Alumni Win Awards at Americold

 Umit Sarilar and Sarah Moore, recent IMSE grads, were awarded Experienced Industrial Engineer 2016 and Industrial Engineer Tech 2016.

Both of the students gained experience through their Capstone Class and Senior Design Project.
“It was a great year for UTA graduates in Americold and I wanted to say thank you again for helping me to initiate that senior design project last year.” Umit Sarilar
Congratulations to you both!

Seminar Series: Guest Speaker Thursday 3/30

Dr.  Caroline Krejci from the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering at Iowa State University will present a Seminar this Thursday, March 30, at 1:30pm in the Engineering Research Building (ERB) 228.  Dr. Krejci’s presentation title, abstract, and biographical sketch are below.

All students and faculty are encouraged to attend.

Author: Dr. Caroline Krejci
Title: Evaluating Sociotechnical Systems Using Agent-Based Modeling
Location: Engineering Research Building (ERB) 228
Date: Thursday, March 30
Time: 1:30pm – 2:50pm

Abstract: Mathematical modeling is often used to optimize or gain a better understanding of the behavior of sociotechnical systems (e.g., supply chains, production systems).  However, such models typically ignore or make unrealistic assumptions about the behavior of a system’s human participants, which can limit model validity.  By contrast, agent-based modeling (ABM) is a computational modeling method that allows the human actors and/or organizations in sociotechnical systems to be modeled as autonomous and intelligent agents.  These agents can be programmed with empirically valid human characteristics and capabilities, including bounded rationality, social skills, and the ability to adapt and learn from accumulated experience and system feedback.  Over time, individual agent decisions, interactions, and adaptations may yield emergent system-level behaviors of interest, which are observable via ABM outputs.  ABM can also be combined with other modeling methods, such as discrete-event simulation, GIS, and building energy simulators.  These hybrid simulation models enable the integration of a variety of useful nonsocial system properties (e.g., queueing behavior) into an ABM.

This presentation will describe several novel approaches to sociotechnical system modeling using ABM and hybrid simulation.  The attributes, preferences, and decision-making processes of the agents in these models are empirically informed, using data that was collected via interviews, surveys, and experiments.  The resulting models have been used to provide strategic decision support to participants and stakeholders in regional food supply chains, humanitarian relief chains, urban communities, and production systems.

Biographical Sketch: Dr. Caroline Krejci is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering at Iowa State University.  She worked as an industrial engineer for UPS and as an operations engineer for Lutron Electronics before earning a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Washington in 2013.  Dr. Krejci’s research interests are focused on the development of quantitative methodologies for the analysis and management of sociotechnical systems.  She specializes in modeling supply networks as complex adaptive systems, which enables the realistic representation of network participants as autonomous and heterogeneous agents that are capable of complex planning, decision making, interactions, and adaptations in a dynamic environment.  Such complex systems often exhibit unpredictable and nonlinear behavior, which can be captured through the use of agent-based modeling techniques.  Dr. Krejci is particularly interested in using these techniques to explore the implications of different management policies on long-term social, environmental, and economic system sustainability.

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Dr. Yuan Zhou is joining the IMSE team

IMSE has been very fortunate to attract another new faculty member to our team this fall. Dr. Zhou earned her doctorate degree and masters degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from The State University of New York in Buffalo, New York. She also earned a masters degree in Business Administration from La Sierra university in Riverside, California, and a bachelors in Mechanical and Electronic Engineering from the Beijing Institute of Technology in Beijing, China. Her research focus in in healthcare engineering where she looked at studying infectious disease transmission using a Agent-Based Simulation Modeling approach. Dr. Zhou has also worked in health data analytics with a focus on quality improvement and patient care.Yuan's Photo

Dr. Jaime Cantu is joining the IMSE team

We’re very excited to announce that Dr. Jaime Cantu will be joining us this fall semester. Dr. Cantu earned his doctorate and Master of Systems Engineering from Texas Tech University. His research focuses on comprehensive systems modeling which he applies to cotton futures, the cyclicality of cotton pricing, and most recently to healthcare organizations. He is completing a postdoctoral research project with B&W Pantex and Texas Tech University as a result of a Department of Energy grant.

