News Highlights

Join the Physics and Engineering group on Tuesday, Feb 28th at 11:30am in the IELC for our 2nd monthly Social Hour. This month’s speaker is Dr. Michelle Kuchera of Davidson College and the topic is ‘Machine Learning in Nuclear Physics.” Free food and great conversation. What better way to spend your lunch hour?

With its first set of students ready to graduate in May, it’s appropriate to reconnect with the early roots of IE at Francis Marion University. Dr. Cintron-Gonzalez was highlighted in a recent edition of The Patriot for her efforts in starting the IE program. While the department has grown since then, her early solo efforts are visible throughout the program.
See the full article: here.

Dr. Renu has arranged for the Spring 2017 REAL Grant Road Trip to visit Clemson University and a local industry in Upstate South Carolina. FMU IEs will visit with current graduate students at Clemson University and have the opportunity to build their professional contacts through on-site industry tours. Departure is tentatively set for 5:30pm on Sunday 5 Mar with return to FMU on the evening of Tuesday 8 Mar. For more information:
Visit the Website or e-mail Dr. Renu.

The Spring 2017 semester has started in a hurry for IE seniors. Working in teams, they will spend time applying their learned skills to real-world industry problems in ENGR 480 Capstone Senior Design. This year’s collaborative industry partners are UPS (Columbia, SC) and Santee Electric Co-op (Kingstree, SC).

The students of ENGR 350 continued their education on manufacturing processes with local visits to Beneteau and Honday. Walk-throughs of both facilities enabled these IE students to gain a stronger knowledge of industry practice in the Pee Dee. Special thanks to Michael Durham of Honda SC and Vincent Peze of Beneteau for your continued support of our IE students and the IE program here at FMU.

Join the Industrial Engineering Program on Monday, December 5th for an end-of-semester celebration at Southgate Bowl. Games and shoes will be provided by the Physics and Astronomy Department (thank you Dr. Jokisch). Relax with your colleagues and de-stress as you ramp up for finals. Bowling starts at 4pm with new games starting up until 6pm. Find Southgate Bowling here.

As part of a class project in Data Analytics, IKS in Florence, SC has provided order data from 2015-2016 in the hopes of identifying new operational knowledge. This visit gave the student team an opportunity to conduct an intermediate project de-brief with COO Mr. Robb Kirkpatrick. Great meeting and many thanks to IKS for their continued support of our IE program! Visit the IKS Website here.

Gathered in the IELC, students listened to seven interns who spent this past summer working with local/regional industry. Together, students worked on projects representing many different facets of IE, from inventory management and facility layout to forecasting and preventative maintenance. Special thanks to this year’s intern sponsors, which include International Knife and Saw, Otis Elevator, Arauco, Marley (Weil-McLain) and Wyman-Gordon.
Speaking: Senior John Tellis talks about his experiences at Otis.

The IE Faculty spent Halloween afternoon visiting local manufacturer Carbis Solutions. A national leader in workplace safety, Carbis designs and builds a variety of custom and pre-fab ladders and fall-prevention systems used in the marine, rail, aviation industries. This meeting represents the first step in exploring collaborative possibilities with Carbis. Special thank you to Ron Bennett for organizing and conducting this visit which took faculty to both the Florence and Darlington County facilities.

Visit the Carbis Solutions Website here.

Junior IE Student, Javier Bustos, was recently celebrated for his efforts as an FMU Patriot athlete. The Peach Belt Conference Education Advisory Board (EAB) awarded Javier, who boasts an impressive FMU GPA, the prestigious Elite 15 Award recognizing academic achievement among the conferences 15 championship sports. Javier is only the second FMU athlete ever to receive this award. See the full-length article here.

The Fall and Spring semesters are a little busier for IEs Dante Ahquin (left) and Taylor Watson (right). Each has recently accepted an internship offer from GE Healthcare in Florence and will work through April 2017. Their responsibilities will include time studies, process flow mapping, analytics and work flow assessment. Special thanks to Dr. Renu and Mr. John Necci of GE for all the efforts in support of this great opportunity.

Visit the GE Healthcare Website here.

Dr. Cintron-Gonzalez, with support from an FMU REAL Grant, took three IE students to the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) Annual Conference in Washington DC. The IE group attended conference talks, met other faculty and students working in the field of Human Factors and Ergonomics, and spent some time touring our nation’s capitol.
Pictured (Left to Right): Olivia Wilkes, Dr. Cintron-Gonzalez, John Tellis and Adam Brown (taken at the Library of Congress)
Visit the HFES Conference Website here.

