About Us

The Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering in the Texas A&M University College of Engineering was established in 1940. In 2020, the department was named the Wm Michael Barnes '64 Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. It has consistently ranked in the top 10 departments in the United States over the past 10 years by the Gourman Report, the National Research Council and U.S. News and World Report.

We provide education and research that contribute to the economic and technological advancement of the state, the nation and the world.

Our outstanding faculty are nationally and internationally recognized for the quality of their research, teaching and leadership in the profession. We have strong programs in manufacturing and production systems, logistics and supply chain management, operations research, data science, applied probability and statistics, systems engineering, quality and reliability, and system simulation especially important in the current environment of international trade and global competition.

Our graduates are well prepared for successful careers as practitioners and academicians. They are sought for their comprehensive backgrounds and systems perspectives.

Strategic Area One: Recruit and retain excellent students

The department seeks to be the leader in offering education and training in fundamentals and practical knowledge in both data engineering, industrial engineering and systems engineering. This requires recruiting and retaining excellent students aspiring to become engineers and leaders in the profession.

Implemented and ongoing objectives include:

• Increase the number of endowed undergraduate scholarships and industry sponsorships.
• Impact retention and degree completion.
• Establish a new degree in data engineering.
• Recruit, support and promote excellent graduate research assistants and postdocs.
• Increase the number of graduate scholarships and fellowships.
• Enhance support infrastructure for innovation and continue to modernize graduate student offices and labs.
• Promote placing students in academia at peer departments and prominent national labs and industry.

Strategic Area Two: Attract and Retain Top Research and Teaching Faculty, and Staff

The department seeks to systematically grow its research portfolio and educational components by strategically recruiting established and emerging talent spanning one or more of our core expertise areas.

Implemented and ongoing objectives include:

• Mentor faculty at all levels through the ISEN Mentoring Plan.
• Identify and recruit experts in emerging areas as possible adjunct faculty who can complement existing faculty’s expertise.
• Enhance and encourage collaborative research excellence in the core research areas.
• Lead and participate in cross-area research efforts and build collaborations across departments/colleges with external partners.
• Establish and maintain departmental-level large proposal faculty teams.
• Actively engage with program officers from a diverse group of government agencies, foundations and consortiums.
• Recruit and retain administrative and program coordinators.
• Invest in continuous improvement and team training for staff.

Strategic Area Three: Establish and Maintain World-Class Teaching and Research Facilities

To serve our undergraduate and graduate students, and to foster faculty research collaboration and discovery, the department seeks to establish and maintain state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities and acquire additional shared space in the college.

Implemented and ongoing objectives include:

• Develop and maintain excellent teaching facilities.
• Maintain a timetable for replacing computers and software in classrooms and teaching labs.
• Establish a shared Industry 4.0 showcase lab to foster undergraduate and graduate teaching where students will be trained on smart manufacturing concepts and accompanying technologies, data engineering and related topics.
• Develop and maintain excellent graduate student offices.
• Maintain and acquire research labs.
• Hire a laboratory technician to oversee and assist with research activities.

Strategic Area Four: Increase Departmental Visibility

The department will develop and propagate our brand and enhance visibility.

Implemented and ongoing objectives include:

• Establish a departmental visibility task force.
• Elevate and maintain departmental visibility in the ISE community through ads, engagement, etc.
• Maintain strong electronic/media presence through newsletters, print pieces, videos, social media, etc.
• Launch a rebranding campaign.