October 05, 2026
Approximately 70 participants enjoyed close encounters with supply chains, manufacturing, transportation and artificial intelligence.
Middle and high school students stepped into the role of industrial engineers at a recent Mizzou Engineering camp, where they designed production systems, made transportation decisions and explored the use of robots and drones.
Approximately 70 students took part in the event, titled Discover Industrial Engineering: An Adventure in Design, Logistics and Innovation, Sept. 26 in Lafferre Hall on the Mizzou campus.
A key goal of the event was to show students the broad range of applications within industrial engineering and its relevance to systems they encounter every day. “Industrial engineering is about finding better ways to make systems work,” said Suchi Rajendran, an associate professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. “That system could be a manufacturing line, a hospital, a warehouse or even the process used to deliver products to your home. We wanted students to see that industrial engineering is all around them and that engineering, data and technology can be used to solve these problems”
Throughout the day, students tackled hands-on challenges drawn from different areas of industrial engineering. They used Legos to create a production line and identify bottlenecks, explored the use of mobile robots and drones in manufacturing and warehouse operations, and made routing and transportation decisions under changing conditions.
High school students had the opportunity to ask current undergrads about engineering majors, college life, internships, career opportunities, and the experience of studying industrial engineering at Mizzou.
Rajendran hopes to continue creating opportunities for younger students to explore industrial engineering through hands-on experiences.
“Our goal is to give students an early opportunity to see the breadth of industrial engineering and connect what they learn to real-world problems,” she said. “Experiences like this can help students discover new interests and better understand the many possibilities within the field.”