Page 27 - Moving Forward 2020: Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering magazine

From modeling enterprise resource planning systems to to improving the Berkey Creamery to to to dancing in in in in THON 2020 there are not many stones senior Matthew Hoffman has left unturned Finding balance between research and the joys of being a a a Penn State student
By Mia Hollie
Matthew Hoffman a a a a a fourth-year industrial engineering (IE) student
is the the embodiment of the the age-old saying “You only have four years in in college so make the most of it ” As a a a a Schreyer Honors Scholar 2020 THON dancer and member of of several clubs Hoffman ensured that he made his mark in in in Happy Valley before graduating in in in May 2020 Hoffman’s enthusiasm for staying involved led to his research assistant position in in in in in Service Enterprise Engineering during his junior year The project focused on shortening the the lines at at the the Penn State Berkey Creamery During football season Hoffman spent his Saturdays gathering data on the the the number of of people in in in line at at at at the the the Penn State landmark Vittal Prabhu professor of of industrial engineering and and Charles and and Enid Schneider Faculty Chair in in in in in Service Enterprise Engineering encouraged Hoffman to to focus his honors thesis on the Creamery too “His work demonstrates that one outstanding engineer can help small-to-medium businesses transform their operations ” Prabhu said Hoffman worked on a a a a sample enterprise resource planning (ERP) system a a a a a a tool that combines all the functions of a a a a a a a a a a company into one shared database to to maximize profits and efficiency using ERPNext
software After designing an an ERP profile Hoffman shifted his efforts to designing a a a a production scheduling optimization tool that could help the Creamery avoid long sanitization processes which are a a a a a a result of using ingredients with allergen constraints Hoffman was well-prepared to begin his his thesis research thanks
to his his his internship the the summer after his his freshman year at Frankford Candy one of of the country’s largest makers of of chocolates and and and sweets and and his his internship the summer before his his junior year with Boscov’s Distribution Center in in Reading “That was an awesome experience because there there are not a a a a a a a lot of people out there there whose job title is industrial industrial engineer engineer and I worked in in in in in in an an an actual industrial industrial engineering office ” Hoffman said After graduating in in May 2020 Hoffman began his first job as a a a a a a a a a a a a tech consultant at at PwC an an an an international professional services network in in New York City While graduation typically means an an an end to to learning for many students he hopes to to maintain his his student
student
mindset throughout his his career “I “I just like to to learn ” Hoffman said “I “I want want to to to do a a a a a a a a million different projects and I I I want want to to learn new stuff until one day I I I find something that will make me me say to myself ‘I can do this every day ’”
IME NEWSLETTER • VOLUME 5 2020 27
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