Author: Cindi Mason

The Industrial, Systems and Manufacturing Engineering (ISME) Department invites you to a come-and-go reception, celebrating the retirement of Dr. Krishna Krishnan, who has served the department for almost 30 years. The reception will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5 in 233 Rhatigan Student Center, Santa Fe Trail Room, immediately preceding the ISME Senior Design final project presentations. Light refreshments will be served.

Krishnan has been at WSU for nearly 30 years. He was the chair of the department for 15 years and has also held positions as an interim director, graduate coordinator, associate professor and assistant professor. The College of Engineering is deeply grateful for his many years of dedicated service.

Join the Teaching Matters lunch and learn conversation about the incoming freshman students from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, May 2 in 225 Woolsey Hall.

Lunch will be provided. Local high school teachers and counselors will share what they have observed about the current high school seniors who will be the incoming fall 2025 freshmen. This will help WSU prepare to meet these students where they are. For questions or more information, contact Cindi Mason at cindi.mason@wichita.edu.

The April Teaching Matters lunch and learn conversation, all about the incoming freshman students, will be from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, April 18 in 266 Rhatigan Student Center, Pike Room.

Lunch will be provided. Local high school teachers and counselors will share what they have observed about the current high school seniors who will be the incoming fall 2025 freshmen. This will help WSU prepare to meet these students where they are. For questions or more information, contact Cindi Mason at cindi.mason@wichita.edu.

RSVP for this month’s Teaching Matters session, “Resource Refresher: A Review of Reasons for Leaving and Resources to Support Students” and free pizza from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, March 28 in 323 Woolsey Hall, Bank of America Room. RSVP by Wednesday, March 26.

Join for pizza and an informative session focused on increasing student retention. Brett Bruner, assistant vice president for Student Success and Persistence, will go over data on why WSU students are leaving, and then there will be a refresher of student support resources.

For questions or more information, contact Cindi Mason, associate teaching professor and undergraduate coordinator of industrial, systems and manufacturing engineering, at cindi.mason@wichita.edu.

“Teaching Matters” is a monthly session open to faculty, staff and students involved in teaching. The sessions are hosted by the Retention Faculty Fellows to promote student success and retention through a community of knowledge sharing.

Join the Retention Faculty Fellows for its February Teaching Matters sessions from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19 virtually via Microsoft Teams to hear from a panel of students providing their insights on persistence and the impact that faculty support can have on student success.

Teaching Matters is a monthly session open to faculty, staff and students involved in teaching. The sessions are hosted by the Retention Faculty Fellows to promote student success and retention through a community of knowledge sharing.

For questions or more information, contact Cindi Mason, Retention Faculty Fellows coordinator, at cindi.mason@wichita.edu.

Bring your laptop and join the Retention Faculty Fellows for an interactive workshop led by Kim Sandlin, director of the Office of Student Success, from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 15 in 226 Woolsey Hall. If you are unable to join in-person, you may join through Microsoft Teams. Together, participants will learn some ways to utilize the Navigate platform to increase student retention. You don’t have to be familiar with Navigate to participate in this workshop. For questions or more information, contact Cindi Mason at cindi.mason@wichita.edu.

Teaching Matters is a monthly session open to faculty, staff, and students involved in teaching. The sessions are hosted by the Retention Faculty Fellows to promote student success and retention through a community of knowledge sharing.

Light refreshments will be provided and prizes will be awarded.

All are welcome to come and hear about a few of the ways a degree in industrial engineering or product design and manufacturing engineering can translate to a career.

An Industry Professional Panel will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, March 24 in 265 Rhatigan Student Center, Lucas Room, hosted by the Department of Industrial, Systems and Manufacturing Engineering. Five industry professionals working in diverse specializations within the field of industrial or manufacturing engineering will share their experiences and answer questions:

• Joyce Chiam, industrial engineer with Great Plains Industries.
• Kim Patterson, owner of Empire Management Group.
• Ridge Towner, industrial engineer with Spirit AeroSystems.
• Neal Schmeidler, managing consultant with Guidehouse.
• Marki Huston, head of North American manufacturing with Viega.

The next Industrial, Systems, and Manufacturing Engineering (ISME) Colloquium will feature Courtney Allen, Spirit AeroSystems operations engineering manager at 11 a.m. Friday April 22 via Zoom. Allen’s presentation is titled “The Journey of an Industrial Engineer.”

Allen has a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Industrial Engineering, with an emphasis in data analytics, from WSU. Allen joined Spirit AeroSystems, Inc. in 2019, and has since supported Lean and Root Cause and Corrective Action activities across the fabrication business unit. In 2020, she moved to the Core Industrial Engineering team. This team supports global industrial engineering initiatives across all Spirit sites.

Allen is an active member of the Society of Women Engineers and the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers. She has also served in several leadership positions for the internal Spirit Women in Engineering Professions and Technology organization.

The next Industrial, Systems, and Manufacturing Engineering (ISME) Colloquium will feature Trey Waldron, Spirit Aerosystems project manager for strategic programs at 11 a.m. today, April 15 via Zoom. Waldron’s presentation is titled “737 Floor Beam Automated Assembly Line at Spirit Aerosystems.”

Waldron will discuss how the aerospace industry still relies heavily on manual labor. Aerospace manufacturers are currently dealing with huge backlogs and need a solution that speeds up production. This presentation is an example of how Spirit Aerosystems was able to accomplish this dilemma with a new solution that improves quality and throughput and reduces the learning curve and work in process.

The next Industrial, Systems, and Manufacturing Engineering (ISME) Colloquium will feature Brian Adams, Textron Aviation vice president of aftermarket innovation will present at 11 a.m., today, April 8 via Zoom. Adams’ presentation is titled “Applied Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering in New Aircraft Design.”

Adams will discuss how Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering play an integral role in the design of products to improve the safety, quality, delivery, and cost of new products, including aircraft. This presentation will share examples of applied ISME principles during the design and building plans for new aircraft.