UF Industrial and Systems Engineering

Congratulations to ISE Ph.D. student Zihan Li on earning the prestigious E.J. Sierleja Memorial Fellowship from the Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers! 🎉

The fellowship recognizes outstanding students for academic excellence, leadership, character and service to the industrial engineering profession.

Zihan’s research focuses on machine learning and decision-making for complex engineering systems, with applications in manufacturing, energy and reliability. In fewer than three years, he passed his qualifying exam and produced four high-quality journal papers.

“Zihan’s research productivity is truly exceptional,” said ISE Assistant Professor Minhee Kim, Ph.D.

Read more: https://bit.ly/49qQCPy

Congratulations to ISE doctoral student Anna Yang on earning a prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship! 🎉

Yang’s research in human factors engineering and computational biomechanics focuses on improving injury prediction and advancing safer human-centered systems in areas like automotive, aerospace and healthcare.

The NSF GRFP recognizes graduate students with exceptional potential for impactful research careers, and Anna’s work is helping shape the future of human safety and performance.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4v6tUEA

Big moment for ISE! 🎓

We’re proud to celebrate Allen Kurian, who represented the Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering as the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering’s student graduation speaker this spring.

A Gainesville native, Allen made an impact across so many areas of ISE through consulting projects, student involvement and his dedication to the department community.

We’re excited that he’ll be continuing his journey at UF this fall in the ISE master’s program. Congratulations again, Allen, on this well-deserved honor!

Congratulations to recent UF Industrial & Systems Engineering graduate Nyla Pierre on being named a University of Florida Hall of Fame inductee — one of the university’s highest honors for graduating seniors. 👏

During her time at UF, Nyla made a lasting impact through leadership and service, including roles as Student Body Treasurer, Florida Blue Key Secretary and involvement within the ISE community.

This summer, she begins her next chapter as a Transportation Operations Leader at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati after completing two impactful internships with the company.

We’re proud to celebrate Nyla’s accomplishments and can’t wait to see all she achieves next. Go Gators! 🐊

🎓 Congratulations to the OEM Class of 2026!

We celebrated the OEM Class of 2026, graduates who earned a Master's in Industrial and Systems Engineering in just 20 months, while working full-time. As we mark 30 years of the OEM program (https://ise.ufl.edu/oemp/), they join an alumni family of over 1,000 strong.

We are incredibly proud of each and every one of you. Congratulations, and Go Gators! 🐊

Calling all attendees, Gator Engineering alumni and friends, come visit us at Booth 218!
UF ISE alums, be sure to stop by and grab an exclusive UF ISE branded phone charger while supplies last. We can't wait to see you! 🐊 🤝

The ISE Spring 2026 newsletter is here 🐊

From AI-powered sinkhole detection to award-winning student research and alumni making an impact in industry, this semester’s newsletter highlights innovation, growth and achievement across the Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering.

Read the full spring newsletter:
🔗 https://bit.ly/4dyhiAc

A team of UF students is earning national recognition for research exploring how AI can better support engineering education. 🐊

An undergraduate research team led by ISE faculty member and UF Department of Engineering Education affiliate faculty member Dr. Jad Atweh earned the Best Paper Award at the 2026 IEEE Systems and Information Engineering Design Symposium (SIEDS), which featured 90 papers.

The award-winning research, “Albert or Alberta? Investigating Socratic Dialogue and Modality in AI-Assisted Engineering Problem Solving,” examined how different AI interaction styles impact student learning and problem-solving outcomes in engineering education.

Congratulations to team members Augusto Grimaldi Ter Sarkisian (ISE), Cameron Miller (Psychology), Neeraja Poonjolai (ISE) and Candelaria Aramburu (ISE). Augusto and Cameron presented the research at the conference.

We’re proud to be ranked the No. 11 public graduate program in the nation by U.S. News & World Report 2026 🐊

Thank you to our students, faculty, staff and alumni for continuing to drive innovation and impact in industrial & systems engineering.

Why do AI systems perform so well — even when theory suggests they shouldn’t?

Hongcheng Liu, Ph.D. is advancing a clearer understanding of how AI systems are trained — and how much data they truly require.

His latest research demonstrates that widely used methods like sample average approximation (SAA) can achieve strong performance with significantly less data than previously expected.

The impact:
• Lower operational costs
• Increased accessibility
• Greater confidence in AI systems

“We’ve advanced the manual,” Liu said. “Practitioners can now trust it with full theoretical backing.”

This work moves AI development toward systems that are not just powerful, but explainable and dependable.

🔗 Read the full research: https://bit.ly/49hcIDZ