NORCROSS, Ga. - GeorgiaChron -- Innovators and industry leaders earned multiple honors and awards at the IISE Annual Conference & Expo May 31-June 3 in Atlanta, held by the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers.

The Institute's highest honor, the Frank & Lillian Gilbreth Industrial Engineering Award, was awarded to Kim LaScola Needy, Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Arkansas.

Other top award winners included Maria E. Mayorga of North Carolina State University, UPS Minority Advancement Award; Rohan Ajit Shirwaiker, North Carolina State University, Technical Innovation in Industrial Engineering; Waldemar Karwowski, University of Central Florida, Albert G. Holzman Distinguished Educator Award; Oguzhan Alagoz, University of Wisconsin-Madison, David F. Baker Distinguished Research Award; Shiyu Zhou, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Medallion Award; Amarnath Banerjee, Texas A&M University, Innovations in Education; Fugee Tsung, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, George L. Smith International Award for Excellence in Promotion of Industrial Engineering; Juan Du, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), Dr. Hamed K. Eldin Outstanding Early Career IE in Academia; and Amanda Mewborn, Georgia Tech, Fred C. Crane Award.

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IISE selected 17 new Fellows, the highest level of IISE membership recognizing leaders of the profession:
Julia G. Abate, North Carolina State University
Diana Berry, Harsco Rail
Linkan Bian, National Science Foundation
Michael Carter, University of Toronto
Jingyan Dong, North Carolina State University
Amy Brown Greer, MOSIMTEC LLC
Mindy Holmes, Intel Corp.
Pinar Keskinocak, Georgia Tech
Isaac B. Mitchell, Ballad Health
Ashish D. Nimbarte, West Virginia University
Vincent Omachonu, University of Miami, Florida
Kamran Paynabar, Georgia Tech
Jennifer Pazour, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Robert G. Radwin, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Siqian Shen, University of Michigan
Halit Üster, Southern Methodist University
Min Xie, City University of Hong Kong

IISE also granted scholarship awards to 30 ISE students totaling more than $66,000.

For conference highlights, photos and podcast interviews, visit iise.org/Annual. The next IISE Annual Conference will be held May 16-19, 2026, in Arlington, Texas.

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About IISE: The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers is the world's largest professional society dedicated solely to the support of the industrial engineering profession and individuals involved with improving quality and productivity. Founded in 1948, IISE is an international, nonprofit association that provides knowledge, training, networking opportunities and recognition to enhance the skills and effectiveness of its members, customers and the profession. For more information about IISE, visit iise.org.