Message from the Chair

I am honored to be Chair of the Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering.

The department's students, faculty and alumni have a rich tradition of making significant contributions to the profession and continue being recognized at the international level. A few noteworthy accomplishments during the past year include Professor Neil Siegel being elected Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors for his scientific contributions in systems engineering and management, Professor Carl Kesselman receiving the IEEE Goode Memorial Award for his pioneering work in grid computing, and alumnus Mr. Daniel Epstein being elected Fellow of IISE for his contributions to the practice of engineering management.

The USC student chapter of IISE played host for the organization's 2020 Western Regional Conference from February 28 - March 1. The conference featured 120 attendees from 12 universities, offering students the opportunity to network with key industry figures and to discuss industry trends. The banquet and awards ceremony featured alumnus Bill Jia, VP of Infrastructure at Facebook, as the keynote speaker. His presentation focused on the role of AI and analytics at Facebook.

We are pleased to announce one new faculty hire during the past year, Victoria Stodden, who joins us from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she was a tenured Associate Professor. Professor Stodden is a leader in the field of computational reproducibility, an area of increasing international and national importance. She will significantly contribute to the department's emerging emphasis in data science and analytics in both research and educational programs. Dr. Qiang Huang was promoted to full Professor for his contributions to the field of process control of advanced manufacturing technologies, and Dr. Cesar Acosta was promoted to Associate Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering Practice for leading our highly successful Masters in Analytics Program.

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 are fortunate for Mr. Epstein's continued support. During the past year, he made a substantial gift to fund our new Masters in Health Systems Management Engineering degree. The gift will fund the appointment of a new Program Director, the creation of a state-of-the-art facility offering students a collaborative learning environment and online delivery for their courses, and scholarships to support students in the program.

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, Dean's Professor and Chair