Dr.Jaime

Summer Quality Improvement and Patient Care Boot Camp

This summer the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) partnered with the University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center to offer a summer Quality Improvement and Patient Care Boot Camp. In included 55 UTA engineering and nursing students along with UTSW medical students. The course was a 40-hour intensive training session on Quality Improvement tools followed by e-week live projects at UTSW Medical Center and Parkland Hospital. The projects were lead by the medical faculty and researchers from multiple departments and are part of a long term effort to improve the cost-effectiveness of medical services in the DFW area.

 

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Senior Design Capstone Presentations: Fall 2015

At the end of every semester, the Senior Design Capstone class presents their semester-long projects.

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This semester’s projects included:

Allflex: Waste Time Reduction

Self-Sustaining Organic Gardening System

Triumph Aerostructures: Consolidated Business Systems Toolkit

Universal Trucking Inc.: Making it Fit

Siemens: Kitting Area Optimization

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allflex
The Allflex team: Aaron Alagar and Lennett Cruz

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gardening
Self-Sustaining Organic Gardening System Team: (LtoR Gabriella Tchombe, Mitra SIngh, Suat Kucukay, and Murat Kucukay

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Triumph
The Triumph Aerostructures Team: April Shortt, Cailin Bertucci, Rania Malkawi and Yara Hussein

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Universal
The Universal Trucking Team: Stephen Holcomb, Justin Janiga, Khubaib Bari, and Davis Hoang

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The Siemens Team: Sabu Kandel, Sarmila Acharya, Priyadarsini Subramanian, Bryan Shiroma, and Quy Nguyen

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IE Senior Wins National Scholarship

Congratulations to one of our Industrial Engineering seniors, Khanh (Tyka) Do, for winning a national Tau Beta Pi scholarship.

For this honor, she was featured in the national Tau Beta Pi and IIE magazines.

K

Student Rooms Remodeled

IE Lab, Woolf Hall, room 400
A note from our Department Chair, Dr. Paul Componation:
The fall semester is just around the corner, and we’re ready for the students to once again fill the rooms of Woolf Hall.  Our returning students will see several changes in our department.
IE Lab, Woolf Hall, room 400
IE Lab, Woolf Hall, room 400

The industrial engineering computer lab, Woolf Hall 400, has been updated with brand new furniture to make it easier for student to study or just relax with your classmates.

IE Lab, Woolf Hall, room 400

IE Lab, Woolf Hall, room 400

IE Lab, Woolf Hall, room 400
IE Lab, Woolf Hall, room 400

Our Multi-Purpose room, Woolf Hall 425-A has also been converted to a student study room.  It’s right across the hall from the IIE store so you can pick up a quick snack while your working on class projects.

Multi-purpose Room, Woolf Hall, 425-A, University of Texas at Arlington
Multi-purpose Room, Woolf Hall, 425-A
We hope students enjoy the renovations and new furniture!
The faculty and staff are looking forward to seeing you all again soon.  Enjoy your summer and best of success with your studies this fall.
-Dr. Paul Componation

Dr. Li Zeng’s Last Day

Dr. Zeng's Last Day // Photo by: Cassandra Toney
(L to R) Dr. Componation, Dr. Ferreira, Dr. Rosenberger, and Dr. Zeng enjoy a farewell lunch for Dr. Zeng’s last day // Photo by: Cassandra Toney

After serving our department as an Assistant Professor for the past five years, Dr. Li Zeng will be leaving UT Arlington.  During her time at UT Arlington, she was very involved in COSMOS (Center on Stochastic Modeling, Optimization, and Statistics).  Her research focused on statistical modeling, applied statistics and analysis and control of complex manufacturing processes.  She also taught classes on Engineering Probability, Applied Regression Analysis, and Statistical Process Control.  We wish her all the best in her future endeavors and career.