Problem Solved: The IISE Podcast

What can sports teach us about making better decisions? On this episode of Problem Solved, University of Arizona professor and author Ricardo Valerdi joins IISE's Keith Albertson to explore how lessons from the playing field translate to business, engineering and everyday life. Drawing from his new book, The Five-Tool Team, Valerdi discusses why good decisions may not always lead to winning outcomes, but how individuals, teams, and organizations can make smarter choices they feel confident in and why human judgment and sound systems still matters in the age of AI. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.Get The Five Tool Team wherever books are sold.Learn more about Science of Sport.Learn more about The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE)Problem Solved on LinkedInProblem Solved on YouTubeProblem Solved on InstagramProblem Solved on TikTokProblem Solved Executive Producer: Elizabeth GrimesInterested in contributing to the podcast or sponsoring an episode? Email [email protected]

Can artificial intelligence make workplaces safer? And what happens when the technology gets it wrong?In recognition of National Ergonomics Month, Problem Solved welcomes Kristianne Egbert, a certified professional ergonomist with 25 years of experience helping organizations design safer, more effective workplaces.From motion capture and computer vision to AI-powered risk assessments, technology is transforming how ergonomists identify workplace hazards. Kristianne explains how tools that once required painstaking manual measurements can now analyze movements in seconds and why human expertise remains essential.In this episode:How motion capture and AI are changing ergonomic risk assessmentsWhy even sophisticated AI tools can make costly mistakesThe importance of human judgment and professional expertiseDesigning equipment and workstations with ergonomics in mindWhy involving employees leads to better workplace solutionsCareer pathways and professional development in ergonomicsWhether you're an industrial engineer, safety professional, ergonomist, or simply curious about the future of work, this episode offers a look at the intersection of technology, engineering, and human-centered design.Learn more about The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE)Problem Solved on LinkedInProblem Solved on YouTubeProblem Solved on InstagramProblem Solved on TikTokProblem Solved Executive Producer: Elizabeth GrimesInterested in contributing to the podcast or sponsoring an episode? Email [email protected]

Achieve Excellence with the Experts at IISEhttps://iise.org/trainingcenter/The IISE Training Center is unsurpassed in meeting the educational goals of professionals in myriad industries. IISE is an IACET Authorized Provider and “has complied with the ANSI/IACET Standard, which is recognized internationally as a standard of excellence in instructional practices and is authorized to issue the IACET CEU.” Our instructors are experts in essential topics including Lean and Six Sigma, concepts based on long-standing industrial engineering principles. We ensure that our students attain in-depth levels of understanding and practical knowledge of how to apply strategies to achieve business and professional excellence. Students earn digital badges and certificates to share on social media, email signatures, certificates, wherever employers are looking. The world is online - that's where your credentials should reside.What does it take to turn an engineering mindset into an entrepreneurial advantage?In this episode of Problem Solved, guest host Cassandra Sotos, CEO of AmpRx, sits down with Domonique Townsend, CEO and Managing Partner of We Optimize Work, and Brock Anderson, founder of Ergo-ology, to explore the intersection of industrial engineering and entrepreneurship.From taking calculated risks to balancing big-picture vision with day-to-day operations, the panel shares how their engineering backgrounds have shaped their approaches to building businesses. They discuss the challenges of making decisions with incomplete information, identifying the right problems to solve and learning when persistence pays off—and when it doesn't.Whether you're considering starting your own business or looking to develop your leadership skills, this conversation offers practical insights into applying an industrial engineering mindset beyond traditional engineering roles.AmpRXWe Optimize WorkErgo-ologyLearn more about The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE)Problem Solved on LinkedInProblem Solved on YouTubeProblem Solved on InstagramProblem Solved on TikTokProblem Solved Executive Producer: Elizabeth GrimesInterested in contributing to the podcast or sponsoring an episode? Email [email protected] Achieve Excellence with the Experts at IISEhttps://iise.org/trainingcenter/

Streaming October 6...What does it take to turn an engineering mindset into an entrepreneurial advantage?Get a sneak peek at our conversation with guest host Cassandra Sotos and entrepreneurs Domonique Townsend and Brock Anderson as they explore risk-taking, leadership, and the challenges of building a business.Hear the full conversation on Problem Solved, brought to you by the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers.

