Page 4 - Moving Forward 2020: Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering magazine

Q and and A with Steve Landry
By Miranda Buckheit
IME Mag: Welcome to Penn State! The industrial engineering community is glad to have you you Have you you had a a a a a a a a chance to to experience the State College area?
Steve Landry
(SL): I am very happy and and and and excited to to be here and and and and contribute to to the department and and and college!
I have have visited here a a a a few times before and and have have experienced some of of the campus and and town but not much Outside of of those prior visits I have not unfortunately With the pandemic going on we’ve stayed pretty much in in in our house yard and and neighborhood since we arrived We hope to start exploring even if it is just driving around and seeing the the surrounding area in in in in in the the next few weeks Hopefully things will return to to normal and we’ll be able to to venture out relatively soon IME Mag: Can you tell the industrial engineering community more about your background?
SL: I I have somewhat of an an unusual background for an an an academic I I grew up in in in Massachusetts and studied electrical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute I I went through Air Force ROTC mainly to pay for school The Air Force then sent me to pilot 4 IME NEWSLETTER • VOLUME 5 2020 training and I spent the next eight years flying C-141B C-141B aircraft in in in in New Jersey The C-141B C-141B is a a a a a a a a large four engine jet aircraft with a a a a a crew of five to eight people I very much enjoyed my time in in the the military which was dominated by first the the the the Panama invasion and then a a a a a a a a a a a little later the the the Persian Gulf War but included many unique and interesting experiences The Air Force gives relatively young officers a a a a a a a lot of of responsibility and authority so it it it was a a a a a a great job However the desire to be a a a a scientist or academic never left me and I decided to to to go back to to to school after my initial commitment to to to to the Air Force was over I I went to to MIT for a a a a a a a a master’s degree in aeronautics/ astronautics then to Georgia Tech for my Ph D in in in in industrial and systems systems engineering My research was focused on on human-systems integration engineering in in in in the air transportation system As I I was finishing up my Ph D I I left Georgia Tech and took a a a a a a a job as effectively a a a a a a a a research scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center
in in California I spent three years there working on on on air traffic control automation Again NASA allows individuals to to take on on on on a a a a a a a lot of responsibility if one so so desires so so it it was a a a a great job and I’m proud of the the work we we did there However I I still had an an itch to teach and have the the the ability to to branch out into new areas in in fin in my my research so after finishing my my Ph D I applied for faculty jobs and was hired at Purdue University in in in the School of Industrial Engineering At Purdue I followed a a a a a typical path—teaching and doing research but also becoming involved in in in in in in administration and service at at all levels from the the the department to to the the the college to to the the the university I apparently had somewhat of a a a a a a a a a talent for it it because I was asked to continue and and even expand my involvement After being promoted to full professor having spent many years working as as as the the associate head head and and one year year as as as the the acting head head I applied for and and was hired here at at Penn State IME Mag: What made you accept this role with Penn State?
SL: This is is a a question you you know you’ll be asked during interviews so I I I had had to think about it a a a a a a a lot Upon reflection I I I realized I I I had had taken on on on on service positions such as committee committee work search committees committees college committees committees university senate associate head head and acting head head mainly because I saw that there were were problems or or inefficiencies
that weren’t being worked on and I I thought I I could help That really is why the the head of IME at at at Penn State appealed to me—the department college and University are very Announcements