Message to the IMSE family from Shing Chang, interim department head
July 20, 2026
I am grateful for the opportunity to have served as acting and then interim department head over the past year. This experience has deepened my appreciation for Brad Kramer’s outstanding leadership and dedicated service to the department over the past 30-plus years.
Kramer will be stepping down from his interim dean position and returning to serve as IMSE department head for one final year. Pending approval from the new dean, we anticipate launching a search for a new department head beginning in the fall 2026 semester. We look forward to a new era of leadership for IMSE.
As many of you know, Margaret Rys retired at the end of May. We are deeply grateful for her many years of dedicated service, leadership and contributions to IMSE, and we wish her the very best in retirement.
We are pleased to share that Myke Cohen, currently a doctoral candidate at Arizona State University, has accepted a faculty position and will join the department in January 2027, succeeding Rys. His expertise in human-AI integration will complement both the Intelligent Manufacturing Laboratory initiative and the department’s growing focus on human-in-the-loop intelligent systems.
Intelligent Manufacturing Laboratory coming to Durland Hall
Several notable developments are on the horizon in IMSE. One notable achievement will be the transformation of the basement space in Durland Hall, currently occupied by the foundry, into an Intelligent Manufacturing Laboratory. In support of this effort, Interim Dean Kramer approved up to $400,000 for facility preparation and renovation.
The laboratory is envisioned as a state-of-the-art manufacturing showcase that integrates physical production equipment with digital twin technology. This environment will allow students and researchers to perform simulation, system modeling, quality control, process optimization and facility layout design within a virtual manufacturing ecosystem.
The proposed laboratory will provide hands-on learning opportunities and support several key IMSE courses, including:
- IMSE 580: Manufacturing Systems Data Analytics
- IMSE 555: Facility Layout and Design
- IMSE 643: Simulation
- IMSE 541: Quality Control
Beyond enhancing undergraduate education, the facility will serve as a platform for graduate research, interdisciplinary collaboration and industry engagement. As the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering advances its digital transformation initiatives across all programs, the Intelligent Manufacturing Laboratory will position IMSE at the forefront of data-driven and smart manufacturing education and research.
Growing international graduate partnerships
The department is also looking abroad to grow its master’s program. This summer, I visited three industrial engineering programs in Taiwan to explore potential dual M.S. degree partnerships.
These partnerships would allow students from partner institutions to complete part of their graduate studies at K-State while earning a degree recognized by both universities. While still in the early stages of development, these partnerships have the potential to strengthen graduate enrollment and expand international opportunities for our students.
Advancing undergraduate curriculum
Another major initiative is the ongoing effort by IMSE faculty to integrate artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science concepts into the undergraduate curriculum.
Our current undergraduate program consists of 120 credit hours, including up to 35 credit hours of general education requirements under the K-State Core curriculum. This Kansas Board of Regents-mandated framework is designed to reduce the cost of higher education by maximizing the transferability of credits across institutions. While this objective provides important benefits for students, it also limits the flexibility available for incorporating emerging areas such as AI, machine learning and data science into an already tightly constrained curriculum.
To address this challenge, IMSE faculty are proposing to replace the current five-credit-hour Physics II requirement with a combination of three credit hours of mathematics and two credit hours of data science. Because ABET allows computer and information science courses to count toward engineering degree requirements, this curricular modification will create additional opportunities for students to incorporate AI, machine learning and data science coursework into their academic programs. This change will better prepare our graduates to meet the evolving demands of modern engineering practice while maintaining compliance with accreditation standards.
Department highlights
There are many accomplishments within our department that deserve recognition.
Jessica Heier Stamm has achieved a remarkable milestone by completing the collection of all Carl R. Ice College of Engineering teaching awards over the past several years, reflecting her sustained excellence in education.
She is also leading an NSF initiative to transform IMSE into a career startup accelerator. This project aims to build on the department’s existing strengths during current and anticipated personnel transitions. Through this initiative, students will be supported in identifying career paths, selecting appropriate elective courses, and building professional networks before graduation.
Suprem Das continues to receive significant recognition both within and beyond the K-State community. His bio-ink research was recently featured on the front page of the K-State website, and several of his publications have been highlighted by leading journals.
Das has earned multiple patents and was honored as a K-State Roots of Research Scholar, a distinction commemorated by the planting of a tree in his honor. In addition, he has established an NSF-funded center focused on smart sensor technologies.
Shuting Lei and Meng Zhang received funding from the Patterson Family Foundation to provide advanced manufacturing education and training opportunities to rural communities.
Our undergraduate students continue to excel. Kyle Bush and Audrey Steinert, both IMSE undergraduate students, earned first place in a student paper competition at the regional IISE Student Research Conference, demonstrating the quality and competitiveness of our academic programs.
I am proud of the hard work and many accomplishments of our faculty, staff and students. Their dedication, innovation and commitment continue to strengthen IMSE and position the department for an exciting future.
I look forward to another successful academic year in 2026–2027.
With Purple Pride,
Shing Chang
Professor and Interim Department Head