Industrial Engineering Students Recognized by the Material Handling Education Foundation

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Lisa Thomas and Robert Curry.

Industrial engineering students Robert Curry and Lisa Thomas will receive scholarships from the Material Handling Education Foundation for the 2011-12 academic year.

The foundation, which awarded 29 scholarships this year, encourages and supports education related to the movement and storage of goods and products. It chooses scholarship winners based on academic record, research activity and an essay about their connection to material handling logistics.

Lisa Thomas, a doctoral student, was awarded the Crane Manufacturer’s Association of America Honor Scholarship and was the foundation’s top scholarship winner this year. She is currently conducting research on a parameterized analytical model for warehouse design. This is a mathematical model that can take into account different parameters, such as warehouse size and order profile, in order to help warehouse owners and designers predict and optimize the capabilities of their warehouse.

“Lisa continues to excel in every aspect as a Ph.D. student and this recognition from our good friends at the Material Handling Education Foundation is very much appreciated,” said Russell Meller, Hefley Professor of Logistics and Entrepreneurship and Thomas’ faculty advisor.

Robert Curry, an undergraduate student in the industrial engineering department and the Honors College, was awarded the MHIA Automated Storage & Retrieval Systems Honor Scholarship. Rob is also working with Meller and Thomas, creating an Excel-based tool that makes Thomas’ mathematical model more accessible to users.

“I am so impressed with Rob's growth as an undergraduate researcher and a scholarship like this really shows that hard work pays off,” said Meller.