University at Buffalo (UB)
Production Systems
In production systems (PS), challenges in manufacturing service and healthcare systems are tackled through the application of the engineering sciences: e.g., analytic models, information and knowledge-based methods, operations research expertise, and advanced computer technology.
Faculty and students conduct research in a variety of PS areas including production planning and scheduling, sustainable manufacturing, additive manufacturing, cyber manufacturing, nanomanufacturing, and biomanufacturing. Other research areas include healthcare equity and healthcare service optimization.
We have an active student body, with chapters of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), American Society for Quality (ASQ), the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), and the Institute for Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE).
PS research is funded by such agencies as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Agency for Healthcare Research (AHRQ) as well as national and local corporations such as Catholic Health Systems, Boeing, GE Technologies and the Erie County Medical Center. We often work in teams with faculty and students from other programs, such as Human Factors and Operations Research, to solve problems beyond the expertise of any single discipline.
Graduated students take positions in academic institutions, federal laboratories, national corporations, and service industries.
Students pursuing a PhD concentration in PS may also be interested in the following opportunities:
Required Core Courses
ISE PhD students who concentrate in PS complete at a minimum:
- IE 504 Facilities Design
- IE 505 Production Planning and Control
- IE 506 Computer-Integrated Manufacturing
- IE 507 Design and Analytical Experiments 1
- IE 551 Simulation and Stochastic Models
- IE 508 (Quality Assurance) and IE 509 (Six Sigma) are strongly recommended as elective courses