Origins of IISE

The original logo for AIIE

The logo for IIE

The logo for IISE

Founded in 1948, IISE is the only international, nonprofit, professional society dedicated to advancing the technical and managerial excellence of industrial engineers. The Institute is committed to provide the most timely information about the profession to its members, professionals who share industrial engineering concerns, businesses and industries that employ industrial engineers, and the general public.

IISE strives to provide full-value continuing education opportunities that enhance members capabilities to improve productivity and quality in the workplace while imaging the progressive contributions made by the profession. IISE also provides a number of products and services to aid in this endeavor, including professional trade books, periodicals, professional journals, conferences, seminars and workshops.

Industrial engineering is concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, material, information, equipment and energy. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skills in the mathematical, physical and social sciences, together with the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design to specify, predict and evaluate the results to be obtained from such systems.

Within a year of its inception, membership consisted of 1,279 members, including 938 students, two senior chapters and 10 university chapters. The first convention was held in June 1950 and has continued annually since that time. By 1958, membership had escalated to 6,500 members with 80 chapters and climbed to 12,000 by 1960.

The Journal of Industrial Engineering became a monthly publication in 1966, and two years later branched into AIIE Transactions and Industrial Engineering. In 1972 the headquarters moved from New York to Atlanta, Georgia, where it remains today.

Originally known in the U.S. as the American Institute of Industrial Engineers, the word American was dropped in 1981 to truly reflect the international origins of its growing membership base. At that time, the organization officially became the Institute of Industrial Engineers and Industrial Management magazine was added to the product line.

In 2016, the membership voted to change the name of the organization to the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers.

An integral part of IISE has been the recognition of outstanding students, academia and those in the business and industry sector. In 1956, the first Chapter Development Awards were given, followed a year later by the announcement of Graduate Students and Research Award Competition. The prestigious Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Award was bestowed upon the Gilbreths in 1962. Lillian Gilbreth's contributions to industrial engineering were recognized by the U.S. Postal Service through a commemorative stamp in 1984.

Currently, the Institute promotes more than 25 awards and scholarships to reward members, students and institutions for significant contributions to the profession.