Engineering Technology students shine at IEOM World Congress: Award-Winning Projects and Industry Insights

October 16, 2024

NATCHITOCHES - Four graduating senior Engineering Technology students from Northwestern State University - Gabriel Craig of Natchitoches, Blade Beaubouef of Olla, Dani Carver of Anacoco and Karii Gribanov of Natchitoches - along with Dr. Shahriar Hossain, associate professor and department head, participated in the Industrial Engineering and Operations Management Society's World Congress in Detroit, Michigan, October 9-11. The students presented three papers, each stemming from their senior design projects, all of which were accepted for publication in the conference proceedings.

The conference featured around 200 papers submitted from 23 different countries and territories.

"PanicGuard+: Safeguarding Vulnerable Populations with a Redesigned Panic Button System," a paper authored by Craig, Riley Birdwell of Nacogdoches, Texas; Nolan Ezernack of Zwolle, Hossain, and Dr. Moftah Ali and presented by Craig, won second place in the Senior Design Project Competition, sponsored by Tooling Tech Group.

During the trip, the NSU Engineering Technology team had the opportunity to visit the ABB Robot Manufacturing Facility and the Ford Rouge Factory where they gained invaluable experience presenting their work on an international stage, touring world-class industries and attending various workshops and presentations at the conference.

"For me, the highlight of our trip to the IEOM World Conference was the visit to the Ford Rouge Factory in Dearborn, Michigan," Carver said. "Learning about Ford Motor Company's manufacturing processes-both historical and current-was incredibly enlightening, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience."

"The IEOM World Congress was an amazing opportunity for networking and learning. I am grateful to have shared the experience with my classmates and friends," Gribanov said.

This was a wonderful experience to finish out my time at Northwestern," Craig said. "The ABB robotics tour was awe inspiring and I would recommend it to anyone going."

"I am very grateful for the opportunity to go to Detroit," Beaubouef said. "My favorite part of the trip was getting to experience the Ford Motor Company and ABB's facilities."

Travel to the conference was supported by the NSF Student Travel Support Grant, Organizational Relief Fund, and the Department of Engineering Technology.