IISE Student Chapter Shines Engineering Spotlight on University of Minnesota

IISE Regional Conference 2022 Workshop
Top: Megan Brosnan presenting her Keynote Speech to IISE North Central Regional Conference Banquet attendees.
Right: A conference workshop held in Bruininks Hall on the University of Minnesota Campus.
(Photos provided by Sam Mishler/IISE-UMN Student Chapter)

More than 100 students and industry professionals came together for the 2022 Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineering (IISE) North Central Regional Conference on February 26 through 28 at the University of Minnesota.

The event, which was hosted by the IISE student chapter at the University of Minnesota, featured a banquet and a technical paper competition, as well as workshops and speeches covering important industry trends and skills, including consulting and healthcare, patent law and graduate school, supply chain and technology, and more.

Eric Ayanegui, the Director of Operations Engineering Solutions at Cintas Corporation, gave the opening address on assets and reliability management, while Megan Brosnan, who is the Director of Engineering and R&D at Ergotron, closed the conference with a speech about her personal journey and the overarching applications of leadership and industrial and systems engineering in society. Both Ayanegui and Brosnan are members of the ISyE Department Advisory Board.

"The outcome of the conference was strongly positive," says Sam Mishler, president of the IISE student chapter at the University of Minnesota. "As a first time host in the midst of an ongoing pandemic, there were certainly logistical challenges to strategize the best experience for students. However, we received great feedback from chapter presidents and IISE staff across the region for the ability to engage and contribute to a meaningful weekend."

IISE student chapters at 17 colleges and universities across seven states combine to make the U.S. North Central Region of the larger IISE organization. Students from a variety of majors and more than 10 campuses were in attendance for the IISE North Central Regional Conference.

"Some of the most rewarding takeaways for me included the experience of bringing together alumni across Twin Cities companies to finally meet in person and share a meal together with our students," says Mishler, "and getting to know the students from various chapters throughout the planning and execution of the event. It was a fun challenge that built great unity with the surrounding chapters in the North Central Region."
 

Highlights from the 2022 IISE North Central Regional Conference


Technical Paper Competition

1st Place: Madison Ardnt from Iowa State University
2nd Place: Jamie Pazour from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Judging Panel: Professor Jean-Philipe Richard, Professor Bill Cooper, Professor Darin England from the University of Minnesota ISyE Department

Both winners received cash prizes. 1st Place will also have the opportunity to present in the Undergraduate Technical Paper Competition Global Finals at the 2022 IISE Annual Conference & Expo in May in Seattle, Washington.


Workshops

  • "Supply Chain Transformation in the Digital Era" with Ashok Viswanathan from Best Buy
  • "Structured Problem-solving in Consulting and Industry" with Siddharth Chandramouli from the Carlson Consulting Enterprise
  • "Emerging Technologies for Career Acceleration" with Geoffrey Dybicz from Stratasys
  • "Rise of the Patent Engineer" with Christopher Turoski from the University of Minnesota Law School
  • "IEs in Healthcare" with Shay Bergmann, Matt Vogl, and Taylor Rader from Mayo Clinic
  • "Graduate Studies in Industrial and Systems Engineering" with Bill Cooper from the University of Minnesota


Company Panel

  • Shay Bergmann from Mayo Clinic (Sr. Health Systems Engineer)
  • Max Vogl from Mayo Clinic
  • Cassie Anderson from West Monroe
  • Kathryn Eckhardt from Target
  • Bonnie Baumgartner from Daikin
  • Max Jacobson from Toro

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