About | NC State ISE

The Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) at NC State is one of only five named ISE departments in the United States and ranks among the top 15 programs in the country according to U.S. News and World Report. The department currently has a rich and diverse research portfolio in:

• Advanced and Biomedical Manufacturing
• Health Systems
• Human Factors and Ergonomics
• Supply Chain and Logistics
• Systems Analytics and Optimization

NC State ISE also supports two other academic programs and a degree:

• Operations Research
• Integrated Manufacturing Systems Engineering
• Master of Engineering Management

NC State ISE has strong connections with other departments, other universities, medical schools, and other external partners. It houses two state-funded centers:

• The Ergonomics Center of North Carolina which is the only center of its kind at a U.S. public research institution.
• The Center for Additive Manufacturing and Logistics which is one of the most advanced manufacturing and 3D printing laboratories in the country.

36 Fellows of Engr. Associations

• 19 IISE Fellows
• 3 INFORMS Fellows
• 1 National Academy Member
• 2 HFES Fellows
• 2 SME Fellows
• 1 Chinese IIE Fellow

45 Engr. Association Awards

• 3 Gilbreth Industrial Engineering Awards (IISE)
• 8 NSF CAREER Awards
• 7 Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer (SME)
• 3 Dr. David Baker Distinguished Research Award (IISE)
• 3 Dr. Hamed K. Eldin Outstanding Early Career IE in Academia Award
• 2 Albert G. Holzman Distinguished Educator Award (IISE)

4 NC State Founding Directors

• Furniture Manufacturing & Management Center
• Integrated Manufacturing Systems Engineering Institute
• Operations Research Program
• The Ergonomics Center of North Carolina

Operations Research

Operations Research is a joint graduate program shared by the College of Engineering and the College of Sciences at North Carolina State University.

The faculty who teach OR courses, supervise OR students, and administer the program have their academic appointments in a number of departments, not only in engineering and sciences but also in the colleges of management, forestry, and textiles. OR courses are cross-listed with other departments, and OR students have TA and RA positions in many departments, including departments of computer science, electrical and computer engineering, industrial and systems engineering, mathematics and statistics.

The program offers three advanced degrees: the Master of Operations Research (MOR) degree, the Master of Science (MSc) degree, and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree.

Integrated Manufacturing Systems Engineering Program

The desire to improve manufacturing productivity combined with increased world market competition has created a need for improved manufacturing engineering systems. The Integrated Manufacturing Systems Engineering Institute (IMSEI) at NC State University has taken a lead in addressing this challenge. By integrating academic and industry people, resources and ideas, IMSEI has created an institute that provides state-of-the-art manufacturing systems, research and education.

The IMSEI program is unique in that it makes use of faculty, course offerings, and laboratory facilities within the traditional engineering, computer science, business, textiles, and other departments to offer an independent master’s degree, authorized to be awarded by the faculty who associate with and participate in the activities supported by the IMSE Institute. A further unique feature of the program is that some of the funds that support the program come from annual membership fees provided by a consortium of industrial sponsors and service contract agreements with North Carolina industry.