Focus

Michael Foss
Global director of logistics, export and import optimization
Cameron International
Houston

It is a great honor to be nominated as a candidate for president-elect. I have enjoyed serving IIE in leadership roles since college up until the present time, now as senior vice president for regional operations on the board of trustees. The rewards have always outweighed the investment. IIE provides industrial engineers and business leaders a tremendous opportunity for continued education, professional development and networking. I offer my passion for continuous improvement, optimization, young professional membership growth and bringing visibility to the tremendous value industrial engineers bring to today’s ever-evolving business environment.

Jean Ann Larson
President and founder
Jean Ann Larson & Associates
Dallas

Since my university days, I have considered IIE my professional home, and the institute and the Society for Health Systems have always been my go-to resource. My objective as president-elect would be to highlight and build on the value that IIE brings to all industries and promote the ways that IEs everywhere can help improve processes, quality and safety. We should build upon IE strengths in historically strong industries and bring that respect and awareness into industries where we are less known. What we bring to the table is critical to helping solve so many problems we face in our businesses, communities and countries.

Scott J. Mason
Fluor Endowed Chair in Supply Chain Optimization and Logistics, professor of industrial engineering
Clemson University
Clemson, South Carolina

Lifelong learning is important to everyone. IIE is well-positioned to capitalize on its members’ attendance at and participation in conferences, short courses, societies, divisions and chapters. If elected, I will work closely with IIE to plan and promote effective continuing education opportunities. I served as co-program chair of the Industrial Engineering Research Conference for the 2008 IIE Annual Conference. This experience, coupled with my service in organizing other conferences, tracks and sessions, has prepared me for this role. Further, my prior work and current research projects and consulting engagements will help lend an informed, appropriate perspective to all of my IIE leadership efforts.

Young-Jun Son
Professor and head, Department of Systems and Industrial Engineering
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona

IIE is my home society, and it is imperative for us to continuously improve our knowledge of the latest trends, tools and techniques to maintain our leadership role in the era of complex socio-cyber-physical systems. If elected, I will work closely with IIE leadership, staff, industrial and academic volunteers to develop and provide a wide set of continuing education opportunities for all IIE members across the globe, helping them to be best prepared for a rapidly changing environment. In addition, I will do my best to be a great ambassador for industrial engineering, representing the breadth of IIE in all ways.

Tapas K. Das
Professor and chair, Industrial and Management Systems Engineering
University of South Florida
Tampa, Florida

As an academic and IIE fellow, this is the most fitting board position through which I can add core value for industrial engineers. Academic preparation of engineers is now measured by a broader set of metrics beyond curriculum, including leadership, communication, language skills, community engagement, global exposure and research. My goal will be to engage the board in a critical assessment of current status and development of specific opportunities for IIE’s contributions to student success in each of the above areas. Developing a strategic plan in concert with CIEADH (of which I am now chair-elect) would be an intended deliverable of my elected term.

Randa L. Shehab
Nettie Vincent Boggs Professor of Engineering
University of Oklahoma
Norman, Oklahoma

I have been committed to IIE throughout my education and career, and IIE has contributed to my professional growth since I served as a student chapter officer. In my current role as an IE academic and department head, my research and service focus on recruiting and retaining diverse engineering populations. I also have led our school assessment program since the significant reshaping of ABET 2000. Collectively, my scholarly and professional service activities have helped shape my perspective toward student motivation, engagement and learning, and I believe that I have had a strong influence toward building and strengthening the IE profession.

Christopher D. Geiger
Senior manager, business development and quality engineering
Universal Orlando Resort
Orlando, Florida

In my current role as the Southeast Regional vice president, our team has increased healthy region student chapters from 75 percent in 2013 to 88 percent in 2014, along with chartering a student chapter and reactivating a professional chapter. If elected, I will aim for three strategic initiatives: Maintain, establish or reactivate healthy student and professional chapters; add incentives for new college graduates to become more active in the institute; and further enhance the value and articulate the value proposition of IIE membership. Above all, I will support the regional operations board as it serves the regional and chapter leaders and members.

Daniel M. Thury
Manufacturing engineer
Andersen Corp.
Stillwater, Minnesota

My lengthy IIE involvement has brought real value to my career and has strengthened my professional network. If elected, I would continue to cultivate the relationship with the Young Professionals group, as I enjoy working with them. I look forward to working with the U.S. and international professional and academic regional vice presidents to continue to improve regional and chapter operations. It’s important to listen to members and yet-to-be-members to help develop initiatives that improve IIE. My current work leading the North Central Region leadership team has strengthened the value proposition of IIE membership and supported chapter operations and performance.

Lukasz Mazur
Assistant professor, School of Medicine – Radiation Oncology
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

My leadership engagement in IIE began in 2011 when I became director of the blog and content for the Society for Engineering and Management Systems. This has been an important experience for me, as it taught me the importance of voluntary work for the institute. I have offered my expertise and experiences from industry and academia to develop new ways, such as blogs and Web content, to promote the industrial engineering profession throughout the world. I will lead by example, and I will challenge my colleagues to do the innovative thinking necessary to provide the best value to our members in the upcoming years.

Gillian M. Nicholls
Assistant professor – quantitative methods, Department of Accounting
Southeast Missouri State University
Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Societies and divisions are a vital mechanism for supplying the focused content our members want. My active involvement since 1992, most recently at the technical division level, has provided a broad understanding of how the institute functions through volunteer leadership partnered with dedicated staff members. My service with the Engineering Economy division has shown me how the institute advances its membership value proposition through networking, continuing education and information about new developments in the profession. If elected, I will support the technical division leaders to advance services to the members, seek to increase continuing education offerings, and recruit members and volunteers to strengthen our institute.

MD Sarder
Buch Oustalet Distinguished Professor and associate director, Center for Logistics, Trade and Transportation
University of Southern Mississippi
Hattiesburg, Mississippi

My grassroots involvement with multiple IIE divisions puts me in a position to understand the needs of IIE societies and divisions. If elected, I will work with division and society leaders to make sure that the groups are high-performing and provide the best value to their members. I will help them create a body of knowledge, networking opportunities, recognition and educational programs. As a technical vice president, my focus will be on improving societies and divisions through innovative services, standardizing operations, sharing best practices, measuring the right performances, and providing necessary support to make them as effective and efficient as possible.