ISE News and Events

William (Al) Wallace co-authored a recent article in the National Academy of Engineering magazine, “The Bridge”, on the ethical challenges inherent in the building and using of computational models.
ISE faculty Jennifer Pazour has been selected to receive the prestigious Dr. Hamed K. Eldin Outstanding Early Career IE in Academia Award.  This award recognizes individuals in academia who have demonstrated outstanding characteristics in education, leadership, professionalism and potential in industrial engineering. The award recognizes engineering contributions in application, design, research or development of IE methods by early career IISE members.  Dr.
There is inherent tension between meeting customer service expectation and minimizing inventory investment. ISE Emeritus Faculty Tom Willemain, also co-founder and Senior VP for Research at Smart Software, describes in his recent article in American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) magazine, the use of data to better characterize customer demand, and optimize the inventory management. Prof.
An invention "US 7177798 B2 Natural Language Interface Using Constrained Intermediate Dictionary of Results" by ISE professor, Cheng Hsu, and his former graduate student, Veera Boonjing, is at the center of a patent infringement case brought by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Marathon Patent Group over the technology used in the iPhone's Siri app. This case was settled in early June for $24.9M to be shared between Rensselaer and Marathon.
ISE Faculty Jennifer Pazour and co-authors Debjit Roy and Rene De Koster received an honorable mention designation in the IIE Transactions Focused Issue on Design and Manufacturing Best Applications Paper Award Competition for 2016. This award is selected by an examining committee from all papers published from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015, issues 46:7 through 47:6. The paper may be downloaded from IIE: Roy, Debjit, Jennifer A. Pazour, and René De Koster.

Institute News

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated inequities in urban freight and the delivery of goods. This misalignment in the supply chain is perpetuating food insecurity, especially in areas where grocery store access is limited or non-existent and for those who have limited access to e-commerce.
Heart disease and cancer are the leading causes of death in the United States, and it’s increasingly understood that they share common risk factors, including tobacco use, diet, blood pressure, and obesity. Thus, a diagnostic tool that could screen for cardiovascular disease while a patient is already being screened for cancer has the potential to expedite a diagnosis, accelerate treatment, and improve patient outcomes. 
The way that air moves over, around, or under an aircraft can greatly affect its aerodynamics. When air flow separates from the wings of a plane, for instance, the change in pressure on the vehicle can reduce pilot control or cause the aircraft to stall out. The development of more effective air flow control techniques depends on a better understanding of flow separation that occurs around aircraft of different shapes and sizes.
Fouling is a natural phenomenon that describes the tendency of proteins in water to adhere to nearby surfaces. It’s what causes unwanted deposits of protein to form during some food production or on biomedical implants, causing them to fail. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are harnessing this process, which is typically considered a persistent challenge, to develop a versatile and accessible approach for modifying solid surfaces.
The surface of a pristine, transparent freshwater lake may not reveal to ecologists the reality of what’s occurring in its depths. Evaluating the cumulative effects of climate change, pollutants, acidification, or invasive species requires more precise methods. But even the most dynamic and sensitive sensors commonly used today are not always able to tell researchers what they need to know.