Students and faculty from the Industrial Engineering program and the FMU School of Business toured the GE Healthcare facilities in Florence, SC. With over $50 million in inventory and a state-of-the-art production facility, the Florence site produces MR magnets that are deployed worldwide. Special thanks for Dr. Renu (FMU) and Jonathan Necci (GE) for coordinating the visit.
Visit the GE Healthcare Website here.

Dr. Burkhard Schmager from the Ernst-Abbe-Hochshule University of Applied Sciences guest lectures in the IELC for ENGR 467 Supply Chain Engineering. As part of the IE Program’s growing relationship with EAH in Jenna, Germany, Dr. Schmager will visit with five IE courses during the course of his stay (13 – 24 Sept). We welcome Dr. Schmager and encourage IE students to find him in MSB 101 or the Industrial Engineering Learning Community to learn more about possible study abroad opportunities in Jena.

The Industrial Engineering Learning Community (IELC) officially opened to students and faculty of the IE program for Fall 2016. The IELC is a community space that provides students and faculty an opportunity to learn and collaborate enhanced through supportive technology and flexible infrastructure. As an IE student, you are welcome to use the IELC anytime Monday – Friday 8:30am – 5:00pm. Special thanks to Jane Madden, Mike Ritchey, John Dixon and Rusty Braveboy, among many others, for making the IELC possible.

Located in Marion, SC, Beneteau US is the main manufacturing facility for Beneteau performance sailboats in North America. From molding to finishing, the Beneteau plant is responsible for all aspects of boat manufacturing and quality inspection. Many thanks to Vincent Peze and Paula Felix for their time during this exciting tour.
Visit the Beneteau Website here.

With an emphasis on the development of methods and tools for maximization of efficiency in industrial settings, Dr. Renu brings expertise in manufacturing processes, analytics and engineering design to his new home at Francis Marion University. Dr. Renu joins from Clemson University, where he completed his PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2016. We are pleased to welcome Dr. Renu as he joins our growing IE program.
Visit Dr. Renu’s Website.

IE Students are spending the summer at companies across the Pee Dee. Thanks to all of our internship sponsors for 2016 and good luck to our students as they continue to build their skills, experiences and resumes!

We are very pleased to offer our IE students an exciting opportunity to travel during the Fall 2016 semester as part of a REAL grant supported by FMU. The trip will include visits to the University at Buffalo and the University of Toronto in addition to company visits TBA.
Read the full announcement here .

At the invitation of Computer Science instructor Rachael Abram, the IE program took a drive out to Marion, SC to speak with students at Creek Bridge High School about IE and 3D printing. Students were tasked to design a nametag or household item using TinkerCAD and send it back to Dr. Yates for printing. At least two students had completed their design by the time Dr. Yates returned to Florence. Thank you Creek Bridge HS for your warmth and enthusiasm in learning more about IE!

Paula Childers and the Children’s Library in downtown Florence have spent the past semester developing and introducing a hands-on, interactive space for children (and parents) and engage, learn and grow. This makerspace concept is one of the first in South Carolina and the IE Program is proud to support the library’s efforts through the loan of a desktop Invent3D printer. Recently, More…, The Newsletter for South Carolina Libraries ran a spotlight article discussing the efforts of Paula and her colleagues. Congratulations to the Florence County Library for a nice reward to their hard work and efforts. To read the article, click here.

April 15, 2016 at the FMU Performing Arts Center marked a major milestone for the IE Program as we celebrated the 2015-2016 academic year with our FMU colleagues, industry partners and educational collaborators. Dr. Luther F. Carter welcomed the crowd and Rob Ardis (Chair, IE Advisory Board) delivered the first annual ‘Keynote’ address. The IE Program also awarded it’s three annual awards for the first time.
RookIE: Caleb McDowell
Outstanding Student: Javier Bustos Jaimes
Service/Leadership: Adam Brown
Pictured (Left to Right): Caleb McDowell, Dr. Justin Yates, Adam Brown, Javier Bustos Jaimes, Dr. Cintron-Gonzalez, Dr. Renu (joining Aug 2016)

The Annual Career Fair at Francis Marion University brought 60+ companies from North and South Carolina to Florence for a day of engagement and recruitment. Companies arrived looking for students from all majors, including Geography, Engineering, Education, Journalism, Marketing and more. IE student Casey Murakami (pictured) talks with Nan Ya Plastics based out of Lake City, SC at the event.

