Why be an Industrial Engineer?

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What is Industrial and Systems Engineering?

Industrial engineers determine the most effective ways to enhance systems—people, machines, materials, information, and energy—to make a product or provide a service.

Industrial engineers improve systems by:

  • Determining the best location of machines in a factory, or ambulance stations in a metropolitan area, or a new factory in the U.S., based on economic and operation considerations
  • Designing automated material handling systems for the movement of parts in a factory
  • Applying data analytics to improve quality management systems
  • Designing advanced manufacturing systems for integrating information and control between manufacturing systems, automated guided vehicles, automated warehouse facilities, and management personnel
  • Determining the optimal routing of ambulances through a city, or material handling vehicles in a factory, to minimize travel time

A BS degree in industrial engineering from UB leads to fascinating careers in industries as diverse as airline operations, automotive manufacturing, health care and financial services. As an IE graduate, you’ll have maximum flexibility to pursue your goals for advancement in management as well as systems design.

IE 101: Discover Industrial Engineering

Discover Industrial Engineering (IE 101) is a one credit hour course designed to give students a first look into industrial engineering as both a college major and a career choice through a series of real life case studies and examples. This course has no prerequisites and is intended for freshman and sophomores in engineering who wish to gain an appreciation for the industrial and systems engineering field.