Message from the chair

Harold J. Steudel (33K JPG)

In the academic world, the New Year begins with the fall semester, an exhilarating time with the welcoming of both new and continuing students and many new opportunities and challenges arising in a spirit of renewal.

One of the exciting events this year is the arrival of Shiyu Zhou, the IE department's newest assistant professor. Shiyu, formerly an assistant scientist in the Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan, strengthens our program in manufacturing and production systems with his research and teaching expertise in the area of statistical data modeling and analysis of real-world manufacturing systems. I think that you will find great interest in the article about Professor Zhou in this newsletter — one of several articles featuring the work and accomplishments of our dedicated faculty.

Last year I told you about our goal to expand the size and spectrum of our department visiting committee to include more of our alumni in this group of highly successful and accomplished people from industry, business and academia. I am pleased to report that we have accomplished this goal with great success. Under the leadership of Jeff Wiesner, a 1983 IE graduate and now retired from Accenture, the 14-person committee conducted a review of our strategic plan and educational objectives. The committee's report stated: "The committee was extremely impressed with the effort that has been invested in the strategic planning and visioning process. It is clear that the department faculty is committed to maintaining the well-deserved reputation for excellence the Industrial Engineering Programs currently enjoys." The report also provided many findings and suggestions for improvement, which we addressed in numerous discussions and our annual one-day retreat, and have now incorporated into our strategic plan and educational objectives. Our faculty truly appreciate the invigorating experience and benefits of working with our alumni and benefactors to continuously improve the educational program we offer our students today.

I am also pleased to announce that IE alumnus Don Holloway was selected to receive one of the 12 Distinguished Service Awards at the 55th annual Engineers' Day held Oct. 18. Read more about Don's accomplishments in this issue as well.

I hope that you enjoy this newsletter, and as always, we welcome your comments and suggestions. We would also like to hear from you with updates to your addresses, job titles, and any interesting goings-on so that we can enhance the accuracy of our alumni database and share the good things that are happening with your lives and careers. Just E-mail me at steudel@ie.engr.wisc.edu to let me know what you are doing.

Harold J. Steudel
360 Mechanical Engineering Building
1513 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53706-1572

Tel: 608/262-9927
Fax: 608/262-8454
E-mail: steudel@ie.engr.wisc.edu

www.engr.wisc.edu/ie