for advanced industrialized construction, where generative design

converges with make processes.

Steve Blum (UF BSEE ’87), executive vice president and chief operating officer of Autodesk, led the signing of the memorandum of understanding alongside Forrest Masters, Ph.D., interim dean of the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, and Chimay Anumba, Ph.D., dean of DCP. As part of the agreement, Autodesk designated $50,000 to support a first-year course in human-centered design.

“Experiential learning opportunities are critical to the development of manufacturing for the engineering students we teach, the state of Florida, and the nation at large,” said Katie Basinger-Ellis, Ph.D., ISE instructional assistant professor. “Autodesk’s enthusiastic support to create these types of opportunities — where students make the things they envision — is instrumental to the next generation’s success.”

The remaining $100,000 of Autodesk’s support for the College will bolster undergraduate courses and research in advanced manufacturing and production.

RESEARCHERS TO CREATE COURSES ON ROBOTICS SAFETY Boyi Hu, Ph.D., an assistant professor, received funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for the development of course modules that focus on collaborative robotics, automation safety and essential robotics standards.

NIST recently awarded five institutions with funding for educational support for both undergraduate and graduate curricula. The awards cover many STEM disciplines such as infrastructure improvement and resilience, nanomaterials engineering, aerospace, robotics and sustainability.

Dr. Hu will serve as the project’s principal investigator with Wayne Giang, Ph.D., an assistant professor, as a

co-principal investigator. The researchers were awarded ~$99,000 to develop two publicly accessible and customizable modules of collaborative robotics safety code and standardization. The modules will be delivered as part of an upper-level undergraduate/master splitlevel course, “Occupational Safety Engineering,” during a four-week period with student interests driving content coverage. The modules will also be presented as part of another upper-level undergraduate course, “Human Factors Applications.” during a two-week period.

Both courses will be offered in-person and online for industrial and systems engineering undergraduate and graduate students, with the opportunity for graduate students to earn a certificate in safety engineering.

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FACULTY

ISE CHAIR NAMED 2023 IEEE FELLOW David Kaber, Ph.D., the Dean’s Leadership Professor and department chair, has been elevated to Fellow status in The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Dr. Kaber was recognized for his “modeling and analysis of human-automation interaction and human-machine interface design in complex systems.”

IEEE Fellow is the highest grade of IEEE membership with only one-tenth of one percent of the total voting membership being eligible in each year. This award is recognized by the community as a prestigious honor and an important career achievement.

“IEEE and the Systems, Man & Cybernetics (SMC) Society are key organizations in advancing engineering science in critical areas, such as human-machine systems and human-AI teaming,” Dr. Kaber said. “My interests have been to contribute to modeling and design approaches, and I have been fortunate to be able to do so through SMC Society publications, meetings and administration. A professional connection with IEEE has had a substantial positive impact on my career, and I encourage all early career faculty to start now with IEEE.”

CENTER FOR APPLIED OPTIMIZATION HOSTS WORKSHOP The Center for Applied Optimization (CAO) at the University of Florida hosted a two-day workshop titled, “A PanOptiC View on Global Optimization.” The purpose of the workshop was to promote collaborations among scholars in global optimization and to honor Panos Pardalos, Ph.D., ISE Distinguished Professor Emeritus. Dr. Pardalos retired from UF in 2021 after 30 years at UF. The workshop was held in a hybrid mode with over 60 participants, including two National Academy of Engineering members, who gave keynote addresses.

There were 36 invited talks and six poster presentations. Research topics included global

optimization theory, algorithms, and applications.

Specific application areas ranged from energy, healthcare and telecommunications to medicine and supply chain management.

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FEATURE

UF ANNOUNCED AS HUB TO EXPAND MACHINE TOOLS WORKFORCE TRAINING CENTERS IN FLORIDA

The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) announced recently that it is expanding America’s Cutting Edge (ACE), a national initiative aimed at revitalizing U.S. manufacturing, to three locations in Florida, including the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering at the University of Florida (UF).

ACE, which now has regional machine tool training centers in Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia, provides free online and in-person training in the machine tool industry – training that’s essential to America’s national security and continued economic vitality.

According to Sean Niemi, Ph.D., an instructional assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and the project’s principal investigator, ACE is part of a strategic economic direction for the state of Florida. Dr. Niemi is working with co-PI Katie Basinger-Ellis, Ph.D., an instructional assistant professor in the Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering. So far, the pair has hosted 17 participants at UF, several high school students in August, and expect to host more than 200 participants over the next two and half years.

From left: Sean Niemi, Ph.D., and Katie BasingerEllis, Ph.D., stand with some recently aquired technology.

“I have been involved in advanced manufacturing for over a decade, and often training is not readily accessible to the group of people we need to develop our manufacturing workforce,” Dr. Basinger-Ellis said. “ACE has given us a platform to share our knowledge, training, and facilities with people from all over the state effectively providing a springboard into the manufacturing workforce.”

ACE is comprised of two parts. The first is an online requirement that covers an introduction to Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining and 3D modeling using Fusion 360. Additional courses in metrology, composites, and cybersecurity are being added. Upon completion, students become qualified to advance to a week-long, hands-on lab training “bootcamp.” Bootcamps provide opportunities for eligible students to learn in a high-intensity environment through hands-on, in-person training—all at no cost.

