Engineers who

MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Education, energy and youth empowerment punctuate careers
Somewhere between the perfect life and the perfect career
lies the perfect cause to get involved in. Engineers make
decisions each day that impact the quality of life of those
who use the products and work in the facilities they build.
Industrial engineers in particular shape the processes and
systems that serve workplaces, communities and the world
at large. These are tall orders to be responsible for, and yet
so many also dedicate their time and skills to healing societys most pressing burdens.
Here, Industrial Engineer profiles three engineers who
arent only in the business of improving their organizations.
They seek project guidance from the heart, and by accentuating traditional approaches with wisdom and experiences
that take humanity into consideration, these figures possess clear focus and direction. They speak with pride about
the causes theyre attached to and forge programs that will
matter for ages to come. >>>>
January 2009

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engineers who make a difference

crimefighting
strategy
Lesia Crumpton-Young
takes engineering to the streets

When was the last time an industrial engineer ran for

office? Citing reasons why this tier of problem solvers
would make exceptional politicians, Lesia CrumptonYoung, professor in the Department of Industrial
Engineering and Management Systems at the University
of Central Florida, has already campaigned for change
for many years. Her main electorate isnt old enough to
vote though. As author of the Youve Got the Power! workbook series for children, youth program creator and a
motivational speaker, Young has fine-tuned a strategy
for improving lives, one process and one city at a time.
She has introduced her character development model
in classrooms and juvenile detention centers in North
Carolina, Texas and Florida in hopes of demolishing teen
violence, school dropout, pregnancy and suicide rates.

by candi s. cross

26

Industrial Engineer

Youngs words are emphatic: Were engineers, we solve

problems! Lets figure out how to solve these problems! It falls
in line with the engineering approach.
Youngs time as an advocate for youth empowerment isnt
necessarily the crown jewel of her career span nor has it been a
single focus since becoming the first African-American female to
receive a Ph.D. in engineering at Texas A&M University, where
she also earned bachelors and masters degrees in industrial
engineering. Her accolades have stacked up because of intensive study and hard work associated with the development of
the Ergonomics/Human Factors Program and Experimentation
Laboratory during her tenure at Mississippi State University,
design of workplace solutions for persons with disabilities,
investigation of cumulative trauma disorders in the construction industry and projects in her current position as co-director of the National Science Foundations Industry/University
Cooperative Research Center for e-Design.
Add the Janice A. Lumpkin Educator of the Year Golden Torch
Award from the National Society of Black Engineers and the
Women of Color Educational Leadership Award and youve got
relevant material to reference when trying to motivate others.
The accolades have helped me develop a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction with my career, says Young.
Some people dont get that sense of accomplishment so
they have internal anxiety. It helps me in my motivational
speaking to say that I have done this and you can also. It
helps provide credibility to the message. That has been the
best part. But I must admit I really thought about that question: Have I really gotten past the point of thinking that I
need to perform better with pressure? In my 20s, I had an
adviser who said, We call you guys ... our darker ones. This
was in 1984. Immediately I had this pressure. I remember
thinking, did he notice that I went to a high school for the
engineering profession? But he didnt see the traditional
engineering student when he was doing my orientation. In
senior design, he came to me and said that he was so wrong
about me.
Young knows she is not wrong about the potential in all
young people. You can hear the champion for them in her
voice when she refers to the Youve Got the Power series and how
she helped train 400 facilitators in the empowerment techniques for classrooms nationwide. After testing her method in
strengthening character and instilling a value system of ambition, integrity, self-control and character on students in North
Carolina and Texas, Young launched a program for more than
1,800 young people in 2007. The three-month workshop took
place in 13 centers operated by the City of Orlandos Parks and
Recreation Department.

