Purdue IE Funding Priorities

Purdue IE Funding Priorities

The Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering (IE) is home to innovative heroes tackling complex challenges in operations research and analytics, artificial intelligence, human factors, smart manufacturing systems, and production and supply networks. With a strong tradition of industrial collaboration, Purdue IE empowers students and faculty — many of whom are National Science Foundation Career Award winners — to achieve victories in healthcare, advanced manufacturing, energy, sustainability, services, and IT. Together, they develop bold, real-world solutions that improve lives and industries, advancing Purdue’s legacy of engineering excellence and producing the next generation of impactful problem-solvers.
 






Vision

Embracing the transformative power of cutting-edge technologies, Purdue IE is building on its strengths to elevate the university’s land-grant mission with excellence at scale. The Edwardson School fosters a dynamic, inclusive environment where students gain the skills to become leaders, innovators and job creators. By integrating advanced digital solutions with real-world applications, Purdue IE drives workforce development and industry transformation — advancing human health, sustainability and technological progress for lasting societal impact.
 
“Consumers and companies alike recently have been struggling with supply-chain issues. Industrial engineers — who aim to increase efficiency in workforce processes and eliminate waste of raw materials, money and time in production — are steeped in these challenges.”
— U.S. News & World Report, 2023

Impact

Since the 1930s, Purdue IE has produced engineering heroes whose breakthroughs have shaped smart manufacturing, operations research and analytics, human factors, and production and supply networks. With continued donor support, Purdue IE will drive new victories — including the inclusive design of autonomous vehicles and advancements in tactile feedback of surgical robots; supply-chain innovations that will deliver critical aid to people in need; artificial intelligence and machine learning that work to benefit humankind; the use of data science to improve medical diagnosis and treatment; and the leveraging of digital twins and artificial intelligence to improve supply-chain stability in the United States.
 
Investing in the following areas will further this vision.
 

Funding Priorities

Professorships and Graduate Fellowships

John Edwardson (IE'71, HDR'06) will match all cash gifts (one-to-one) from third-party donors for the following priorities:
 
  • Professorships help recruit and retain high-quality faculty members and equip investigators with important resources.
Professorships | $1 million ($2 million endowment*)
Rising Star Faculty | $250,000 ($500,000 endowment*)
 
  • Prestigious graduate fellowships continue to increase the number of Purdue graduate industrial engineering students who perform cutting-edge, global-impact research.
Graduate Fellows | $125,000 ($250,000 endowment*)
*named by third-party donors
 
 

Research Center for AI and Robotic Excellence in Medicine (CARE)

The Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Excellence in Medicine (CARE) supports generative AI and robotics for interventional medicine research across Purdue and the Indiana University School of Medicine. CARE brings together leading researchers in Embodied AI, Field and Frontier Medicine and Autonomous Diagnostic Clinics. Donor support will help address the unique needs of patients, surgeons and healthcare professionals.
 

Gateway Complex Equipment

The new Build @ Scale Lab in the Gateway Complex supports education and research in advanced Industry 4.0 and 5.0 technologies. While operational, it needs additional equipment to become a fully integrated enterprise platform. Fully equipped, it will enable hands-on exploration with IoT machines, robots, drones, AI systems and advanced sensors.
 

Outstanding Faculty

Yuehwern Yih serves as the Tompkins Professor of the Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering; was the director of Long-term Assistance and Services for Research, Partners for University-Led Solutions Engine (LASER PULSE); and runs the Smart Operations and Systems Lab, which performs research surrounding some of society’s most pressing challenges, ranging from health care disparities to improving the Ugandan supply chain. She recently developed the E+TRA system (Electronic TRAnsparent TRAcking system), a supply-chain management system that has helped deliver vital humanitarian aid to thousands of families in South Sudan and Ukraine.
 
In May 2024, Yih was the first woman to win the IISE David F. Baker Distinguished Research Award, which honors her career accomplishments. In 2025, she has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering as well as the National Academy of Inventors (senior member). She is currently investigating the disparate cancer treatment experiences of Indianapolis women, collaborating on saving the lives of premature babies in Malawi by redesigning the layout and furniture for the neonatal intensive care unit, and using systems engineering to improve Ugandan health-care procedures for pregnancy and delivery.
“I believe in building strong leaders to help health-care institutions infuse system thinking to their operations to provide better and safer care with equity and affordability, ultimately, to build a healthier community,” Yih says.


Alumni and friends can drive victories at the Edwardson School of Industrial Engineering by investing in facilities, faculty and student support — empowering the next generation of engineers to innovate, lead and shape the future. Your investment in the Edwardson School fuels “Victories & Heroes: Your Campaign for Purdue.” To learn more, visit purdue.edu/campaign.