Achieve Excellence with the Experts at IISEhttps://iise.org/trainingcenter/The IISE Training Center is unsurpassed in meeting the educational goals of professionals in myriad industries. IISE is an IACET Authorized Provider and “has complied with the ANSI/IACET Standard, which is recognized internationally as a standard of excellence in instructional practices and is authorized to issue the IACET CEU.” Our instructors are experts in essential topics including Lean and Six Sigma, concepts based on long-standing industrial engineering principles. We ensure that our students attain in-depth levels of understanding and practical knowledge of how to apply strategies to achieve business and professional excellence. Students earn digital badges and certificates to share on social media, email signatures, certificates, wherever employers are looking. The world is online - that's where your credentials should reside.What does industrial and systems engineering look like when the system you’re working in is 250 miles above Earth?In this special ISE Day episode of Problem Solved, retired NASA astronaut and U.S. Army Colonel Shane Kimbrough joins us to explore the systems, people and decisions behind human spaceflight.Across three missions, Kimbrough spent nearly 400 days in space, commanded the International Space Station and completed nine spacewalks. He also flew aboard three very different generations of spacecraft: the Space Shuttle, Russian Soyuz and SpaceX Crew Dragon. With a master’s degree in operations research from Georgia Tech, Kimbrough brings an industrial and systems engineering perspective to environments where efficiency matters and failure can have extraordinary consequences.Kimbrough shares what happens when an astronaut sees a better way to do something aboard the ISS, how experiments and limited resources are managed in orbit, and why even highly automated spacecraft still need human judgment. The conversation also explores NASA’s approach to failure and safety, building trust within high-performing teams, preparing for the first critical minutes of a spacewalk, and a leadership philosophy Kimbrough carried from the Army into space: invest in people.Plus, he reflects on one unforgettable final night aboard the ISS, what leaving Earth taught him about our planet, the future of human exploration, and the advice he hopes the next generation of engineers will take with them: do hard things.Happy ISE Day 2026!This special episode of Problem Solved was brought to you by Binghamton University. Learn more at binghamton.edu/ssieLearn more about The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE)Problem Solved on LinkedInProblem Solved on YouTubeProblem Solved on InstagramProblem Solved on TikTokProblem Solved Executive Producer: Elizabeth GrimesInterested in contributing to the podcast or sponsoring an episode? Email [email protected] Achieve Excellence with the Experts at IISEhttps://iise.org/trainingcenter/

After nearly 200 days in space, this is one of the moments Shane Kimbrough remembers most.Near the end of his final stay aboard the International Space Station, all seven crew members somehow crowded into the Cupola. Outside: stars, Earth, and a magnificent aurora.Normally, someone would grab a camera.This time, nobody did.They just stayed there together and took it in.In our special ISE Day episode of Problem Solved, retired NASA astronaut and U.S. Army Colonel Shane Kimbrough shares this story, and many others, from a career spent working, leading and solving problems in one of the most extraordinary environments imaginable.🎙️ Full episode coming Sept. 14.

Achieve Excellence with the Experts at IISEhttps://iise.org/trainingcenter/The IISE Training Center is unsurpassed in meeting the educational goals of professionals in myriad industries. IISE is an IACET Authorized Provider and “has complied with the ANSI/IACET Standard, which is recognized internationally as a standard of excellence in instructional practices and is authorized to issue the IACET CEU.” Our instructors are experts in essential topics including Lean and Six Sigma, concepts based on long-standing industrial engineering principles. We ensure that our students attain in-depth levels of understanding and practical knowledge of how to apply strategies to achieve business and professional excellence. Students earn digital badges and certificates to share on social media, email signatures, certificates, wherever employers are looking. The world is online - that's where your credentials should reside.Season 7 of Problem Solved kicks off with Guy Primus, an industrial engineer whose career has taken him from technology and business to Hollywood, virtual reality, entrepreneurship and AI.Primus joins Problem Solved to talk about the systems-thinking mindset that has connected his unconventional career and why defining the right problem may be more important than solving it. He shares how an early lesson from Georgia Tech professor Don Ratliff helped him understand the possibilities of industrial engineering, and how those same skills later influenced his work at companies including Microsoft, Starbucks and in the entertainment industry.  The conversation explores the intersection of creativity and engineering, using AI to accelerate innovation, understanding the human side of technology, and finding opportunities to apply analytical thinking in unexpected places. Primus also reflects on entrepreneurship, leadership and the importance of combining what you're good at with what genuinely interests you. Learn more about The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE)Problem Solved on LinkedInProblem Solved on YouTubeProblem Solved on InstagramProblem Solved on TikTokProblem Solved Executive Producer: Elizabeth GrimesInterested in contributing to the podcast or sponsoring an episode? Email [email protected] Achieve Excellence with the Experts at IISEhttps://iise.org/trainingcenter/