Each student received a workbook to guide them through

a daily schedule of concentration and study of principles
like believing in yourself and learning from your mistakes.
Students logged onto a Web site for further exercises that
accompany the workbook.
These workbooks were created by combining intellectual
ideas with self-exploration activities and experiential learning
exercises that motivate and encourage individuals to modify
their thoughts, behaviors and decision-making processes and
to help ensure their ultimate success in life, explains Young,
who is preparing pilot programs for potential funding by the
Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.
Spoken like a true industrial engineer, Young says that the
most frightening part of developing this program was to figure out a way to assure that she delivered a quality program
to such a large number of people. After all, in a small group
of participants, theres less variability when only one person
directs an initiative. The other scary part for Young was developing what she calls the sales part of her personality.
Ive always said to people that Im not a sales person so
thats been about putting myself through online classes, crash
courses on sales and going to a few seminars to learn as much
as possible real-time learning because I have to pay the bills!
Ideally I would love to give it all away, but...
Having worked on various projects with companies like
Caterpillar, Intel, Southwest Airlines and Lockheed Martin,
Youngs name is a fixture in science and engineering circles.
Many people assumed that she would join one of these companies as a full-time ergonomist, she says; however, Young
became a teacher so she could help develop engineers who can
solve societys grand challenges. For her, this includes community involvement at a scale that uplifts the youth population.
One girl that enrolled in her empowerment workshop continues to inspire Young. The student, a teen mother, wrote to
Young describing her life before the program and her suicidal
tendencies. She is now on the path to becoming a cosmetologist and dedicating her life to her daughter.
Young herself was raised by a single mother who told her
that if she studied hard and worked hard that she would greatly
contribute to society. Her mother also taught Young a lot about
character, love, security and trust, which are essential to building self-esteem and making smart decisions. This is an essential
formula to breaking destructive cycles, Young insists.
We have to get a handle on what causes crimes. Statistics
are showing that more girls are becoming juvenile delinquents.
We need prevention programs. Again, if I ever find myself in
politics, this is my thing! Well pay so much money to lock
people up, but we wont pay for good preventative programs.
January 2009

27

engineers who make a difference

a burst
of
energy
David Hrivnak
puts his conservationist ideals into practice

When you hear about the life and habits of energy conservationist David Hrivnak, you might begin to think that
the worlds energy shortage could be resolved if everyone
could just plug in to him. In his time away from his day
job as an industrial engineer at Eastman Chemical Co.
in Kingsport, Tenn., he has designed and built two passive solar homes and created an electric-assist system for
his heretofore-gas-guzzling truck that he hopes to make
available to the masses.
Apparently his spare time isnt so spare.
Hrivnak, who rides his bike to work at least half the year,
says hes always been passionate about energy conservation, and this enthusiasm manifested itself in a big way 25
years ago when he designed and built his first solar home
using a technique called earth berming. The home, which was
featured in Solar Today magazine, was mostly underground.

by monica elliott

28

Industrial Engineer

It was a self-facing lot overlooking the city, so you almost

had to dig into the hillside to put a house. The southern wall
was almost all glass taking in a nice view of the city, but on the
north side there was 14 feet of dirt, he explains.
In 2000, Hrivnak and his family were ready for new digs, so
the second solar home was erected. Both homes were built as
passive solar homes, meaning that the house is one big solar
collector, absorbing the suns energy based on its orientation
and not on any moving parts.
The house is designed so that in the wintertime, in
December, we get sun in the house from sunrise to sunset;
but in the summer, the house is completely in the shade. ...The
only thing you really have to do in our house (and I still have
challenges with my kids on this) is in the morning you raise
the shades and at night you close the shades.
Hrivnak may have felt more comfortable than most people
embarking on these projects because of his IE background.
It amazes me how few people even understand basic geometry and to be able to draw out and measure sun angles and
calculate overhangs of the house so you can maximize your
solar gain those are engineering calculations.
He also gained building experience as a former president of
the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity, going on builds in
six countries, including a village in El Salvador a year before a
devastating earthquake hit in 1996.
We were told that out of 550 structures in town, there were
only 40 left standing. And all 13 of the 13 Habitat homes were
among those 40 left standing, Hrivnak recalls.
Clearly he knows his way around a basic construction site,
which explains why he was anxious to be his own contractor for
his homes. He employed insulated concrete forms for the walls
and structural insulated panels for the roof.
[A well-insulated house] helps because the sunlight during the day isnt a huge energy source. Its very constant, but
that allows us to trap and retain all that heat that you gain
during the day.
Hrivnaks utility bills are a whopping 55 percent less than
his neighbors throughout the year. And he believes that such
projects are fully within reach of most people, saying that he
spent less than an extra 8 percent for his energy-efficiency
gains, which he recouped within eight years.
While building his second home, Hrivnak realized how useful it was to have a full-size truck to move materials and equipment, and it also came in handy for his monthly camping trips
with his Boy Scouts troop.
Ive always gotten really fuel-efficient cars, but when it comes
to a full-size truck, there really wasnt anything out there in
terms of fuel efficiency. And when the gas prices started edging

