Message from the Chair

I am honored to have become Chair of the Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering in July. The department recently marked its 75th anniversary since its formation. Over these 75 years, we have been fortunate to count many pioneers among the department faculty who have progressed the ISE profession with their research, including Gerald Nadler in System Design, Ralph Keeney in Decision Theory, and Richard Bellman in Dynamic Programming, to name a few. With this rich tradition, the USC Epstein ISE Department is looking forward to educating the next generation of thought leaders 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, enabling us to recruit the best faculty members our field has to offer, naming two Chair Professorships currently held by Jong-Shi Pang and Sheldon Ross, and to support our students in many ways -- some of which are described in these pages.

We invite you to explore some of our "greatest hits" during the past year, highlighted in this newsletter. Like USC as a whole, our commitment to excellence is evident in our state-of-the-art curriculum, distinguished faculty, and exceptional students. Please have a look and enjoy.

Maged Dessouky, Professor and Chair