Arkansas Academy of Industrial Engineering Inducts Members, Announces Faculty, Staff Awards

The Arkansas Academy of Industrial Engineers, faculty, staff, family and friends joined together virtually on the evening of Oct. 29 to celebrate the induction of 13 new members, eight in the class of 2020 and five in the class of 2021.

2020 inductees were:

• Alex Andelman, B.S.I.E. 2003, M.S.I.E. 2005
• Bonnie Boardman, B.S.I.E. 1991, Ph.D. 1997
• Ryan Daniels, B.S.I.E. 2001, M.S.I.E. 2003
• Thomas Duncan, B.S.I.E. 2005
• Willie Montgomery III, B.S.I.E. 2004, M.S.I.E. 2009
• Chase Rainwater, B.S.I.E. 2004
• David Rieske, B.S.I.E. 2003, M.S.I.E. 2005
• Nia Wright, B.S.I.E. 1993

2021 inductees were:

• Andres Angulo, B.S.I.E. 1994, M.S.I.E. 2002
• Jennifer Cross, B.S.I.E. 2001
• Leigh Ann Fulkerson, B.S.I.E. 2001
• Jenni Kimpel, B.S.I.E. 2006
• Kyle Kimpel, B.S.I.E. 2006

The academy delayed the event, normally held in April, and later decided to induct both 2020 and 2021 classes virtually this fall.

The academy also gives faculty and staff awards for outstanding performance. This year, the academy's Faculty Member of the Year was assistant professor Xiao Liu. Liu had an outstanding year, publishing four journal articles, giving 13 presentations and submitting 11 proposals, eight as principal investigator and three as co-PI. He has two active National Science Foundation grants that total more than $690,000.

The two staff awards were: Administrative Staff Member of the Year Ashley Reeves and Support Staff Member of the Year Tamara Ellenbecker. Reeves was instrumental in helping organize and implement the department's COVID-19 plan. She was proactive in getting the department ready for the return to campus last summer. She has worked diligently to assist with human resources issues and with Workday.

Ellenbecker designed an entire website for the new Data Science program and the new Operations Analytics program. She did this while publishing a steady stream of articles in Arkansas News and while simultaneously creating brochures for the new programs, maintaining the department's social media presence, creating newsletters and mail-outs for students, alumni and constituents, and more. Ellenbecker also played a vital role in the recent graduate program review.