May 25, 2006

"Hungry Like the Wolf" ISE Seniors Win First Place in International Competition

NC State's student team, "Hungry Like the Wolf," included John Telford, Kusha Kamarei and Andrew White. At far right is David Sturrock, Manager, Simulation Products for Rockwell Automation, sponsors of the competition. (Not pictured is faculty advisor Dr. Stephen Roberts). (Photo: courtesy IIE)

“Hungry Like the Wolf,” the student team of 2006 graduating seniors in the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) — Kusha Kamarei, Andrew White and JohnTelford — earned first place at the 2006 IIE/Rockwell Software Student Simulation Competition. Dr. Stephen D. Roberts, ISE professor, served as faculty advisor to the team.

The winner was announced at the IIE annual conference in Orlando, Fla., in May. The first place award included plaques and $2,500. The Rockwell Simulation competition provides students a chance to experience the power of computer simulation while gaining practical problem-solving experience using the Rockwell Arena Simulation Software. Sixty-one teams from around the world were assigned a case study (defined by the IIE Society of Health Systems) typical of problems encountered in healthcare today. Only five teams were selected to present their findings to a panel of judges.

On the day of the presentations, additional "critical" information concerning the case study was given to the student teams to further challenge their design solutions. Judging is based on how well the team analyzed not only the original problem but also the problem extension, how valid and logical their assumptions were and the quality of their presentation.

NC State's ISE students have made it to the final five in seven of the past eight years, but "Hungry Like the Wolf" is the first NC State team to win the top prize.

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