Following the Exciting Problems
As a member of the second graduating class of ISyE undergraduates in 2016, ISyE alumnus Alex Stroh recalls the impact that ISyE had that helped him become the person he is today, both personally and professionally.
“I started at the University of Minnesota in 2012. I knew I wanted to do something math related, but was uncertain on what career path to take, but I knew I didn't want to do traditional engineering. I learned about industrial engineering for the first time at 19 years old when I was a freshman when I met ISYE professors Lisa Miller and John Carlsson. I wanted to maintain a higher level of math, so I ended up double majoring in ISyE and mathematics.”
With the rigor of the double major, Stroh was introduced to the field of study called operations research. Two ISyE courses would provide a great impact on his understanding of operations research and his future in academia - Optimization and Simulation.
These two courses really were my first taste of that world. I fell in love with optimization and simulation because I think those are two extremely powerful mathematical tools that are kind of opposites of each other, but are the bread and butter of operations research.”
Along with Optimization and Simulation, ISyE gave Stroh the exposure to various fields of studies because of the flexibility of electives and the projects that were assigned to him during his undergraduate years. Courses such as Engineering Economics, Project Management, and the Senior Design project would teach Stroh about delivery logistics, optimization tools, simulation tools, project management tools, and business intelligence.
He would also have three internship experiences during his time in the undergraduate program, as well as an opportunity to research with two ISyE faculty members. These opportunities helped him gain additional real world experience, but more importantly, motivated him to pursue a graduate degree.
Stroh would follow in the footsteps of two of his influential ISyE professors, William Cooper and Lisa Miller. He would go on to obtain a Master of Science in Statistics and a PhD in Operations Research from Georgia Institute of Technology.
Stroh now finds himself at Target Corporation as a Lead Operations Research Scientist, and primarily works in designing strategic delivery networks for Target’s next-day delivery programs.
It all began, however, in ISyE.
“ISyE is the foundation. I love my job every single day and I’m energized by it. I'm proud of the work I'm able to do at Target. I followed the problems that excited me and the people who energized me. It’s how I found myself in ISyE to begin with, and how I have found myself to be where I am now.”