Problem Solved: The IISE Podcast

In this episode of "Problem Solved," IISE's David Brandt chats with Elizabeth Gentry, Ph. D. from the University of Louisville and James Swisher of Hawkeye Business Solutions about technical communications. They discuss the many ways in which engineers need to practice their communications skills in working with both fellow engineers and non-engineers. Our guests have both highs and (sort of funny...

Stefan Enjem explains how ISE and Toyota tools – along with discriminating taste buds that desire delicious, gluten-free and low-sugar refreshment, have built a house of cider in Long Beach, California, one that has been able to withstand a pandemic that struck a month and a half after opening. This episode is sponsored by University of Louisville Online Learning.

ISE faculty members Kim LaScola Needy and Manuel D. Rossetti from the University of Arkansas and Eileen Van Aken from Virginia Tech discuss how instructors and students adjusted to remote learning challenges during the pandemic shutdown last spring, along with the innovative lessons they are applying to the start of the fall semester. This episode is sponsored by the University of Louisville Onlin...

Learn more about IISE's Emerging Technology Forum Season 2 premiere of "Problem Solved: The IISE Podcast." Learn more about IISE's Emerging Technology Forum

News reports have shared images and stories of the hardships endured by healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic, many working long hours to serve seriously ill patients amid shortages of equipment and protective gear. In this bonus episode of Problem Solved, we discuss these challenges with Lynda Enos, a certified ergonomics and human factors consultant with HumanFit who specializes...

In this bonus episode of "Problem Solved," we play interviews with healthcare engineers from May 2020 who have insight about how health systems are managing and operating through the COVID-19 crisis. We first chat with Amanda Mewborn, vice president of facility planning and development at Navicent Health in Macon, Georgia, about her experience on the frontlines of patient care during the pandemic....

Sponsored by the University of Louisville: Cybersecurity is an ongoing challenge across all industries and sectors, public and private. In an era of expanding technology, how can data be safeguarded? In an election year, in particular, secure voting is a key concern. Natalie Scala, an associate professor at Towson University, has conducted research in decision analysis in areas that include electi...

Sponsored by the University of Louisville: A more diverse workforce can and should include people with cognitive disabilities who have the skills and desire to contribute in many fields. Georgia Tech graduates Conner Reinhardt and Jhillika Kumar approached this problem by founding a startup company called Mentra (https://www.mentra.me/). They are designing an app to help autistic individuals find...

Sponsored by the University of Louisville: Remember when a call from jail sparked an ISE project assigning inmates to various facilities in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections? And how that led to a startup company? Probably not, but Professor Tamás Terlaky of Lehigh University does. He and two of his former students, Dr. Mohammad Shahabsafa and Anshul Sharma, talk about how considering all...

Sponsored by the University of Louisville: There's a little engineer inside all of us, according to Tina Agustiady. But as it turns out, her son - a first-grader - is already an engineer himself. It must run in the genes. As part of a career day event for her son's elementary school class, Agustiady gave a presentation that left the entire class wanting to become engineers, too. Inspired to become...

"Problem Solved" is live at the Healthcare Systems Process Improvement Conference 2020 at the Hyatt Regency Savannah in Savannah, Georgia, sponsored by the Society for Health Systems. We're talking to attendees, speakers and other participants about their conference experience using three simple questions: Who are you? Why are you attending this conference? And what will be the focus of healthcare...

"Problem Solved" is live at the Healthcare Systems Process Improvement Conference 2020 at the Hyatt Regency Savannah in Savannah, Georgia, sponsored by the Society for Health Systems. We're talking to attendees, speakers and other participants about their conference experience using three simple questions: Who are you? Why are you attending this conference? And what will be the focus of healthcare...

"Problem Solved" is live at the Healthcare Systems Process Improvement Conference 2020 at the Hyatt Regency Savannah in Savannah, Georgia, sponsored by the Society for Health Systems. We're talking to attendees, speakers and other participants about their conference experience using three simple questions: Who are you? Why are you attending this conference? And what will be the focus of healthcare...

