64 ISE Magazine | www.iise.org/ISEmagazine
with Alice E. Smith
Alice E. Smith is the Joe W. Forehand/Accenture
Distinguished Professor of industrial and
systems engineering and joint appointment
professor of computer science and software
engineering at Auburn University. Her recent
book, Women in Industrial and Systems
Engineering, published by Springer, includes
contributions from female engineers across
the globe. She was recognized with an Auburn
Author award honoring faculty members’ literary
efforts. Smith previously served on the faculty at
the University of Pittsburgh from 1991-99 and
holds degrees from Rice University, Saint Louis
University and Missouri University of Science
and Technology. Her research focus is analysis,
modeling and optimization of complex systems
with emphasis on computation inspired by
natural systems. Smith is an editor for several
research journals and a principal investigator on
over $9 million of sponsored research. She is
an IISE Fellow, a senior member of the Society
of Women Engineers, a registered professional
engineer and a four-time Fulbright Scholar.
What’s
Your
Story?
What first inspired you to pursue industrial engineering
as a career?
As a high school student, I wanted to be an art major but my father persuaded me
that art was not going to lead to a good career. So I chose engineering which, to
my surprise, turned out to be very artful. I entered ISE after getting degrees in
civil engineering and business. (I blame this on my former universities, which did
not offer ISE.) But once I discovered ISE, I knew it was a perfect match. I love
math but science not so much. Therefore, I chose to focus more on analytics and
computation in ISE.
You’ve helped conduct research studies in both the public and
private sectors. What did you learn from each experience?
My sponsors have been diverse and reflect my status as a research omnivore, that is,
I am interested in investigating almost anything. I most like to formulate and solve
large-scale problems that have been simplified or overlooked in the past because
previous approaches could not deal with their complexities. These have ranged
from logistics (warehousing, facility design, container ports, last-mile delivery
drones) to manufacturing process control and optimization (ceramics, powder
metals, machining) to reliability (wired and wireless networks, component
assemblies). I am especially happy that my publications have been cited by many
thousands of other papers in a great variety of disciplines. This is proof to me that
my work has been of value to many research and practitioner communities. In fact,
one of my papers was recently cited in a psychology journal by an article addressing
how people read Shakespeare!
What led you to compile a book on women in ISE?
I was invited by the series editor and, at first, I said “no” because I already had
so many work commitments. But then I thought it would be an important
undertaking and I was as well connected with women in ISE research as anyone,
so I said yes.
The book opens with a profile of Lillian Gilbreth. How does
she continue to inspire female engineers?
My mother actually met Lillian Gilbreth as an undergraduate math major at
Purdue so I have only one degree of separation from our founding luminary!
Lillian Gilbreth truly did it all – groundbreaking work in industrial engineering,
being a single mother of a large family and serving throughout her adult life as an
advocate for both ISE and for women. Who could be more inspiring?
How did you find the various authors who contributed to the
book and what has been the reaction to it?
The chapters in the book were by invitation only. I started with a core of women
whom I knew were leading innovative and impactful research groups in a variety
of sub-disciplines of ISE. Some of those women, in turn, recommended others.
It grew to be the longest book of the series by far, which shows the amount of
research that ISE women are producing.
Both men and women have admired the importance and uniqueness of such a
book – both as a record of research excellence and as an inspiration for those girls
and women considering or beginning their ISE careers.
How can the book guide students toward an ISE career?
An important aspect of the book is the biography of each author which, along
June 2020 | ISE Magazine 65
with the traditional academic biography, includes how each
author entered STEM and decided to make their careers in
ISE research. These along with the interesting topics of the
chapters should spark interest by those considering a career
in ISE research.
Are you seeing greater interest from women
pursuing ISE careers at Auburn?
We have a large proportion of women undergraduate stu-
dents in Auburn ISE but still less than 50%. However, the
percentages reduce at the graduate level, especially for the
doctorate. This is true in most universities across the U.S. As
we graduate more women and they progress in their careers,
they become role models, which is very important for more
women to enter and stay in the field of ISE.
What is the key to steering more young
women into STEM fields?
If I knew the answer to this, I would have shared it long ago.
Engineering is the last profession to be strongly male-dom-
inated. I think we need to encourage all younger women
and girls to consider STEM and not be intimidated. They
do not have to be math wizards or science geeks to excel at
engineering and enjoy it as a career. My own daughter chose
her profession to help people as the primary goal. She found
that in ISE where she is now in charge of logistics for a ma-
jor hospital chain. This kind of fulfillment is key to today’s
young women (and men).
How has your IISE involvement helped you
reach your career goals?
I have embraced IISE for many years and strongly support
it. Serving twice on the board (senior vice president for aca-
demics and publications) has been particularly rewarding.
The best part has been interacting with the dedicated team
of IISE member volunteers and IISE staff who work so hard
to make our profession the best it can be.
– Interview by Keith Albertson
Alice E. Smith’s book Women in Industrial and Systems
Engineering: Key Advances and Perspectives on Emerging
Topics includes contributions from 60 female leaders in
industrial and systems engineering in academia, industry
and government fields. Published by Springer as part of
its “Women in Engineering and Science” series, it offers a
comprehensive overview of the impact women have made
in ISE on a wide range of topics. “The breadth and depth of
the topics demonstrate the widespread impact that women
are making on solving the important problems of today,”
Smith writes.
Sections feature articles on analytics, education,
health, logistics and production from women who share
both their expertise and their motivations for entering the
field and how they view their contributions while providing inspiration and guidance to others who
enter industrial engineering. Individual topics include data analysis, modeling and simulation, hospital
patient care, supply chain, transportation and sustainability.
In her foreword, Sanford University professor of engineering and medicine Margaret L. Brandeau
wrote, “The field of industrial engineering has been greatly enriched by the contributions of women. Women bring a diversity
of experiences and viewpoints and, often, creative new ways of solving problems. I hope that many more amazing women will
contribute to solving the important problems of the future – and help us determine how best to organize people, money and
material to produce and distribute goods and services in our changing world.”
Included are contributions from several IISE members as well as a biography of industrial engineering and IISE pioneer Lillian
Moller Gilbreth by Jill S. Tietjen.
“This is an excellent book that provides a broader picture of my research work and helps me to gain a better understanding of
engineering,” wrote Manfei Xie, an ISE first-year Ph.D. student at Virginia Tech. “Science has no gender limits and boundaries. It
is so exciting to see the women contributing to various ISE-related areas. Their amazing work really motivates me to try harder and
go beyond myself. I wish I can also become a professor and contribute to the field in the near future.”
Book chronicles ISE contributions by women
