WMU chapter attends regional IIE Conference at Purdue

Last month, 23 members of the student chapter of WMU’s Institute of Industrial Engineers [IIE] traveled to the 2006 IIE Region 4 Conference at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.

The WMU students were joined by IIE students from not only Purdue University, but also Kettering University, Ohio University, Ohio State University, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, University of Michigan – Dearborn, University of Louisville, Youngstown State University, and Wayne State University.

Renae Hoglen, president of the WMU IIE chapter, praised the quality of the conference “We had a great time, and we were impressed with the professionalism,” she said. “We went to everything to learn what others are doing so that we could come away with as much of the experience as possible.”

Conference speakers included Michael Eskew, CEO and Chairman of UPS; Charles Armstrong, president of the Seattle mariners; Andy Poosuthasee from Halliburton; Carrie Ehrlich from United Airlines; and Rick McNamee, CEO of Quadrus Consulting.

Hoglen said all the speakers offered valuable insights. She described Eskew, who provided the keynote address at the awards dinner, as “very personable and in touch with” the audience. “He told us what IEs do for UPS, and how he worked his way up in the company,” she said.

Hoglen also enjoyed a presentation on Purdue that was given by Dr. James Barany, a Purdue faculty advisor, who documented the 50^th anniversary of Purdue’s IE department. “He was hilarious,” she said.

The conference included breakout sessions covering career experiences, a technical paper contest, a leadership forum, and a job fair for those in the Purdue area. Also offered were tours of Purdue’s IE facilities, including the machine shop and two human factors facilities.

The WMU group won an award for having more students in attendance than any other chapter. On behalf of the national IIE, IME professor Dr. Steven Butt, one of WMU’s IIE advisors and current IIE Region IV vice president, presented an appreciation award to Purdue for hosting the event.

IME professors Dr. Tycho Fredericks, a co-advisor of WMU’s IIE chapter, and Dr. Kailash Bafna also attended the conference.

WMU hosted last year’s IIE conference at the Parkview Campus. Ohio State University will host next year’s 2007 IIE Region 4 Conference.