upward a little bit, I started wracking my brain: OK, is there anything that can be done that can make this more fuel-efficient?
Hrivnak discovered that there are more than 77 million
trucks and SUVs registered in the United States alone, but
after researching the subject and talking to people in the know
about motors and electric vehicles, Hrivnak began to see a way
out of the waste.
If we really want to move the needle on United States
energy independence and energy efficiency, weve got to look
at these 77 million energy hogs that are out on the highway.
You could argue that maybe people shouldnt have them, and
theres some truth to that. But the cars are already built.
Does it make sense to put them all in a junkyard? Thats not
exactly very environmentally friendly.
If we could figure out a way to convert these trucks and
give them an extra 10 percent boost in gas mileage, thats basically the same as selling a half-million new [Toyota] Priuses.
Moving a full-size truck from 14 to 16 miles a gallon saves a
lot more gas than going from a 35-mile-a-gallon Corolla to a
45-mile-a-gallon Prius because they use so much more gas.
So using new-generation technology, Hrivnak turned his
2004 Chevrolet Avalanche into a gas-electric hybrid, plugging it
into the electrical grid at night to charge. The batteries keep an
extra half-gallon of gasoline that you can use as youre running
around the town and gives you an extra boost in mileage.
Ideally, Hrivnak would like to create a kit that could be massmarketed for people who want to convert their trucks, but its
not economically feasible yet. He originally hoped for a cost
of $6,000 with a 25 percent to 30 percent boost in gas mileage,
but currently the cost is at $7,500 to install with a 16 percent
boost in gas mileage, which Hrivnak says is not the economic
payback it needs to be for the vast majority of Americans.
If we can come up with a kit that can be installed in one
to three days that your average mechanic around the corner
could install with some good instructions then I think we
can get a lot of these mom-and-pop garages installing semistandard kits.
A possible light at the end of the tunnel is recently passed
legislation allowing $7,500 in energy tax credits to anyone
purchasing a new plug-in electric hybrid. If those credits also
apply to new conversion vehicles, then, Hrivnak asserts, the
conversion kit would be viable for mass marketing.
In any case, Hrivnak is setting a standard for the rest of
us, and hes not shy about sharing how his industrial engineering background facilitated his conservation efforts and
his outlook.
I cant think of a better preparation for life than industrial
engineering.
January 2009

29

engineers who make a difference

Zulma Toro-Ramos
targets grade-school students for
pre-engineering program

Is there an age when a child is too young to learn about

engineering? If Zulma Toro-Ramos has her way, the answer
may soon be no.
The dean of the College of Engineering at Wichita State
University in Kansas has built an academic career of more
than 20 years experience in educating students about industrial engineering and other engineering fields in different
regions of the United States. From her native Puerto Rico
to New England, then to her home in the nations heartland,
Toro-Ramos has learned that there are more challenges in
engineering academia than simply increasing enrollment.
Shes found that many grade school students are getting a
less-than-stellar education in math and science as well as
mixed signals about what a career in engineering involves
on a professional level.

