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Engineers Nominated By Institute of
Industrial Engineers
Jonna Gerken, an industrial engineer, is Team Leader in the Joint Strike Fighter Program for Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Engines in East Hartford, Connecticut. Gerken currently leads a large, multi-discipline team of engineers, scientists, and others in the design, development, and testing of engine hardware using a new high temperature composite material. The team was able to bring the first parts to engine test in only 18 months. This was accomplished by developing new testing techniques and unique hardware designs to fit a non-metallic part structure. The expedited time frame required that Gerken develop and lead a team that was focused, creative, and responsive to all program requirements, including an aggressive cost target. At the same time, a new supplier was brought on board to make the parts. This required constant on-site presence during part manufacture to identify production and quality issues as soon as they arose. With Gerken's leadership, the team was able to complete tasks that had never been done before, on time and on budget. Gerken is an active member of both the Institute of Industrial Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers. Devoted to increasing awareness of engineering, she works throughout the year speaking at local schools, participating in science and career fairs, and attending professional development seminars, all of which contribute to the education of the public about science, engineering, and technology careers.
Kelli McCoy, an industrial and systems engineer, is a Program Integration Manager in the Launch Services Program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. McCoy currently manages budget and contractual launch vehicle issues for the Launch Services Program's DAWN, STEREO, and Hubble Telescope Re-servicing missions. She also supports the phaseout of the Payload Carriers Program in accordance with the President's Management Agenda. One of her first projects was to streamline the Launch Services Program's invoice process. She came up with an electronic invoice submittal method that should reduce the time it takes to pay invoices by about half and save about 75 percent in invoice processing costs once implementation is complete. She has been selected to present this project at NASA's 2005 Project Management Challenge in March. In the meantime, McCoy has been tasked to develop a budgeting model to help the Launch Services Program financially prepare for any launch delays that may occur. McCoy is a member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers and the Project Management Institute. She served as a Key Solicitor for this year's Combined Federal Campaign which is a federal fundraiser for the needy and other nonprofit organizations. McCoy was nominated as a New Face of Engineering by the Institute of Industrial Engineers.
Du Nguyen, a senior engineer at Shands Healthcare in Gainesville, Florida, is an internal consultant for this nine-hospital healthcare system. Nguyen has led the development and implementation of several automated productivity tools for multiple hospitals in the system. One example is the proposal and implementation of handheld personal digital assistants for registered dietitians as a productivity tracking and nutritional assessment tool. She also led a multi-departmental team to improve medical supply management in the intensive care units at Shands at UF hospital. Nguyen and the team evaluated current inventory management processes and identified opportunities to increase efficiency and reduce delays in medical supply delivery, stocking, and retrieval. Her team successfully implemented several information systems, process flow, and quality control improvements. These projects resulted in the following improvements: increased bedside time for health care workers; improved ICU patient care; and increased revenue for the hospital system.
Steeve Poligadu, a manufacturing engineer with Phillbourne Manufacturing Pty. Ltd. in Merredin, Australia, works for a medium-size manufacturing organization, practicing a wide range of industrial engineering techniques, including production scheduling, quality control procedures, and design and implementation of continuous improvement methods. In the past year, Poligadu has implemented a number of money-saving and quality-enhancing procedures. He has trained operators to keep track of their stock, using a visual deployment method which informs them of the production plan and they order parts accordingly from previous cells considering the lead times and resource availability. |
Jonna Gerken
Kelli McCoy
Du Nguyen
Steeve Poligadu
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National Engineers Week Foundation
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