Dear M&D members,

Thank you for the opportunity to lead our division during the 2024-2025 term. With the many successes our board accomplished last year, my goal is to continue building on those efforts. While the summer is a time of rest and preparation, our board has already begun its work for this term.

Change and volunteerism are significant for this term. Three changes are social media, awards and new bylaws. Based on trends and other analysis, IISE is placing a greater focus on LinkedIn and moving away from X (formally Twitter). This is primarily due to member interaction with and usage of those platforms. Similarly, M&D is reviewing the value that platforms provide to you. Last year, awards were revised. While we took huge leaps in making M&D awards more accessible and inclusive, there is room for improvement. That includes advertising awards and soliciting nominations. Finally in March, the M&D members approved new division bylaws and a plan for transitioning from 2-year to 1-year board terms. Shorter terms provide more opportunities for members to serve our division without long-term commitments. The previous commitment to serve as M&D President was about 10 years. Now, it could be 4 years. The bylaws added M&D Track Chair as a new board position. It is one more chance to serve the division by leading the organization and execution of the M&D Track for the IISE Annual Conference.

You don’t have to be an M&D board member to serve. We need volunteers for award committees, present podcasts or webinars, chair sessions during the annual conference, and step up to lead our division during 2025-2026. Volunteering and providing your input are as easy as sending an email to me, another board member, or Ms. Amy Straub at IISE headquarters.

Start making plans to attend the 2025 IISE Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia during May 31 – Jun 3. Atlanta is a vibrant area with plenty to see and do; museums, aquariums, history, professional sports, food, and IISE headquarters.

Regards,



David Vance, PE

President, IISE M&D Division

The Manufacturing and Design (M&D) Division of the Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers (IISE) is sponsoring the M&D Track at the IISE Annual Conference & Expo 2025. The conference is a forum for exchanging knowledge and discoveries in the Industrial and Systems Engineering research and practitioner communities. The IISE Annual Conference & Expo 2025 will continue to integrate research and industry applications under one conference.  

We encourage you to contribute to the Conference and Track by submitting a 250-word abstract or presentation summary by Nov 10, 2025 at

https://iise.secure-platform.com/annual. Key areas of M&D include:  

George Z. Tan

Conference Chair – M&D Division of IISE

Associate Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering, joint appointment at College of Medicine, University of Houston.