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FEATURE

Caitlin Mazariegos-Diaz uses metrology to confirm her design and program accuracy in the machine space.

Launched in 2020, ACE is a public-private partnership established between the Department of Defense’s Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) program and the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Through ACE, a national CNC machining training program was developed by Tony Schmitz, Ph.D., (MSME ’96/Ph.D. ’99) a professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. More than 3,400 people from all 50 states are engaged in online training and more than 225 have completed in-person bootcamps.

“The ACE CNC machining and metrology modules exist, in large part, because I completed my graduate studies at the UF Machine Tool Research Center,” Dr. Schmitz said. “It’s so nice to see this connection, truly full circle. They are now part of an evangelizing community, and we want nothing less than eliminating the shortfall in the manufacturing workforce that exists today.”

The University of Florida will serve as an ACE hub, working with units across the state to expand machine tool training centers in Florida.

Below: Participants of the program manufacture an operational air engine and have the opportunity to engrave their piston blocks to customize their engine.

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DEPARTMENT

From left: Xiaochen Xian, Ph.D., Elif Akçalı Ph.D. and Anna Nagurney, Ph.D.

ISE HOSTS PANEL ON WOMEN IN ACADEMIA In recognition of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, on March 10, 2023, the department‘s Inclusive Excellence Committee held a panel to discuss unique challenges and hurdles that women experience in academic careers. The panel included faculty scholars from various technical disciplines and different institutions. Attendees included faculty, staff and students from the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.

Dr. Akçali offered the following, “The number of female faculty members is increasing. There is an increased recognition of the challenges faced by them. These are clear. However, there are still unconscious as well as systemic biases toward female faculty that need to be addressed until there is no longer a need to give different types of advice to male and female faculty members.”

The panel was moderated by Michelle Alvarado, Ph.D., ISE assistant professor. The featured panelists were Anna Nagurney, Ph.D., the Eugene M. Isenberg Chair in Integrative Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Pinar Keskinocak, Ph.D., the William W. George Chair and Professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at The Georgia Institute of Technology, Elif Akçali, Ph.D., ISE associate professor; and Xiaochen Xian, Ph.D., ISE assistant professor.

The panel addressed several topics related to inequalities in treatment and perception women face that may occur within the workplace, such as unconscious bias, decreased opportunities for promotions, or other merit-based recognition. Defined as formed opinions or stereotypes of people outside of conscious awareness, unconscious bias has impacted the careers of many women over the years and can occur in various forms.

One form of unconscious bias can be how female faculty members tend to receive lower instructor evaluations compared to their male counterparts.

In addressing the topic of teaching and teaching evaluations, the panel commented on how women faculty may more frequently receive destructive criticisms and/or criticisms with non-academic themes (e.g., appearance, clothing, managing work-life balance). It was also noted how critically important it is for tenure and promotion committees as well as academic unit, college, and university administrators to be aware of this type of bias, and that it may need to be taken into account in merit-based, promotion, and tenure decisions.

During the panel, each woman shared their personal experiences in academia, focusing on barriers they may have faced as a woman along with moments in which they were encouraged.

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DEPARTMENT

NEW FINTECH CERTIFICATE PROGRAM OFFERED TO GRADUATE STUDENTS This fall term, the department began enrolling Ph.D. students in a new financial technology (FinTech) certificate program. The certificate focuses on new technologies and analytics for financial services with the objective of educating students in current applications, methods and benefits for the range of services.

The program is currently targeted at graduate students with an interest in completing the certificate as part of a degree program, as well as post-baccalaureate, non-degree students interested in doing a standalone certificate credential. The program is intended to address the rapidly expanding FinTech industry in the state of Florida.

“This new certificate is another step in our efforts to address the technical academic needs of the finance industry in Florida at the graduate level,” said David Kaber, Ph.D., Dean’s Leadership Professor and ISE chair.

This certificate was born-out of a prior collaboration between ISE and the UF Warrington College of Business Finance Department, specifically a Ph.D. interdisciplinary concentration in Quantitative Finance. This concentration has drawn-in several Ph.D. students over the years, who have been jointly supervised by faculty in ISE and Finance.

The FinTech certificate requirements can be challenging, including advanced engineering economy, empirical asset pricing, machine learning and AI, introduction to stochastic optimization, and financial investments. The prerequisites for the program are demanding as well, including statistics, probability theory, and asset pricing theory among several other base knowledge needs.

The certificate coursework is delivered jointly by ISE and Finance faculty with diverse quantitative and domain expertise to enrich the breadth of student learning.

GRADUATE PROGRAM MOVES UP 2 SPOTS IN U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT RANKINGS The ISE graduate program moved up two spots to No. 11 in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings among public graduate engineering programs, the department’s highest rank in the past five years.

Six of the UF engineering college’s disciplines — agricultural engineering, biomedical engineering, computer engineering, industrial engineering, materials engineering and nuclear engineering — are listed among the Top 15 public programs.