Achieve Excellence with the Experts at IISEhttps://iise.org/trainingcenter/The IISE Training Center is unsurpassed in meeting the educational goals of professionals in myriad industries. IISE is an IACET Authorized Provider and “has complied with the ANSI/IACET Standard, which is recognized internationally as a standard of excellence in instructional practices and is authorized to issue the IACET CEU.” Our instructors are experts in essential topics including Lean and Six Sigma, concepts based on long-standing industrial engineering principles. We ensure that our students attain in-depth levels of understanding and practical knowledge of how to apply strategies to achieve business and professional excellence. Students earn digital badges and certificates to share on social media, email signatures, certificates, wherever employers are looking. The world is online - that's where your credentials should reside.Revisit a special behind-the-scenes journey to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where IISE's Keith Albertson and David Brandt explore the industrial and systems engineering behind human spaceflight. From growing food and preparing cargo for astronauts to maintaining massive launch equipment and planning the systems that support missions to the moon and beyond, this 2022 episode reveals the extraordinary engineering, logistics and problem-solving happening behind every launch.Learn more about The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE)Problem Solved on LinkedInProblem Solved on YouTubeProblem Solved on InstagramProblem Solved on TikTokOriginal episode produced and edited by David BrandtProblem Solved Executive Producer: Elizabeth GrimesInterested in contributing to the podcast or sponsoring an episode? Email [email protected] Achieve Excellence with the Experts at IISEhttps://iise.org/trainingcenter/

Season 7 of Problem Solved kicks off with Guy Primus, an industrial engineer whose career has taken him from technology and business to Hollywood, virtual reality, entrepreneurship and AI.Primus joins Problem Solved to talk about the systems-thinking mindset that has connected his unconventional career and why defining the right problem may be more important than solving it. He shares how an early lesson from Georgia Tech professor Don Ratliff helped him understand the possibilities of industrial engineering, and how those same skills later influenced his work at companies including Microsoft, Starbucks and in the entertainment industry.  The conversation explores the intersection of creativity and engineering, using AI to accelerate innovation, understanding the human side of technology, and finding opportunities to apply analytical thinking in unexpected places. Primus also reflects on entrepreneurship, leadership and the importance of combining what you're good at with what genuinely interests you. Don't miss the Season 7 Premiere of Problem Solved, September 1.Learn more about The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE)Problem Solved on LinkedInProblem Solved on YouTubeProblem Solved on InstagramProblem Solved on TikTokProblem Solved Executive Producer: Elizabeth GrimesInterested in contributing to the podcast or sponsoring an episode? Email [email protected]

Achieve Excellence with the Experts at IISEhttps://iise.org/trainingcenter/The IISE Training Center is unsurpassed in meeting the educational goals of professionals in myriad industries. IISE is an IACET Authorized Provider and “has complied with the ANSI/IACET Standard, which is recognized internationally as a standard of excellence in instructional practices and is authorized to issue the IACET CEU.” Our instructors are experts in essential topics including Lean and Six Sigma, concepts based on long-standing industrial engineering principles. We ensure that our students attain in-depth levels of understanding and practical knowledge of how to apply strategies to achieve business and professional excellence. Students earn digital badges and certificates to share on social media, email signatures, certificates, wherever employers are looking. The world is online - that's where your credentials should reside.In this special From the Archives edition of Problem Solved - What does industrial and systems engineering have to do with elections? More than you might think. In this October 2024 conversation, Dr. Gretchen Macht of the University of Rhode Island's Engineering for Democracy Institute reveals the complex systems behind the voting process, from managing voter flow and mail-in ballots to simulation, facility planning, staffing and optimization. Revisit a fascinating look at how engineers help election officials navigate limited resources, complex constraints and one nonnegotiable priority: accuracy.Learn more about The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE)Problem Solved on LinkedInProblem Solved on YouTubeProblem Solved on InstagramProblem Solved on TikTokOriginal episode produced and edited by David BrandtProblem Solved Executive Producer: Elizabeth GrimesInterested in contributing to the podcast or sponsoring an episode? Email [email protected] Achieve Excellence with the Experts at IISEhttps://iise.org/trainingcenter/