USD Magazine, Winter 1998

~

.ALCALA

~Alpine ENGINEER i

hen engineering professor Ernie Kim returned to USD this semes– ter after a one-year sabbatical, it

system for cable television and construc– tion of a fiber optic receiver for Swiss Telecom, the country's phone company - and then left him alone. "Management in that country is very hands off. They expect people to work autonomously," says Kim, who also functioned as an information resource and sounding board for new engineering ideas. "I would send out proposals worth millions of dollars on my own. There's a lot of trust involved." Back at USD, Kim's students can trust that their professor is on the cutting edge of the engineering field. His work overseas landed the professor a contract with a local cable television equipment manufacturer, where he will test new technologies and act as a liaison between the engineering and sales departments. When Kim brings his experiences - and frequently, hands-on research problems and projects - into the classroom, stu– dents gain firsthand knowledge about state-of-the-art engineering. "This field is typically marked by just-in-time engineering," Kim explains. "The customers want improvements, the marketing people come up with ideas and the engineers usually have about two weeks to make them happen."

•

took a few days for him to get reoriented to Alcala Park. After all, when you look out your office window and see the Pacific Ocean instead of the Alps, it can be a little disconcerting. Kim, who began his engineering career in private industry before coming to USD in 1990, revisited the business world for a year as a senior systems engineer for the ASCOM Corp. in Bern, Switzerland. The position wasn't in Kim's original sab– batical plans - he expected to stick close to San Diego and continue his research - but a former colleague called with an offer he couldn't refuse. "It was a rare opportunity to pursue interesting work and become immersed in another culture," says Kim, who was accompanied on the year-long adventure by his wife and two daughters. "We got a really good dose of what it's like to live in Europe, the kind of experience you can't get from short trips." Kim also experienced the Swiss way of doing business. ASCOM immediately handed him several high-profile projects - improving wireless networks, development of an improved fiber optic data transport I t seems simple enough. A second win– dow in the drive-through lane of a fast food restaurant. Pay at the first window, pick up food at the seco your way. But how many car lengths ap should each window be? How efficient is · to staff both windows all day? Should one window be closed at certain times? These are questions answered by trained problem solvers, known in the professional world as industrial and systems engineers. USD's engineering program now includes an ISE major, and students may soon be working with local businesses on projects similar to the drive-through dilemma. The goal of the ISE program, explains assistant professor Rick Olson, is to have the students' senior projects driven by indus– try. He envisions that over the course of one I nCJLJSTRI -A-L

Emie Kim and his lamily explored most ol Switzerland, including lhe Alps, during their slay.

Kim chuckles and shakes his head after this last remark, as if thinking that whether the backdrop is snowy peaks or sandy beaches, in the life of an engineer some things never change.

PRCl-E3L-Ertl

SCJLV-ERS

Olson sees opportunities to work with other programs on campus. Computer science, math, purchasing, management and psychology are a few areas in which students can enhance their training as industrial engineers. Olson and Jose Macedo, a professor specializing in the manufacturing side of SE h ve been called on to develop a pro– gram a voids being too theoretical and concentrates on educating a well-rounded engineer. "I want our graduates to be the kind of people Andersen Consulting is looking for," says Olson, noting that companies increasingly hire consulting firms rather -~,1t...._an,...in-house engineers. "Andersen Corr !ting hires really flexible people. They can't afford to hire someone who only knows one industry."

semester, ISE students will complete work for large companies that are too busy to tackle a particular project, or for small companies that can benefit from the free labor. ntil the first

ISE professionals ana yz the efficiency

ti

of systems ranging from dnv

h win-

dows to hospital pharmacies to a t

o-

duction lines. Quality control departme t are often designed by industrial engineers, Olson says. Because problems cannot be solved without looking at the entire system - the technical and human aspects -

N E

M A G A Z

U 5 D