“This ranking reflects the tremendous growth of the ISE faculty, their outstanding contributions to the discipline as well as those of our top graduate students,” said David Kaber, Ph.D., Dean’s Leadership Professor and department chair. “We are elated with this recent recognition by our peer department leaders and are emboldened to additional impactful research in ISE for improving work life and society.”

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ALUMNI/STUDENT

ALUMNI HONORED AS GATOR100 AWARDEE Gator100 honors the 100 fastest-growing, Gator-owned or Gator-led businesses in the world. Congratulations to Industrial & Systems Engineering alumnus Michael Hirsch, Ph.D., who made the list for leading one of the World’s Fastest Growing Gator Companies!

Dr. Hirsch is the president of ISEA TEK, which focuses on delivering exceptional system and software capabilities for commercial and defense applications. ISEA TEK rigorously applies concepts from the mathematical sciences to develop innovative and computationally robust technologies. ISEA TEK has deep expertise in optimization, information fusion, autonomy, cooperative control, resource Michael Hirsch, Ph.D. allocation and machine learning. ISEA TEK has received multiple contracts to develop technologies in support of the U.S. Government, specifically the Department of Defense.

Dr. Hirsch has spent the past 25-plus years developing innovative technical solutions for both defense and commercial problems. He worked for AMPAC Technologies from 1996 – 2001, and Raytheon Technologies from 2001 – 2014. During this time, Dr. Hirsch focused on leading both small and large research teams, developing mathematical models, algorithms, prototype code and embedded software flight code.

Dr. Hirsch earned a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering (Operations Research concentration) from the University of Florida, an M.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Delaware and a B.A. in Mathematics from West Chester University of Pennsylvania.

STUDENT WINS RAYTHEON TECH COMPETITION Supply chain and operations students from across the nation came together to compete in the third annual Raytheon Technologies Invitational Business Case Competition presented by TCU Neeley’s Center for Supply Chain Innovation.

First Place of $10,000 was awarded to Anushka Radhakrishnan, an undergraduate ISE student, and her team, which included Justin Jawanda (Michigan State University), Tyrone Matherson (Howard University), Mia Moreno (The University of Texas at Dallas) and Dylan Porter (Mississippi State University).

Anushka Radhakrishnan

The competition, which occurred virtually from September 29 through October 1, combined 36 graduate and undergraduate students into random teams and required them to work together on a case provided by Raytheon Technologies. The competition required students to find solutions for a supply chain and operations challenge.

“At Raytheon Intelligence and Space (RI&S) we are incredibly pleased with the results we have gotten with the annual TCU Case Competition, and this year is no different,” said David Boelens, Associate Director for Operations and Supply Chain Professional Development at Raytheon Technologies. “Not only are we able to extend offers for future opportunities like internships, but the insights we’re able to glean from students working on a real-world manufacturing challenge helps us to benchmark our own solutions and make adjustments accordingly.”

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ALUMNI

From left: Trey Lauderdale and Josh Bass.

TWO ALUMNI INDUCTED INTO DEPARTMENT HALL OF FAME At the department’s annual awards celebration, Josh Bass, vice president of Data, Products and Analytics for J.M. Family Enterprises (JM&A) Inc., and Trey Lauderdale, founder and former CEO of Voalte Corp., were recognized for exemplary careers in ISE and sustaining engagements of the University and the department.

The UF ISE Alumni Leadership Awards program was initiated in 2009 with an inaugural class being inducted into the “Hall of Fame” at the department’s 75th Anniversary celebration.

The process for selection involves nomination by either the ISE Advisory Board or faculty along with faculty review and a vote on candidates.

Josh Bass graduated with his bachelor’s degree in industrial and systems engineering in 1997 and completed an MBA through UF’s Warrington College of Business Administration (WCBA) in 1999. Bass currently serves as the vice chair of the ISE Advisory Board. In his professional career, Bass began work with Arthur Andersen Business Consulting followed by OpenPeak and several leadership roles in technology and strategy with Florida Power and Light (NextEra Energy). Most recently, he served as vice president for

Corporate Enterprise Strategy for JM&A, the largest Toyota distributor in North America, and he is currently responsible for the development of new products, actuarial science and applications, and data and analytics as a sustaining JM&A vice president.

Trey Lauderdale graduated with his bachelor’s degree in industrial and systems engineering in 2004 and completed a master’s in entrepreneurship through UF WCBA in 2007. Lauderdale currently serves on UF’s National Foundation Board. He regularly volunteers his time to speak to ISE student organizations regarding career trajectories and critical decision-making.

Lauderdale is currently an entrepreneur and venture capitalist in the area of digital health technology. He started his professional career by founding Voalte Corp. to develop smartphone technology to support secure caregiver communications both in and outside hospitals and to support data analytics on communications to improve healthcare organization operations. In 2019, he endowed the Lauderdale Industrial & Systems Engineering Faculty Fellow. The fellowship has been awarded to two faculty members conducting research in health systems engineering.

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UF ISE RECOGNIZES STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS AT THE SPRING AWARDS CELEBRATION The UF ISE Department awarded 27 undergraduate and graduate scholarships in Spring 2023. Students were recognized at the annual end of the year banquet.