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Atlanta, GA | Posted: June 18, 2010
Don Fernandez, Media Relations Specialist, Communications & Marketing
404.894.6016
Barbara Christopher, Director of ISyE Communications
404.385.3102
Summary Sentence:
Five assistant professors in ISyE have earned the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in the last four years.
Full Summary:
In rapid succession, five assistant professors in the Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering have earned the NSF CAREER Award in the last four years.
Jeff WuIn rapid succession, five assistant professors in the Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) have earned the NSF (National Science Foundation) CAREER Award in the last four years.
Two were named as award recipients this year. All five were recruited by and brought to Tech by ISyE Professor Jeff Wu, who joined Georgia Tech in 2003 as the Coca-Cola Chair in Engineering Statistics. Wu also was able to fill five assistant professor slots—one each year. By 2008, Wu had found the junior faculty he wanted for these positions in members Nagi Gebraeel, Yajun Mei, Nicoleta Serban, Roshan Joseph Vengazihiyil and Ming Yuan.
Wu’s selection of these faculty members for the ISyE Statistics Group and their earning the prestigious award were a bit serendipitous, he says. “We simply wanted to hire the best people and groom them,” he said. “Winning a CAREER Award is one measure—though not the only one—of success.”
Their selection for the group, he says, was not based upon work that he consciously thought would be considered for this recognition of junior faculty. Wu adds that he did comment on and read the faculty members’ proposals who won their awards while at Tech, but that was the extent of his involvement.
“These CAREER awards are kind of rare,” explains ISyE Chair Chelsea “Chip” White, H. Milton and Carolyn J. Stewart Chair and Schneider National Chair in Transportation and Logistics. “To have the insight to be able to identify junior faculty capable of successful award-winners is phenomenal.”
Having a statistics group within the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering is unique in the higher education landscape, according to Vengazihiyil, who says the arrangement has led to better exposure of the latest developments and trends in engineering, as well as providing opportunity to collaborate with engineers.
“We have 11 to 12 members, one of whom is joint with another research group,” Wu said. “Ours is the best research group internationally in engineering statistics—that is, in developing statistical methodologies and theory and applying them to engineering, information technology and physical sciences. Besides adding our reputation to the prestige of Georgia Tech, members of our group have become involved extensively in collaborative work with faculty in Engineering, the College of Computing and the College of Sciences.”
Barbara Christopher in Industrial and Systems Engineering contributed to this story.
