Students Demonstrate Excellence
From working to reduce pollution across international boundaries to designing biomedical devices, SIE students work hard to make the world a better place. Over the past year, many completed internships, won scholarships and earned recognition from the university and the department.
Scholarships Awarded to SIE PhD Students
Morteza Boroun, who began his doctoral studies in SIE in fall 2020, is one of the college’s inaugural Herbold Fellows. Bob Herbold, former chief operating officer of Microsoft Corp., and Patricia Herbold, who served as a U.S. ambassador to Singapore, aim to support students who are applying computer science and data science to a wide range of subjects.
Boroun is part of the class of five graduate student fellows who will each receive $10,000 scholarships. His research focuses on modeling data-driven decision making in various industries and organizations to save time, money and energy.
“It’s a great honor to be selected as a Herbold fellow,” he said. “This fellowship will not only provide financial assistance – it can also add credibility to research projects and inspire other organizations and foundations to fund projects.”
Another SIE PhD student, Hamid Ghaderi, is one of the University of Arizona’s 12 2020 Carson Scholars. The program provides a $5,000 scholarship and an academic year’s worth of training in science communication. Ghaderi grew up in Tehran, Iran, where environmental conditions were poor due to industrial pollution. This inspired him to conduct research into sustainable design and manufacturing, and to travel 7,600 miles away from home to do so. In SIE, his work is focused on techno-economic analysis, life cycle assessment and developing decision making tools for hard drive recovery in the United States.
“The program can help me figure out how to communicate my research to diverse audiences and gather funding for projects that I am passionate about,” he said.
Outstanding Seniors Recognized at Convocation Ceremonies
Kelsey Ingerson, the college’s 2020 outstanding senior in systems engineering, worked as a research assistant in SIE's transportation lab as an undergraduate. Ingerson, who is now earning her master’s degree in the department, is involved with Tau Beta Pi and Engineering Ambassadors. She previously worked as a safety engineering intern for Raytheon Missile Systems.
Abdullah Al-Battashi is the 2020 outstanding senior in industrial engineering. Al-Battashi was previously a team member for the Design Thinking Challenge, where he designed behavioral campaigns to raise energy consumption awareness across campus. He also volunteered for over 30 hours as a photographer for the Muslim Students Association.
Elizabeth Seader, who minored in systems engineering, is the 2020 outstanding senior in engineering management. As a member of the American Society for Engineering Management, Seader competed at the organization’s national conference. Her capstone team designed a slide randomizer for sponsor Roche Tissue Diagnostics that won the award for best design documentation at the virtual Craig M. Berge Engineering Design Day 2020.
At the College of Engineering’s Outstanding Student Luncheon in December 2019, Yesenia Machuca was recognized as SIE’s outstanding senior, and Jose Luis Ruiz Duarte was recognized as the department’s outstanding graduate student.
Seniors Expand Their Horizons
Mandy Han earned a dual degree in industrial engineering and German studies, with a minor in Spanish, in spring 2020. During her senior year, she was featured in the University of Arizona's "We Are Wildcats" campaign. She discussed her journeys from China to the United States, Germany and Spain, all in the pursuit of connection and understanding people and cultures.
“Being a college student in this ever-changing world is an amazing adventure,” she said. “You don't know what's waiting for you. Even if the journey is maybe a little bit bumpy, after you conquer that, you gain strength, you gain new perspective, new vision, and then you bring new elements, new perspective to contribute to this diverse world.”
Andrew Kirima, who earned his bachelor’s degree in systems engineering, with a minor in electrical and computer engineering, in spring 2020, attended a one-day job shadowing event at Google's headquarters during his winter break. Kirima said the experience gave him clarity around his goals in software development, taught him a lot about Google, and allowed him to make some great connections within the company.
A. Wayne Wymore Award for Excellence
SIE senior Rigel Carlson is the spring 2020 recipient of the A. Wayne Wymore Award for Excellence in Systems and Industrial Engineering.