IOE-STAGE SITE

Many people walk around a large open room viewing research posters

IOE Symposium Highlights Undergraduate Research

The U-M IOE Undergraduate Research Symposium highlights undergraduate student research projects each fall. These include topics like AI in human factors engineering, exam room utilization at Michigan Medicine and much more.

This fall the University of Michigan Industrial and Operations Engineering (U-M IOE) Department hosted its second annual Undergraduate Research Symposium at the U-M Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. The symposium continues to highlight the contributions of undergraduate students to the department’s research.

“The second annual Symposium featured research conducted by our amazing undergraduate students and showcased the breadth and depth of our department’s research portfolio,” said Albert Berahas, U-M IOE Assistant Professor. “The enthusiastic atmosphere during the poster session, fueled by both the presenters and attendees, was a testament to the event’s success. Bringing together over 100 participants, this symposium not only fosters academic growth but also strengthens our community bonds.”

The event, organized by the U-M IOE DEI Committee, featured opening remarks from Department Chair Julie Simmons Ivy, PhD student research talks, a poster session featuring undergraduate research projects and network opportunities with faculty. 

This year’s posters covered a wide range of topics, including but not limited to: 

  • Predictive & Comparison Analysis of 2024 Paris Olympics Games Final Swimming Results
  • Analysis of Exam Room Utilization to Inform Future Staffing in Primary Care Locations at Michigan Medicine
  • Viewpoint Planning for Semi-Autonomous Human-Supervised External Visual Inspection of Space Stations
  • Generative AI for Human Factors Engineering Education
  • OpenFAST Implementation for Conducting Reliability Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbines

The poster session presentations provide undergraduates the opportunity to showcase their research to over 100 attendees, including faculty, graduate students and peers. This valuable experience prepares them to further their research and communication skills as they continue their academic careers. 

Looking forward, the department hopes the symposium will continue to grow and inspire more undergraduate students to explore research opportunities, fostering a vibrant and collaborative research culture within U-M IOE.


Undergraduate research poster winners

Two men stand in front of reseach poster titled "Propelling U-M Soccer Using Data Analytics"

1st place: Propelling U-M Soccer Using Data Analytics.

Students: Colin Badgero, Nikhil Satpathy, Simon Vasquez and Aubree Xia.

Four women stand to the right of a research poster titled "Improving Prenatal Care Allocation for Pregnant Patients Using a Simulation-Based Approach"

2nd place (tie): Improving Prenatal Care Allocation for Pregnant Patients Using a Simulation-Based Approach

Students: Adrianne Blanton, Ariana Chaidez, Annie He, Jillian Uy and Krithika Venkatasubramanian

Two people stand on each side of a research poster titled "Simulating and Implementing Optimized Stress Testing Slot Times"

2nd place (tie): Simulating and Implementing Optimized Stress Testing Slot Times

 Students: Laney Hoving and Jade Li