Dec. 20, 2024
This year marks 100 years since the industrial engineering program was established at the University of Missouri. Since then, the program has graduated successful engineers and leaders across industries.
During its first year in 1924, less than two decades after the first industrial engineering program was established at Penn State, Mizzou’s program covered subjects including factory organization and management, employment problems, labor supply and other similar subjects. Now, students engage in coursework and research discovering artificial intelligence (AI), human-computer interaction, advanced manufacturing and more.
“At Mizzou, our program started as an option within the mechanical engineering department,” Department Chair Jim Noble, said. “While there is some overlap from the shared realm of manufacturing, the fields are very different. We focus more on operations, system design, and human factors issues and continue to evolve by incorporating elements of computer science and AI as they relate to the ever-changing demands of the modern corporation.”
The opportunities that come from an IE degree are substantial. The Industrial and Systems Engineering Hall of Fame (ISE HoF) has more than 100 alumni in leadership roles whose careers have made a significant impact within their fields, or who have made outstanding contributions to the department. And the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the 2023-2033 job outlook for industrial engineers will grow at 12%, the second-fastest of all engineering fields.
“At its core, industrial engineers integrate technology and people,” Noble said. “It’s a unique aspect of what we are. I’m excited to see the new opportunities technology like AI creates, especially as we tie together the trifecta of technology, data and people. The people are key to what IE brings to the table.”
Read more from the College of Engineering
