IE's Paul Leu recognized by IISE with 2016 UPS Award for Minority Advancement
PITTSBURGH (May 25, 2016) ... Paul W. Leu, PhD, assistant professor of industrial engineering at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, is the recipient of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers' (IISE)UPS Award for Minority Advancement in Industrial Engineering.
The UPS award recognizes individuals who, through innovative means, have developed programs or projects directed to the advancement of women, minorities or the disabled in the field of industrial engineering. Since joining the University of Pittsburgh in 2010, Dr. Leu has worked successfully with the Pitt Engineering Office of Diversity supervising INVESTING NOW engineering workshops every summer. INVESTING NOW is a college preparatory program created to stimulate, support, and recognize the academic performance of pre-college students from groups that are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Dr. Leu and his research group have managed INVESTING NOW workshops for over ten weeks and with more than 200 high school juniors and seniors for the last six years.
Dr. Leu and his research group have also worked with the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation in developing various modules that cover topics such as engineering, renewable energy, water sustainability, solar energy, and sustainable design. The modules emphasize hands-on learning where the high school students build their own water filters, solder their own circuit board, and design and build cars to race against one another. One of the students expressed, “This is the most fun I’ve had doing engineering!” Albums of all the Dr. Leu’s outreach activities may be found online at
https://picasaweb.google.com/107438219012317363873.
About Dr. Leu
Dr. Paul W. Leu has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh since August 2010. His research group’s areas of expertise include solar cells, nanomanufacturing, and simulation-based design. He is a recipient of the 2016 National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award and the 2012 Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award. He has won an NSF Nanotechnology for Undergraduate Education grant and a University of Pittsburgh Academic Council of Instructional Excellence (ACIE) Innovation in Education Award.
He received his BS in mechanical engineering at Rice University and his master of science in mechanics of materials and PhD in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. He subsequently worked as a postdoctoral research fellow in the U.C. Berkeley Electrical Engineering Department as a member of the Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center and with a joint-appointment in the Materials Division Center of Lawrence Berkeley.
Dr. Leu and his research group will be working with the Pitt Mobile Science Lab this summer to outreach to various schools in western Pennsylvania. The Mobile Science Lab is also booked for various community events and attends tailgate parties for all Pitt home football games.
For more information about Dr. Leu’s research visit lamp.pitt.edu.
About IISE
IISE (formerly the Institute of Industrial Engineers), the world's largest professional society dedicated solely to the support of the profession, is an international, nonprofit association that provides leadership for the application, education, training, research, and
development of industrial and systems engineering.
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Contact: Paul Kovach