image: Lisa Maillart, Department Chair of Industrial Engineering, University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering
Credit: Swanson School of Engineering
Lisa Maillart, PhD, has been named the Department Chair of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering.
Maillart has served as Interim Chair of Industrial Engineering since 2022 and following a national search, she will move into the role full-time, according to an announcement by Michele V. Manuel, U. S. Steel Dean of Engineering at Pitt.
“Lisa’s national reputation as well as her understanding of the grand challenges facing industrial and systems engineering made it clear that she is the right person to continue in this role,” Manuel said. “Among her goals are further expanding the department’s growth in enrollment, especially in response to industry demands, and helping to guide interdisciplinary research that focuses on challenges such as artificial intelligence, health issues, and supply chain logistics.”
Maillart’s research focuses on decision-making under uncertainty in healthcare applications and maintenance operations. She has received awards from the National Science Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, as well as several university grants.
Founded in 1921, Pitt’s Industrial Engineering program would later establish groundbreaking programs in safety engineering (1930) and post-World War II in health systems engineering (1956). Maillart is the department’s eighth department chair and is keen to help Pitt lead the continuing transformation of industrial and systems engineering.
“The industrial engineer is truly a global professional who works and speaks across disciplines to improve productivity, efficiency, and sustainability across industrial and human systems,” Maillart said. “New technologies such as AI and cybersystems are challenging us to not only adapt but also anticipate the future of our field. I am excited to lead Pitt IE into its next century and, with our outstanding faculty and staff, educate the next generation of students to meet those challenges.”
A graduate of Virginia Tech (BS, MS) and the University of Michigan (PhD), Maillart joined Pitt in 2006 following her tenure as assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University. In 2017 she was named a Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar to the Netherlands and serves as an at-large board member of the Greater Pittsburgh Area Chapter of the Fulbright Association. She has also held officer positions in multiple committees of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), where she is a senior member.
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