The mission of the program in industrial and systems engineering is
to provide high-quality education to graduate students, to conduct
research, often in collaboration with industry and other disciplines,
and to advance the state of knowledge and practice in our field.
The program aims to ensure that each
student is educated in mathematical and scientific principles and at
the same time is able to implement these principles to solve relevant
engineering problems in industry and the public sector.
For
doctoral students, we provide specialized training to prepare students
to become independent researchers and leaders in both the academic and
industrial communities.
The program focuses its research in
areas of critical importance to national competitiveness and
productivity: systems engineering; production and manufacturing; quality
and reliability engineering; supply chain and logistics; and information technology.
Both the curriculum and laboratories are designed to support these
research foci.
Research
is being conducted in many exciting areas. In aviation, for
example, faculty members are involved in risk analysis of
new technologies, hazard analysis of unmanned aircraft, scheduling of
aircraft for entry in
the oceanic airspace, and collision risk models under different
separation standards. Using simulation, analytic tools, and
mathematical modeling, projects are in
progress in the areas of port operations and security, production
systems performance, client-server computer
networks, health care delivery systems, and intelligent
transportation systems. Research is being performed using data
mining to understand brain function and perhaps lead to a mechanism for
seizure control.
In manufacturing
engineering, faculty members investigate problems in process
validation, computer-integrated manufacturing, automation, real-time
machine control, and manufacturing processes such as laser
micromachining, layered manufacturing, and
the design of lightweight, high-strength folded material for different
applications.
In quality and reliability engineering, research
is conducted on real-time process control, quality improvement through
designed experiments, multivariate statistical models, data mining, stochastic
control, reliability optimization, component and systems reliability,
accelerated life testing, design of test plans, software reliability,
data acquisition and analysis, maintenance models, and warranty
estimation.
In logistics and information technology,
faculty focus on supply chain logistics, inventory control issues,
forecasting, material-flow control issues, and middleware systems for transaction
processing.
Industrial and systems engineering offers programs
leading to the master of science (M.S.) and doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees. The Ph.D. degree requires 48
credits of coursework beyond the bachelor of science (B.S.) degree and 24 credits in research,
a written qualifying examination, an oral examination, and the
dissertation defense.
The M.S. degree requires 30 credits of
coursework beyond the B.S. degree. Students who choose to write a
thesis enroll for 24 credits of coursework and 6 credits of research. In the nonthesis option, students are required to
present a project to the faculty. There are three concentrations for the M.S. degree. The
industrial and systems engineering option requires core courses in
production, stochastic, and deterministic models, simulation, and
statistical analysis, and the opportunity to choose electives in
related fields such as statistics, mechanical and electrical
engineering, computer science, and operations research. The quality and
reliability engineering option, offered in cooperation with the
statistics department, includes courses in process control, design of
experiments, quality management, and reliability. The manufacturing
systems engineering option includes courses in automation, computer
integrated manufacturing and design, manufacturing processes, and
control.
Extensive research facilities are
available for student use in manufacturing automation, manufacturing
processing, microcomputer/multimedia, facilities design, quality and
reliability engineering, and microprocessors. Specialized equipment
includes a CNC machine, CAD facilities, and microcomputers; quality and reliability engineering metrology and life-testing
equipment; temperature chambers; a vibration unit; metal processing equipment; sheet-folding machines;
universal-testing machines; and high-impact testing machines and materials
handling.
To be admitted to the program, students must have
completed a degree in engineering or a related field and basic industrial
and systems engineering courses including four semesters of calculus; a
high-level computer language; deterministic methods in operations research; calculus-based probability; and
engineering economics. Students who are missing prerequisite courses
may be admitted to the graduate program and complete missing courses during their studies in the program.
Applicants are invited to contact the graduate director and visit the Graduate Handbook on our website http://ise.rutgers.edu.
