
66 ISE Magazine | www.iise.org/ISEmagazine
How did you begin in industrial and systems
engineering?
I had the good fortune of being at Stanford University in
the mid-1960s. They had a very interesting IE program at that
school, and that’s why the Air Force sent me there for a master’s
degree in industrial engineering. I met many faculty members
and they introduced me to the local Peninsula Chapter of, at
that time, AIIE. And so I became acquainted with a number of
folks that were involved in the profession, it intrigued me, and so
I joined in 1965. I quickly became involved in chapter activities
and in putting on the annual conference. So that was a good
way to become very involved in a hurry. I stayed very involved
with the chapter.
My Air Force assignment took me very close to Stanford
at the Lockheed Missiles and Space Company, where the Air
Force assigned me to the plant representative office. I was in
charge of the industrial engineering branch of the production
division making Agena satellites. So right away I had involve-
ment in local activities of the chapter from a perspective other
than being a student. Because of that, a number of us got
together and formed the aerospace division of AIIE. We became
a very active division as the aerospace industry was booming
and industrial engineering was a substantial contributor.
How did you become executive director?
Toward the end of a tour at the Pentagon, AIIE at that time
happened to be undergoing a search for a new executive
director. One of my good friends from the aerospace division
was on the search committee and asked me if I was interested
and I said, “No, not really. I’m not planning to retire from the Air
Force quite yet.” And he thanked me and he came back to me
shortly afterward and said, “I really think you ought to apply for
the AIIE executive director job.” We chatted about it a while and I
thought at least I can see what the civilian world is like in the
search process, having never gone through that.
To make a long story short, at the annual meeting in May of
1976, I was interviewed by the president and several senior AIIE
leaders and offered the job. I said, “I really need a little more
time, I’m in a very opportune position in the Air Force and
perhaps this isn’t the right time.” They said, “OK we understand,
a big decision for you. How about taking a week and consid-
ering it?” During that week I talked to numerous senior officers in
the Pentagon where I was working and made up my mind to go
ahead and take the job.
We had never been to Atlanta. We didn’t really know how
With David L. Belden
What’s
Your
Story?
David L. Belden, PE, served as the executive director of
the American Institute of Industrial Engineers (now
IISE) from 1976-1987. Under his leadership, the Insti-
tute grew its membership and and in 1981 transitioned
into the Institute of Industrial Engineers to reflect its
growing international influence. He then served as the
executive director of the American Society of Mech-
anical Engineers (1987-2002) and the United Engin-
eering Foundation (2002-2015). A retired colonel in the
U.S. Air Force, Belden served for 22 years in a variety of
acquisition management positions including the Pent-
agon office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force
and the Air Force representative office at the Lockheed
Missiles and Space Co. He also served as the Executive
Offi-cer of the 553rd Reconnaissance Sq. in Thailand.
His teaching experience includes graduate level
courses in operations and materials management at
the Air Force Institute of Technology and George
Washington University. He earned his doctorate and
master's degrees in industrial engineering from
Stanford University and an honorary doctorate from
Manhattan College. Belden joined AIIE in 1965 and
held several chapter and division leadership positions,
and was a frequent conference presenter as well as a
registered professional engineer. He recently took part
in IISE's 75th anniversary celebration by sharing his
thoughts on the Institute's history in an episode of
Problem Solved: The IISE Podcast (link.iise.org/
podcast_s4e16) and a video on the IISE YouTube
channel at youtube.com/iisechannel.
Everything has complexities that need
to be optimized and the industrial and
systems engineer has the opportunity.