Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

Fall 2016

Message from the Chair

An industrial and systems engineering education provides a fundamental base for success in a broad spectrum of career paths. The USC Epstein ISE Department offers a strong curriculum taught by world renowned and dedicated faculty members.

In 2002, we became the first named department at the University of Southern California - The Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. The founder and CEO of ConAm Management Corporation, Daniel Epstein, used his ISE education to become a leading real estate developer. Mr. Epstein donated $11 million to the department to enable us to recruit the best faculty members our field has to offer.. This year, we are pleased to have four new faculty colleagues join the USC Epstein Department family, including Shalini Gupta, lecturer; IBM Professor of Engineering Management Neil Siegel; Assistant Professor Meisam Razaviyayn; and Assistant Professor Sze-Chuan Suen.

We invite you to explore some of our "greatest hits" in recent memory, highlighted in this newsletter. Like USC as a whole, our commitment to excellence is evident in our state-of-the-art curriculum, distinguished faculty, promising students and imperative to stay on the cutting edge of science and technology. Please have a look and enjoy.

Julie Higle, Epstein ISE Department Chair

John Gunnar Carlsson has made a specialty of solving computationally tough questions using the power of math.

DISTINCTION

USC Viterbi Celebrates Career of Alumnus General Charles Bolden

Bolden has served as NASA Administrator since 2009 after appointment from President Obama.

ALUMNI

Leading the Way with USC NROTC

Tyler Borch, a senior in the ISE program, pursues his dream of becoming a naval officer, embarking on his fourth year in the USC Naval ROTC.

STUDENTS

Professor Behrokh Khoshnevis Wins NASA In-Situ Materials Challenge

Meet Behrokh Khoshnevis, the man designing robots to build colonies on Mars.

FACULTY

The Art and Science of Decisions

Professor Ali Abbas establishes DECIDE to promote a sound decision-making culture.

INNOVATION

Making Flat Things Grow

From paper airplanes to circuit boards, Associate Professor Yong Chen combines origami with 3-D printing.

INNOVATION

The Dunk or the Layup?

Graduating senior Xavier Hernandez's recent TEDx talk draws upon the lessons of a rural upbringing and the perils of selfishness.

STUDENTS

BBC: Five Transport Promises that Never Quite Changed the World

Jim Moore, director of the USC Viterbi Transportation Engineering Program, comments on five transportation moonshots that ultimately underdelivered.

FACULTY