"Problem Solved" is live at the Healthcare Systems Process Improvement Conference 2020 at the Hyatt Regency Savannah in Savannah, Georgia, sponsored by the Society for Health Systems. We're talking to attendees, speakers and other participants about their conference experience using three simple questions: Who are you? Why are you attending this conference? And what will be the focus of healthcare...

"Problem Solved" is live at the Healthcare Systems Process Improvement Conference 2020 at the Hyatt Regency Savannah in Savannah, Georgia, sponsored by the Society for Health Systems. We're talking to attendees, speakers and other participants about their conference experience using three simple questions: Who are you? Why are you attending this conference? And what will be the focus of healthcare...

"Problem Solved" is live at the Healthcare Systems Process Improvement Conference 2020 at the Hyatt Regency Savannah in Savannah, Georgia, sponsored by the Society for Health Systems. We're talking to attendees, speakers and other participants about their conference experience using three simple questions: Who are you? Why are you attending this conference? And what will be the focus of healthcare...

She had her eyes on a career as an industrial engineer ... until a human factors class at Clemson University opened her eyes to the world of ergonomics. Bobbie Watts, Ph. D., CPE, the director of ergonomics for Michelin Americas, has more than 20 years of experience in industrial engineering, ergonomics and human factors. In this episode of "Problem Solved," Michael Hughes talks to Watts about her...

"Take one breath." That's the advice from Ashley Benedict, Ph. D. for anyone who wants to take the first step toward change. In 2019, she got a chance to participate in an eight-week mind-body class through her work at the VISN 8: VA Sunshine Healthcare Network, and it changed her perspective on how taking time to focus inward can impact the outward work. In this episode of "Problem Solved," Bened...

IISE is marking its first 5,000 downloads with an episode that digs behind the scenes both "Problem Solved: The IISE Podcast" and ISE magazine. In this episode, David Brandt sits down with fellow IISE staff members Keith Albertson and Michael Hughes to discuss their shared professional backgrounds in journalism, their transition from newspapers to writing and reporting for IISE's communications de...

Hailing from Brittany in France, Johanna Ficatier’s career has landed her in cultures as diverse as Japan and Rochester, Minnesota. In this episode of "Problem Solved," the Mayo Clinic Senior Health Systems Engineer describes how the joy she gets from engineering interventions that help patients and doctors has her aiming to stay in healthcare at Mayo – which has more than seven decades of using e...

In this episode of "Problem Solved," Betsy Plattenburg, executive director of Curiosity Lab, discusses the smart city test environment created in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, near Atlanta. She describes the autonomous vehicle tests at Curiosity Lab plus other smart city technology and challenges in a conversation with Managing Editor Keith Albertson. Look for more on smart cities and Curiosity Lab...

In making a better world, Artificial Intelligence will be your cognitive partner, not your robot overlord, IBM’s Ben Amaba and Binghamton University’s Michael Testani tell us in this episode of “Problem Solved.” ISEs skilled in handling inventory and integrating systems can translate those talents and human factors knowledge to collecting, storing, analyzing and presenting data – all while skyrock...

The fabled 20-8-2 rule for office workers (sit 20 minutes, stand 8 minutes, walk 2 minutes) has real-world validity, according to Mark Benden, director of Texas A&M’s Ergonomics Center, in this latest episode of "Problem Solved." But keeping your workforce – whether office-bound, at home or in a factory – healthy, happy and productive involves a systematic combination of human, equipment and t...

Caitlin Kenney and Amy Greer are professional engineers who volunteer with NCEES to promote licensure for industrial and systems engineering. In this episode of #ProblemSolved, this PE duo talks to IISE's David Brandt about the career advantages and realities that engineers can discover in the pursuit of earning their PE license. They also discuss their personal experiences in how earning the "PE"...

Everyone walks a different career path, but the road is full of opportunities that are yours for the taking. It's just a matter of taking one step at a time. That's the initial advice from Carl Kirpes, who works in Crude Oil Strategy & Analysis for Marathon Petroleum Corp. and also serves as senior vice president, industry, for the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers. In this episode...