The FMU Foundation Scholarship Reception on 29 Mar brought together our IE students and Advisory Board member Larry Waring (Duke Energy). Four of our IE students received Duke Energy Foundation scholarships this past year. Congratulations IEs for this well-earned recognition!
Pictured (Left to Right): Olivia Wilkes, John Tellis, Larry Waring, Adam Brown and Bryce Saunders

Dr. Yates delivered one of two talks at the Teacher Enrichment Program’s Bite of Science event held at the Pee Dee Education Center in Florence, SC this past March. Discussing IE and 3D Printing, teachers from around the Pee Dee were present to listen, interact and dine together with speakers and event organizers. Gregory Carr of Kaydon bearings joined Dr. Yates as the other presenter. Bite of Science is part of the Center for Excellent in Education out of McLean, VA. Special thanks to Natashia Schuh-Nuhfer, Rick Reames and Kim Poston for organizing and hosting the event. You may watch Dr. Yates’ full talk here.

Robb Kirkpatrick, Chief Operating Officer for International Knife and Saw, Inc. (Florence, SC) visited the IE program as part of the IISE Student Chapter’s Seminar Series. Mr. Kirkpatrick is an expert in operations, learn and six-sigma, having spent 30+ years training and implementing process improvements for a variety of industries (including manufacturing, health care and supply chain). Attendees saw first-hand how these methods (originally adapted from the Toyota Production System) are applied in real-world cases.

Morning News Online visited the FMU campus to talk about Eastern South Carolina’s only IE program. The article includes discussion from Dr. Cintron-Gonzalez and Dr. Yates and helps gives perspective to the motivators and drivers of this developing program. You may find the full-length article here.

Over 55 faculty and administrators from 8 educational entities (Francis Marion, Coker College, College of Charleston, Claflin University, USC Sumter, USC, Florence Darlington Technical College, and ScienceSouth) attended the “Proposal Writing Strategies” workshops delivered by Dr. Yvette Weatherton, Program Director with the Division for Undergraduate Eduaction at the National Science Foundation. Participants represented a myriad of academic disciplines including psychology, biology, engineering, math, computer science, sociology and education. Special thanks to the 20 individuals joining us from off-campus and thanks to Dr. Weatherton for her time and enthusiasm during these exciting workshops.

Students from surrounding districts congregated at Wilson High School for a Saturday morning series of STEM classes as part of the state’s GearUp program. IE brought the 3D printers and Dr. McDonnell (FMU Physics and Astronomy) brought some hands-on experiments for the attending high schoolers to engage in. This is the second GearUp event that FMU has participated in this year, and special thanks go out to Jomia Mack for continuing to include us in this exceptional STEM event.

Over 200 people from around Florence joined exhibitors in robotics and technology at the Florence County Library. The IE program, along with Andrew Fox from SiMT, brought out the 3D printers and engaged attendees with sample prints and live demos. Special thanks to Paula Childers, director of the Children’s Library, for her organizational efforts and for our invitation to participate in this great event.

Early March was a time for Palmetto Middle School students to show off their science knowledge and hypothesis testing as the entire student body exhibited their science experiments. FMU IE, Physics, and Astronomy were all present to support this event and show off how science is pursued in Florence. Dr. Bryngelson and Dr. Fulmer joined Dr. Yates in Mullins, SC. Thank you to Paul Cowan for organizing this great event and inviting us to participate.

Drs. Kathrin Reger-Wagner and Burkhard Schmager visited Florence recently as part of an initiative to establish an Industrial Engineering international exchange program between FMU and the Ernst-Abbe-Hochschule University of Applied Sciences in Jena, Germany. As part of their trip, Dr. Reger-Wagner and Dr. Schmager visited local industry, toured the FMU campus and downtown Florence, and were keynotes at the weekly FMU Science Symposium. Study abroad opportunities begin with the 2016-2017 academic year.

The Innovative Packaging Solutions (IPS) Studio on Sonoco’s Hartsville, SC campus is an open-concept space meant to foster creative, collaboration and cross-team communication in the development of product solutions for Sonoco’s vast array of customers. Dr. Cintron-Gonzalez and Dr. Yates were able to get a first-hand look at these facilities during a visit to Sonoco on 26 Feb. In addition to touring the studio, talks were held with various members of the Sonoco management team to identify collaborative paths moving forward. Special thanks to Jacob Branyon and Deirdre Hughes for their efforts in coordinating this visit.
Read about the IPS.