IISE Data analytics & information systems (dais) student Mobile/Web App Competition

The Data Analytics and Information Systems (DAIS) Division of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) announces the IISE DAIS Mobile/Web App Competition to recognize creativity and excellence among its members and motivate them to translate or commercialize their research and learning outcomes to accelerate economic and societal benefits.

Scope of Mobile/Web App

Mobile/web apps based on concepts, principles, techniques, or applications related to the field of industrial and systems engineering will be accepted. Mobile/web apps that can effectively demonstrate the subfields related to data analytics and information systems are encouraged.

Eligibility of Participants

  • A team can consist of a maximum of five members (1~4 student members and 1~2 faculty advisors).
  • Student members can be undergraduate or graduate students from higher education institutes in industrial & systems engineering (or related fields).
  • Student members should be enrolled at the time of submission of the proposal.
  • At least one of the students must be a member of IISE/DAIS. Information to join DAIS is accessible by reaching out to the DAIS competition organizing chairs.

Competition Process

  • Proposal Submission: Teams must submit a proposal (no more than 2 pages) describing their mobile/web app via email with the subject "DAIS Mobile/Web App Competition" to the chairs of the competition steering committee by Dec. 19, 2025. The proposal should include: (1) a clear statement outlining the need for the mobile/web app and its intended goals, (2) a detailed list of the app’s features, and (3) an identification of the target markets and communities.
  • Mobile/web app submission: Teams must submit (1) a demonstration video of their mobile/web app, (2) an user manual document that describes the features and functionalities from a user’s perspective (1000 world or less) (3) a software design document that outlines a software project's architecture, specifications, and technical details, serving as a guide for the development team and other stakeholders (no more than 10 pages), (4) a document that states the real-world technology translation/deployment plan and the anticipated impacts to the target markets and communities (no more than 2 pages), via email to the chairs of the competition steering committee by Mar. 6, 2026. The competition committee will evaluate the submissions and select a maximum of four teams as finalists. (During this phase, a team may request technical resources to be made available by the competition committee. Resources will consist of office hours by appointment or online repositories,any resource granted will be equally accessible to all teams.)
  • Oral presentation: The finalist teams will attend the IISE Annual Conference & Expo 2026 to present their mobile/web app. The presentation will include (1) a demonstration of the prototype; (2) technical detail overview of the mobile/web app, and (3) a business and community-oriented development plan (including technology deployment and pilot study) to further justify the translation potential for their mobile/web app.

Evaluation Process

Each team will be evaluated by the following criteria:

  • Real-world Impact
  • Technology originality
  • Software development details of their mobile/web app
  • Translation (implementation, integration, and business) plan for their mobile/web app
  • Demonstration of the prototype

Important Dates (Deadlines)

  • December 20, 2025: Deadline for proposal submission
  • December 23, 2025: Notification of proposal acceptance
  • March 6, 2026: Deadline for submission of prototype mobile/web app and documents
  • March 13, 2026: Notification to finalist teams.
  • May 16 - June 3, 2026: Oral presentations of finalist teams at the 2025 IISE Annual Conference & Expo in Atlanta, GA

Recognition

  • Recognition at the DAIS Town Hall Meeting at Annual Conference
  • Recognition in ISE magazine
  • Recognition on DAIS webpage and in the newsletter

Competition Steering Committee Chairs

Nan Kong, Purdue University
Xueping Li, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
RJ Morrison, Bell Electrical

For more information, please contact Amy Straub.

Conflict of Interest Policy

Societies and divisions must follow standard conflict of interest guidelines. Those guidelines include, but are not limited to:

  • Officers and Board members of the Division should be ineligible for awards during the period of their service, without approval by the Senior VP for Technical Operations (SVP). Exceptions may only be made by the SVP when awards are time sensitive, and the impacted board member(s) or officer(s) must recuse themselves from the award process. For awards that are not time-sensitive, the nominee should wait until their Officer or Board service is complete to be nominated.
  • The awards committee (or judging committee) should not include members who have either a personal or professional relationship with the nominees. For example, a faculty member should not be judging a paper competition where a participant from the same university is a nominee for best paper award.
  • The awards committee (or judging committee) should actively change its membership on a rotating basis from year to year to ensure fairness, equity, and diversity. That is, some members of the judging committee should roll off the committee and new members should roll on.

2025 Winners

1st Place

Richard "RJ" Morrison and Hyeong Suk Na
University of Missouri

2024 Winners

1st Place

Angineh Keshishian, Xiaoyu (Lareina) Liu, Lingchao Mao, Wenting Zheng
University of Pennsylvania

Aliza Sharmin, Jose Tupayachi, Xudong Wang, Xueping Li, and Victoria Niederhouser
University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Past Winners

DAIS Division page 

SHARE