The direction of education and research in industrial engineering

This paper is written based on the keynote speech, sponsored by the National Science Council, R.O.C., that was presented at the APIEMS'2002 on December 19, 2002, in Taipei, Taiwan. In this paper, it first gives an introduction to industrial engineering, then reviews its past, and finally addresses both the current status and the future of industrial engineering. In conclusion, several thoughts are brought up with the hope that one would look into the niches of the industrial engineering programs, how many industrial engineering degrees to offer and what the optimal degree is, and what the strategic plans are for the industrial engineering departments to take and to follow. In order to have our own niches, we need to be first class industrial engineers, not second class of mathematicians, second class of sociologists, second class of manufacturers or others. In order to have niches, we need to recognize the community and to be recognized by the community.