Introduction

The Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at UW-Madison offers a comprehensive range of advanced-degree programs to help link people and technology. The department is one of the nation's premier teaching and research facilities devoted not only to improving contemporary production and service systems but also to aiding people who operate the systems.

The department maintains strong ties to local industries and service institutions, many with national and international reputations. In addition, the department has worked closely with Wisconsin government, which is known for innovation, to develop path-breaking systems and procedures. Private and public institutions in Madison participate in the department's research programs.

The department has approximately 150 graduate students, about half of them seeking PhDs.

Student/Faculty Interaction

The Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering makes every effort to ensure that graduate student/faculty interactions both in and outside of class are frequent and rewarding to students. For example:

• Weekly seminars organized by faculty and graduate students allow time for these groups to explore common areas of interest.
• Faculty advisers consult with students on course selection, as well as the design and content of the student projects and dissertations.
• Faculty and student collaboration on projects often results in financial support or internships for students.

Collaborative Research Opportunities

In addition to their own research projects, faculty members collaborate on research with other university departments and centers.

The Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering has close ties with the Center for Health Systems Research and Analysis (CHSRA), Center for Quality and Productivity Improvement, Trace Research and Development Center, Center for Human Performance and Risk Analysis, and Biomedical Engineering Center.

Collaborative research has included projects with the School of Business; Departments of Statistics, Computer Sciences, Economics, Population Health Sciences, Psychology, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Mathematics; Mathematics Research Center; University of Wisconsin Medical School; A Waisman Center on Mental Retardation and Human Development; Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center; Water Resources Center; Institute for Environmental Studies; Center for Plasma-Aided Manufacturing; and University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, an academic hospital and outpatient facility with major teaching and research functions.

The program also has strong ties to industry. Many companies have supported the program through grants and equipment gifts, and students in the program frequently engage in practical projects with local firms.

Library, Computing and Laboratory Facilities

Another advantage of pursuing a graduate degree in industrial and systems engineering at UW-Madison is the availability of sophisticated libraries, computers and laboratory facilities.

• Library facilities: UW-Madison is among the top 12 American universities in library resources with more than 100 campus libraries containing in excess of four million volumes, 50,000 current periodicals, and two million microforms. The specialized engineering, health sciences and mathematics libraries are particularly useful to industrial engineering students. Computerized bibliographic reference facilities are also available in campus libraries.

• Division of Information Technology: DoIT offers mathematical programming, graphics generation and statistical processing services. The center also offers seminars on computer applications and organizes user group sessions.

• Computer-Aided Engineering: CAE provides students with access to a broad range of computing systems and software applications. UNIX, Windows and printing systems are available for student use through the CAE instructional network.

Industrial and Systems Engineering graduate students also have access to campus-wide computing facilities in the department's research laboratories. Many microcomputing facilities are also available.