by david brandt

30

Industrial Engineer

Students, when they learn math and science in middle

schools and high schools, dont relate that to engineering. They
dont see how its applied in engineering, Toro-Ramos says.
One of the problems we face with some very good students is
that they have the level of math and science we require, but they
dont have the skills to apply that knowledge to engineering.
The woes dont stop in the classroom. Wichita is known as
the air capital of the world because of the six aircraft manufacturers The Boeing Co. and Cessna Aircraft Co. among
them that operate in the area. In such a volatile industry,
the desire from companies for more educated and trained
workers is high. Toro-Ramos told The Wichita Eagle in October
that local aircraft companies aim to fill between 400 and 500
more engineering jobs and thousands of skilled-labor jobs in
the coming years.
They are struggling with a shortage of engineers, she says.
We thought we had better get this problem solved because
we cannot graduate enough engineers right now to support
the local industry.
To make progress in educating grade-school students and
preparing future engineers, Toro-Ramos has long since advocated a growing national engineering education program
called Project Lead the Way (PLTW). The pre-engineering curriculum series is designed to provide supplemental math and
science education through study and hands-on activities that
show how the two subjects are applied to topics such as engineering design, computer-integrated manufacturing and civil
engineering, among other fields. The program also encourages
students to learn and nurture skills including teamwork, public speaking, research and data collection and analysis.
She also says that PLTW programs could potentially
readjust the public perception about the engineering profession and void any opinions that say engineering is too difficult for the average student. The program aims to show that
average students, and even some who are below average, can
be successful in the field. Without that message, Toro-Ramos
believes the program is incapable of succeeding.
We wont be able to reach the population of students we
need in order to supply the number of engineers needed in
this area, Toro-Ramos says. We seem to only focus on the
top 20 percent in academic success. Through Project Lead the
Way, we target the top 80 percent. There are a lot of successful
engineers who were not necessarily at the top of their class
in math and science, but they have the creativity and creative
skills that are very important in industrial engineering or
other engineering fields.
The program has already been implemented in some Kansas
schools through partnerships between WSU, the Kansas state

legislature and area school districts. Toro-Ramos previously

implemented PLTW programs among several Connecticut high
schools when she served as dean of the School of Engineering
and Applied Science at the University of New Haven.
Igniting an interest in engineering among Kansas students,
however, has sometimes proven to be more challenging than
in Connecticut or Puerto Rico, Toro-Ramos says. In fact, she
adds that because there was such a high interest in engineering from students applying to the University of Puerto Rico,
only about 40 percent of them could be accepted.
I would say that in the heartland, we have a harder sell.
For example, schools in small rural towns are a challenge, but
we have something to sell to them through Project Lead the
Way. My guess minus hard data is that it will take a little
while longer to expand the program across the entire state of
Kansas. You have to talk to more people, administrators and
school boards.
She does have some aid in the campaign, however, thanks
largely to what she calls a very powerful tool. Grants from
the U.S. Department of Labor and the Knight Foundation
totaling more than $2.2 million have been distributed among
area schools to help establish new PLTW courses and activities. While there are more Wichita area schools that would like
to become PLTW schools than grant funds available to transform them, Toro-Ramos expects there will be at least 18 more
middle schools and nine more high schools that will become
PLTW schools in the near future. Toro-Ramos expects several
area middle schools to become PLTW schools by fall 2009.
Our hope is that most of the Kansas middle schools and
high schools will have Project Lead the Way courses. It is wishful thinking to hope that all the schools will have all of the
program courses, but they can at least have some of them.
For now, Toro-Ramos is pleased that more people are discovering the tie between a pre-engineering education and the economic and infrastructure problems that are hurting the industry
that drives Wichita and its suburbs. Students are being exposed
to the different fields of engineering and real-world projects.
And regardless of a PLTW students future, Toro-Ramos says
the lessons and skills the student has adopted will be useful
throughout that students chosen career.
Even if a student who is educated through Project Lead
the Way decides to not pursue an engineering career, that
person will be more technology-savvy and better equipped
to be successful in todays society versus a person who has
not participated in the program. In todays society, the more
knowledgeable you are in technology, the better off you will
be. Were preparing students to better themselves and to be
more successful.
January 2009

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