IME department honors students, faculty and staff at annual banquet

4/13/2016

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State student chapter of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) and the Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (IME) hosted the annual Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Banquet on April 8 at the Atherton Hotel. Students, faculty and staff were recognized and honored for their achievements throughout the 2015-16 academic year.

Janis Terpenny, Peter and Angela Dal Pezzo Chair and Head of the Marcus department, gave the opening remarks and Clark J. Ponthier, vice president of operations and integrated supply chain at Ingersoll Rand, was the keynote speaker at the banquet for the second year in a row.

Ingersoll Rand also served as the sponsor for the event while the IISE officers presented most of the evening’s awards.

Jasmine Bowen, a senior industrial engineering student, received the first award of the night, the Phillip Seville Outstanding Community Service Award. The award was created to honor students’ commitments and contributions to community service in direct response to social needs. Bowen was chosen for the award because of her dedication to cultural inclusion at Penn State. She is the president of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, chair of the College of Engineering Diversity Roundtable and a mentor for both the Women in Engineering and Multicultural Engineering Programs.

The Jackie Livella/IISE Award for Service to the IME department award was presented to junior James “Wes” Dickson. Dickson has demonstrated a commitment to promoting industrial engineering and was celebrated for his leadership and involvement in IISE as well as his role as a research and teaching assistant.

Katherine Nowadly, a senior industrial engineering student minoring in supply chain and information sciences and technology, was honored with the Massachusettes Institute of Technology (MIT) Supply Chain Excellence Award. This award is presented to the most outstanding graduating senior in the industrial engineering major. It entitles Nowadly to a $10,000 scholarship towards the Supply Chain Management master’s program at MIT.

“I am very grateful for the MIT scholarship,” said Nowaldy. ”Because of this scholarship, I will be able to pursue my interest in supply chain at a graduate level, and I look forward to enhancing the skills I have learned throughout my time at Penn State.”

Industrial engineering juniors and seniors selected Gordon Pang, assistant professor, to receive the Outstanding Faculty Award. Pang, who has been on the faculty at Penn State since 2010, teaches a variety of courses within industrial engineering as well as mathematics. He was chosen for the award because of his extraordinary dedication and passion to teaching and his students.

Travis Richner was presented with the Outstanding Staff/Technician Award for his professionalism, initiative, leadership, commitment to self-improvement and volunteerism. This award is presented to an administrative or technical support employee who has provided exceptional service on behalf of the Marcus department, and ultimately of Penn State. Richner is a technician in the department’s state-of-the-art Factory for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME).

The Outstanding Teaching Assistant (T.A.) Award was presented to Laura Ventura, the T.A. for I E 425: Stochastic Models in Operations Research. This award is presented to a T.A. who shows extraordinary dedication and passion for their profession and students. Ventura was selected for the award based on student evaluations — in which she was called a “lifesaver” and a “hero” — and by faculty nominations.

“I enjoy the process of helping students understand the material and encouraging them to practice the methods taught,” Ventura said. “I have always deeply enjoyed learning especially when taught by excellent teachers so I always try to emulate them. To know that I may have already impacted students in a positive way means a lot because they have tremendous potential to achieve great things.”

The Penn State Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Society (PSIMES) Faculty Appreciation Award was presented to Jeya Chandra, professor and interim graduate program coordinator. Chandra was chosen by the PSIMES Board of Directors for the impact he has had on the careers of graduates of the industrial engineering program.

Lauren Knobloch was named with winner of the final award of the night, the PSIMES Graduate of the Last Decade (GOLD) Award. The GOLD Award is presented to an outstanding industrial engineering alum at the outset of his or her career. Knobloch graduated with her B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Penn State in 2011 and received her M.S. in Engineering Management in 2015. She has demonstrated outstanding technical and leadership excellence in her position at SpaceX while showing tremendous potential for continued career success.

The banquet was the lead into the Marcus department’s 2016 Family Day, which was held on April 9. Parents of junior and senior industrial engineering students were given tours of the department facilities and FAME, and also participated in a discussion featuring a panel of IME alumni, current students and faculty.

Photos from the weekend can be viewed on the College of Engineering’s Flickr page.