Industrial engineering students, faculty and staff recognized for achievements

4/13/2015

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State student chapter of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) held its annual Industrial Engineering Banquet on April 10 to recognize and honor the outstanding achievements of the students, faculty and staff of the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering.

Clark J. Ponthier, vice president of operations and integrated supply chain at Ingersoll Rand, served as the keynote speaker at the event. Harriet Black Nembhard, professor and interim head of the Marcus department, presided over the evening that also featured the presentation of departmental awards.

Junior Malorie Feidner and senior Elizabeth Walsh were named the co-recipients of the Wilbur L. and Judy L. Meier Award in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (IME). This award honors students whose outstanding qualities of character, scholarship, leadership and citizenship have been directed into programs and services that have positively influenced fellow students and have contributed to the well-being of the College of Engineering and Penn State.

Feidner, a Schreyer Scholar, mentors incoming engineering students through the Women in Engineering Program. She is a participant in the Global Engineering Leadership Program and she also leads student tours and campus presentations as an Engineering Ambassador.

Walsh currently serves as a teaching intern for the Industrial Engineering 453: Simulation Modeling for Decision Support course. She assists students in completing homework and projects and provides assistance throughout the semester. She has served as service chair for both the Society of Women Engineers and the Phi Sigma Rho sorority.

Alpha Pi Mu, the honors society for industrial engineering, presented its Outstanding Senior Award to Jamie Sweeney for her scholastic achievement and dedication to integrity, leadership and character. In addition to her successes in the classroom, Sweeney serves as president of the student chapter of IIE and is active in the college as a Career Envoy mentor as well as a mentor for the Women in Engineering Program.

Sweeney, a Schreyer Scholar, also received the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Supply Chain Excellence Award, which honors the most outstanding graduating student. This award entitles her to a tuition scholarship of $50,000 toward the Supply Chain Management Master’s Degree Program at MIT.

Senior Andrew Smiddy was named the recipient of the Alpha Pi Mu Robert D. Dryden Service Scholarship. As president of Alpha Pi Mu, he helped grow the organization from eight members to 23 and is very active in promoting the group’s activities. This highly competitive scholarship recognizes the applicant who best summarizes, in a required essay, how he/she served IIE, the society and his/her industrial engineering program through leadership, mentoring, recruitment or retention activities.

Smiddy was also awarded the Jacki Livella/IIE Award for Service to the IME department. In addition to heading Alpha Pi Mu, he is the vice president and corporate chair of the student chapter of IIE. As corporate chair, he coordinated with more than 500 students and 33 employers in organizing the Industrial Engineering Career Fair in the fall.

Senior Natalie Guarino was presented with the Phillip Seville Outstanding Community Service Award in honor of her outstanding commitment and contribution to the community. Guarino has been a volunteer leader at the Habitat for Humanity of Greater Centre County and ReStore for the past two years. She was chosen as a collegiate challenge leader this spring when she inspired a group of 13 other Penn State students to help provide assistance in the poor community of Dickinson, Texas. Additionally, Guarino has helped organize the State Day of Service at Penn State and the THAW Festival in State College.

Paul C. Lynch, lecturer and academic adviser, was honored with the Outstanding Faculty Award in recognition of his extraordinary dedication and passion to teaching his students. He was selected as this year’s recipient by undergraduate student nominations and IIE officers.

The Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award was presented to Jasmin Jiang for her contributions and commitment to assisting industrial engineering students in the classroom and labs. Jiang was selected as the recipient based on student evaluations and by faculty and student nominations.

The Outstanding Staff/Technician Award was presented to Lisa Fuoss, the department’s graduate staff assistant, in recognition of her exceptional service to the Marcus department. Fuoss was selected for exhibiting professionalism, initiative, leadership, self-improvement and volunteerism in her position.

The IIE student chapter and the Marcus department also hosted the annual Penn State Industrial Engineering Family Day on April 11. The event featured tours of the Leonhard Building and the Factory for Advanced Manufacturing Education lab, a student/alumni/faculty panel discussion and a poster competition during which all industrial engineering students had the opportunity to showcase their work.

The winners of the department’s poster competition were: Jay (Jae Hyun) Cho (doctoral), Suppawong Tuarob (master’s) and Mal Feidner and Matthew Gorka (undergraduate).

Ingersoll Rand served as the sponsor for both the banquet and the family day festivities.