This year has brought challenges and great rewards for the students and faculty in industrial and systems engineering.
As with many universities, our campus went completely online in March 2020 and our faculty did an outstanding job adjusting their courses to be taught remotely. While our students are graduating into a new normal, they are still prepared to go out into the world and lead in industry and academia. We are grateful for their enduring spirits and hard work.
This year we are thankful for the generosity of Mike and Sugar Barnes. The Barnes have given over $10 million to Texas A&M, including a major endowment this year in honor of the department’s 80th anniversary. In their honor, the department has been renamed the Wm Michael Barnes ’64 Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering.
Barnes received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial engineering and his doctoral degree in operations research, all from Texas A&M. He was the second doctoral graduate from the department in 1968. He worked at Rockwell International for 33 years, becoming senior vice president and chief financial officer.
In 2016 he was named a Distinguished Alumnus by Texas A&M and The Association of Former Students for excellence in his profession and meaningful contributions to Texas A&M and the community. This honor has been bestowed on only 303 Aggie graduates since 1962.
We extend our sincere thanks to the Barnes family for their generosity and continue to encourage our students and faculty to excel academically and professionally to honor their generous gift.
The vision I have set for our department is to be a top 5 program in the next five years and a powerhouse of excellence and talent in engineering education and research. To attain this lofty vision, we have set five integrated goals: 1) recruit and retain the brightest students, 2) retain and attract top research and teaching faculty, 3) establish world-class teaching and research facilities, 4) foster diversity and inclusion, and 5) increase departmental visibility.
For further information about our department and to find recent news items, we invite you to explore our website. We promote a culture of openness and collaboration that welcomes everyone to Texas A&M, remotely and in person.
Sincerely,
Lewis Ntaimo, Ph.D.
Professor and Department Head
Holder of the Mike and Sugar Barnes Department Head Chair