March 11, 2024

A Mizzou Engineering student took first place in the Paper Competition at the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers South Central Regional Conference, held Feb. 29-March 2 at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

Ray Wood, a master’s student in industrial engineering, presented a use-inspired workforce optimizing and process to solve problems manufacturers face when using sustainable materials. The research is part of his thesis, and the work is supported, in part, by the U.S. Economic Development Administration from the EDA Cares Act. Sharan Srinivas, an assistant professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, is a co-PI on the grant and Wood’s MS project advisor.

“This year’s competition was intense with a lot of exciting research,” said Srinivas, who has a joint appointment in marketing. “We’re thrilled that Ray’s work stood out among the competition.”

Wood now qualifies to represent that region at the IISE Annual Conference and Expo, which will be held in May in Montreal, Canada.

More than 10 industrial engineering students from Mizzou attended the regional conference. In addition to presenting technical papers and projects, participants also heard from leaders in industry and academia, toured logistics facilities and had opportunities to network with other industrial engineering students.

This isn’t the first time Wood’s work has been recognized. Last year, he received honorable mention in the Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award category at the annual Center for Excellence in Logistics and Distribution (CELDi) Annual Meeting and Research Symposium.

This year’s IISE regional conference was held in conjunction with the CELDi symposium.