UW-Madison Industrial and Systems Engineering Department

Big shoutout to our grad and professional students this week!

You bring so much expertise, passion, and hard work to our campus every single day. We know the grind is real, and we’re so grateful for the energy you put into everything you do, especially the students who participate and are a part of our graduate student organizations.

Happy Appreciation Week!

Launching into spring break way back in 1965!
Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison. Archives : General Photo Collection, Series 23/15

University of Wisconsin-Madison UW-Madison College of Engineering

🎉 Another win from our department!

We’re proud to celebrate ISyE Professor Laura Albert on her latest Informs Journal on Data Science - IJDS publication: “𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦: 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.”

Co-authored with Tho V. Le and Thibaut Vidal, this work explores how operations research (OR) can expand its impact by learning from the rapid growth of machine learning—highlighting strategies to improve accessibility, education, and real-world engagement.

The paper lays out a bold vision and 10 actionable steps to make OR more visible, inclusive, and impactful across industries and society.

🔗 Read the full article here: https://go.wisc.edu/9317t0
University of Wisconsin-Madison UW-Madison College of Engineering INFORMS

🎥 Missed the presentation? Watch Dr. Ann Bisantz, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University at Buffalo colloquium: “𝘊𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 – 𝘈 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯”

Bisantz examined U.S. higher education as a complex, intentional system shaped by competing stakeholder priorities, uncertainty, and limited resources. Ann showed the growing reliance on institutional data reporting and visualization to support decision-making, highlighting the challenges of creating meaningful, actionable representations of complex cross-functional data.

🔗 Watch the recording here: https://go.wisc.edu/1k84kp
University at Buffalo Industrial and Systems Engineering University of Wisconsin-Madison UW-Madison College of Engineering

ISyE’s alumni speaker series Welcome Back, Badger continues! Please welcome Jeff Roznowski (BSIE ’80), former President/Co-Founder, Wisconsin Wireless Association (ret) and Alderman for the City of Wauwatosa.

🔗 Learn more here: https://go.wisc.edu/8zds91
📅 Mar. 18 | 9:55–10:45 AM | 1800 E Hall
Wisconsin Alumni UW-Madison College of Engineering University of Wisconsin-Madison

Dave Gustafson, a pioneer in applying technology to human-centered health systems and a longtime professor in the Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, died March 3, 2026. He was 85.

Founder of the Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies (CHESS), Gustafson led the way for HIV & AIDS health support systems, later expanding his focus to additional health crises such as Alzheimer’s and addiction.

“I was privileged to be part of groups of people who made an enormous difference in healthcare,” Gustafson said during a 2020 interview.

Leaving behind a lasting legacy, former department chair Jeffrey Linderoth remarked that Dave was “the primary person who put us on the map for health systems research.”

Gustafson is survived by his wife, Rea, their daughters Lori and Shelley, and their son Dave Jr., a longtime CHESS staff member and current web operations manager for Wisconsin Public Radio.

🔗 Read more about Dave here: https://go.wisc.edu/5314g8

UW-Madison College of Engineering University of Wisconsin-Madison

Remembering health systems engineering pioneer Dave Gustafson - College of Engineering - University of Wisconsin-Madison Dave Gustafson, a pioneer in applying technology to human-centered health systems and a longtime professor of industrial and systems engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, died March 3, 2026. He was 85 years old. A...

ISyE Connections and IISE at UW–Madison, co-hosted a "Welcome Back, Badger" Fireside Chat with UW ISyE alumnus Steve Loehr ’88!

This invite-only luncheon brought together 13 students for an intentional, small-group conversation about Steve’s 35+ year career journey, starting as an intern at IBM and growing to Senior Vice President and General Manager at Kyndryl (formerly IBM). His experience spans engineering, factory operations and supply chain, hard goods and services, cybersecurity, and corporate strategy and operations, with roles across the U.S. and around the world.

Thank you to our student orgs for putting together this informative event, and to Steve for sharing his vast engineering & career knowledge!


IISE - Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers University of Wisconsin-Madison UW-Madison College of Engineering

The meteorological start of spring is March 1st… warm weather has to be right around the corner!

Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison. Archives : 27/1/1 Union Terrace (1), Box 650 Memorial Union Terrace, Rm. 436 Shelf N15
University of Wisconsin-Madison UW-Madison College of Engineering

Our alumni speaker series — Welcome Back, Badger — is back!

Join us as we welcome Jodi Glunz (BSIE ’92) to share her career journey as an Ergonomics Consultant.

🔗 Learn more here: https://go.wisc.edu/0m7w50
📅 Mar. 6 | 9:55–10:45 AM | 1800 E Hall
University of Wisconsin-Madison UW-Madison College of Engineering

Throwback to when the Mechanical Engineering building was only three stories tall! UW-Madison College of Engineering
Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison. UWDC : S15509

Join us this Friday for an ISyE colloquium by Dr. Ann Bisantz, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University at Buffalo: “𝘊𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 – 𝘈 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯”

Bisantz will examine U.S. higher education as a complex, intentional system shaped by competing stakeholder priorities, uncertainty, and limited resources. She will discuss the growing reliance on institutional data reporting and visualization to support decision-making, highlighting the challenges of creating meaningful, actionable representations of complex cross-functional data.

Drawing on methods from cognitive engineering, including cognitive work analysis, Ann will propose visualization co-creation as a work-centered approach to designing effective decision-support tools and conclude with lessons learned from applying just-in-time design approaches alongside traditional prospective modeling.

🔗 Learn more here: https://go.wisc.edu/ahgzc6
📅 Feb. 27 | 12:00–1:00 PM | ME 1163
University at Buffalo Industrial and Systems Engineering University of Wisconsin-Madison UW-Madison College of Engineering