THE DANIEL J. EPSTEIN DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL & SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
Industrial and systems engineers work to improve processes, systems, and organizations. An industrial and systems engineering education provides the skills and foundations to design, analyze, and optimize complex systems. They are productivity catalysts, managing the combination of physical, capital, and human resources needed to produce and deliver valuable goods and services.
Industrial and systems engineers are consummate economic competitors who focus on developing and controlling manufacturing, production, inventory, distribution, service, and management information systems to ensure their companies’ success in the global marketplace. On the job, these engineering professionals optimize the use of scarce resources by integrating people and technology to maximize productivity, minimize cost, improve processes, and maintain high standards of quality.
Hear From our Faculty
Check out our recent faculty roundtable discussion that was held with three of our Daniel J. Epstein Department Industrial & Systems Engineering Faculty members – Dr. Kurt Palmer, Dr. Yalda Kasha, and Dr. Sze-Chuan Suen. This roundtable will discuss what the major is, the courses each faculty teach, research they conduct and the discipline of Industrial & Systems Engineering at USC Viterbi.
ISE On The Podcast
ISE Student Blog
Learn more about Industrial & Systems Engineering (ISE) at USC through our student blog. These posts were written by USC Viterbi ISE students during their time at USC to help you better understand the discipline and their life.
Curriculum
Industrial & Systems Engineers engineer better businesses. They optimize processes and look into the people side of engineering. Check out the curriculum here:
Industrial & Systems Engineering
Industrial and System Engineers devise how to do things better by engineering processes and systems that improve quality and productivity. An industrial and systems engineering education provides a fundamental base for success in a broad spectrum of career paths.
Research
We have a balance of programs - theoretical, computational, and experimental – which exemplify the Viterbi School’s approach to intensive and collaborative research.
Industrial and Systems Engineering focuses on creating more efficient processes that will improve overall business and engineering processes. Researchers within the ISE department at USC focus on a variety of different topics. These include: agile, flexible manufacturing and production systems, green logistics and industrial ecology, health systems improvement, human-computer interaction, management of technology, optimization and logistics,
port operations and supply chain management, renewable energy systems, transportation and logistics, collaborative engineering design, rapid prototyping, and automated construction.
Recent Projects
Check out some recent developments from our Industrial & Systems Engineering Department.
Faculty
Faculty will be teaching all of your classes and leading research projects as well. Your opportunities to build relationships with your faculty will begin immediately in your first year, both in the classroom and the lab. Check out a few highlighted professors with whom you may work in the future:
Dr. Najm Meshkati
Combustion, Fuels, and Engine Labs
Dr. Meshkati conducts research on risk reduction and reliability enhancement of complex technological systems, including nuclear power, aviation, and petrochemical transportation industries.
Dr. Phebe Vayanos
Center for Artificial Intelligence In Society
Drawing inspiration from the Grand Challenges of Social Work and Grand Challenges of Engineering, USC Viterbi has teamed up with the School of Social Work to use AI to focus on social issues like ending homelessness.
Dr. John Carlsson
Optimization
Dr. Carlsson works on algorithms for solving problems in continuous location theory, and more generally, optimization problems that have some kind of geographic element. His research is supported by DARPA, the Navy, the Air Force, the NSF, and others.
Dr. Shinyi Wu
Health Policy Simulation
Her research involves the assessment of cost-effectiveness and the redesign of processes for delivering healthcare, analysis and evaluation of healthcare policies, and adoption and implementation of health information technology.
Don't stop here.
Learn more about the cool faculty and amazing research being done at the Industrial & Systems Engineering Department at their website:
Careers
Your engineering undergraduate degree will prepare you for many career and academic opportunities.
Your future with a degree in Industrial & Systems Engineering can see you pursue a number of future career paths at companies serving a variety of industries.
Whether you have always known “what you want to do when you grow up” or are hoping to find out, we are here to help you plan for your future beyond USC. We provide dedicated career services starting in your first year to help you find internships, co-ops, and full-time positions post graduation.
Student Life
We want students who like to work hard – both in and out of the classroom. Our students know that going to college is more than attending class and completing assignments. College is about making connections and joining a community of dedicated students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Our students want to work and play with people as interesting as they are, and we have a number of ways for you to do the same.
Your life can be designed how you like it. Join a professional organization like IISE. Continue your passion for volunteering with the Society of Women Engineers. Keep making art with Corpus Callosum. On this page, we have a few student organizations we think you might be interested in, but there are so many more you can get involved in!
Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers
Professional Organization
IISE brings its members opportunities which provide them with valuable experiences, skills and a familiarity with industrial engineering and related professions.
National Organization for Business and Engineering
Interdisciplinary Society
NOBE USC unites business, management, and engineering organizations to help develop professional skills in members that can be translated to success in the business world.
Illumin Magazine
Engineering Publication
Illumin is an online magazine dedicated to exploring the science and technology behind the things we encounter everyday. It is produces and published by the Engineering Writing Program in Viterbi.
Imagine yourself on campus.
Learn more about life at USC as an engineering student at Viterbi Voices:
Alumni
As students, these alumni worked hard in class and didn’t stop there. From start-ups to research, they took advantage of all corners of campus in order to bring their dreams to life and succeed post-graduation. See what some of our alumni are doing now and how they reflect on their time at USC Viterbi.
More Engineering Disciplines
This area of the Viterbi School is just one of the many areas of Engineering & Computer Science. Beyond this area of study, we have ten academic disciplines spread across eight departments to make up more than thirty majors and areas of emphasis. Take some time to explore all of your interests before you apply by clicking on any area below.
