Message from the Department Head

Welcome to the website of Rensselaer’s Department of Decision Sciences and Engineering Systems (DSES), home to the Bachelor of Science degree program in Industrial and Management Engineering (IME). The DSES department also offers a highly ranked doctoral program closely aligned with our research thrusts in decision modeling, systems engineering and data analysis and the Master’s programs in Industrial and Management Engineering.

Like the DSES graduate programs, the IME undergraduate program reflects the unique foci of the DSES department. It is among the most dynamic and exciting undergraduate engineering programs in the nation. On the job, graduates of the IME program figure out how to do things better. They engineer products, services, processes and systems to improve quality and productivity. Government agencies and almost all industries employ IME’s. Designing and analyzing “human centered” systems is at the core of IME. This requires the ability to recognize and model the variability introduced by the human element in all types of systems, and to view other real-world phenomena in terms of models that can then be exercised and optimized prior to system deployment. Since these models are used as tools to aid in the process of making technical and managerial decisions, the IME's position in an organization is often that of a management advisor; a technical resource person knowledgeable about every facet of the organization and system. One common role of the IME is to drive change in organizations by leading initiatives aimed at enhancing productivity, improving leadership, or adopting new technologies. This aspect of the profession emphasizes entrepreneurship and interpersonal as well as technical skills. Due to their broad technical background, IME graduates are well prepared for positions of leadership in a wide variety of organizations; many of our alumni were or are CEOs and/or hold other senior management positions in major corporations. Graduates from the IME program find career opportunities in almost every industry: consulting, manufacturing and supply chain management, health systems, transportation, financial services, insurance, entertainment, parcel distribution, and government. Starting salaries for IME graduates are comparable with those of other engineering disciplines but are typically above average over an individual’s career since many IME’s transition into managerial roles over time.

The research and graduate education missions of DSES are focused on our core faculty strengths in information engineering, operations engineering and enterprise engineering. These strengths directly support our primary research thrusts in Services Engineering and Adaptive Supply Chains which address socially relevant problems emphasizing the effective utilization of information for the process of decision making. A recurrent theme in our research is upgrading the information “value chain” from data, to information, to the knowledge capable of supporting decision making processes, developing mathematical and logical models of decision problems from a total integrated systems perspective, and integration of these models within human centered decision support systems. DSES receives research sponsorship from the National Science Foundation, federal and state Departments of Transportation, the National Institute of Health, the Federal Aviation Administration and other government agencies as well as private industry and private foundations. Major DSES research projects in recent years have focused on the management of global supply chains, new drug discovery, disaster management, new concepts in aviation management, automation of distribution systems through autonomous vehicle technology, intelligent transportation systems, decision informatics for service systems engineering and many more exciting areas. Graduates of the DSES doctoral programs hold senior academic and industry appointments throughout the world.

DSES boasts a truly distinguished faculty including members of the National Academy of Engineering, Fellows of our major professional societies, and recipients of numerous major national and international awards for achievements in research, education and professional service. They are world class educator/scholars in such areas as decision analysis, systems engineering, industrial logistics, simulation modeling, operations research, information systems, soft computing and related specializations. The department is also supported by an outstanding staff, an extensive alumni network, and an Advisory Board of distinguished industry leaders and alumni. Please take a moment to learn more about us as you explore our website.

We are physically located on the fifth floor of the Center for Industrial Innovation on the Rensselaer campus and would be pleased to help you plan a visit to meet with us directly. If you are a current Rensselaer undergraduate considering a major in the IME program or a prospective graduate student, please contact me directly at malmbc @ rpi.edu.

Charles J. Malmborg
Department Head