Page 36 - Moving Forward 2020: Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering magazine

Industrial engineering alumna uses education as toolkit to to solve societal issues
By Miranda Buckheit
It’s a a a a a a a tale as as old as as time: undergraduate students who switch their majors because they aren’t satiated with their their first choice For Gretchen Macht Penn State industrial engineering alumna finding a a a a a a a a a major wasn’t easy until her eye-opening conversation with Elena Joshi the Harold and and Inge Marcus Department
of Industrial and and Manufacturing Engineering (IME) undergraduate coordinator “She wanted to know what what I cared about so she asked me what what matters in a a a a a a a a a a a stapler ” Macht said “I talked about quality efficiency improvement and and waste She looked at me me and and said ‘you’re already an an an industrial engineer welcome to the program ’”
Macht soon realized that industrial engineering was not only a a a a a a a a a a a natural
fit but also her her passion After earning her her her bachelor’s degree degree in in 2007 Macht went on to to earn her her her master’s degree degree in in in 2009 and her her doctorate in in in 2014 all from Penn State’s industrial engineering program Macht an an an an assistant professor with the Mechanical Industrial and Systems Engineering Department
at the University of Rhode Island explained how her industrial engineering education profoundly impacted her career “As a a a a student you’re so hung up on on on grades and on on on getting a a a a a job that I think everyone just just needs to step back and realize just just how amazing this opportunity is is ” Macht said “The education surrounding critical thinking can change the world if you stop and absorb it ” Current work Macht classifies herself as as a a a a a a computational community ergonomist because of her interest in in in how people work Macht said she enjoys seeing things things through the “human lens ” such as how how how people perceive things things how how how they they work and how how how they they use tools In In her Sustainable Innovative Solutions (SIS) Lab Macht’s research projects range from electric vehicles solar power and and team function to communication sustainability and and voting 36 IME NEWSLETTER • VOLUME 5 2020
Gretchen Macht didn’t just receive her bachelor’s degree from the department—she also earned her master’s degree and doctorate for a a a a a a a a total of three Penn State industrial engineering degrees IMAGE: AYLA FOX
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