{"id":10377,"date":"2025-05-09T18:49:50","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T18:49:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=10377"},"modified":"2025-12-08T16:11:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T16:11:17","slug":"head-of-the-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=10377","title":{"rendered":"Head of the class"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_10378\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10378\" style=\"width: 1905px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10378\" src=\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1905\" height=\"1270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_5.jpg 1905w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_5-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_5-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_5-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_5-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_5-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_5-75x50.jpg 75w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1905px) 100vw, 1905px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10378\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Alice Smith, the Joe W. Forehand Jr. Distinguished Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, teaches her engineering economic systems course in Shelby Center.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At about 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 11, Alice Smith was sitting at her desk inside her third-floor Shelby Center office, enjoying lunch before teaching. While eating a salad and drinking a can of sparkling water, she thought about that day\u2019s lecture in INSY 6000: Engineering Economic Systems, scheduled from 12:30-1:45 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>Just then, her computer chimed with an incoming email.<\/p>\n<p>The subject line read: \u201cCongratulations, you\u2019ve been elected to the National Academy of Engineering.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was the moment it became official for the Joe W. Forehand Jr. Distinguished Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering \u2014 she was now a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in its Class of 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Smith is the first full-time engineering faculty member at Auburn University to be inducted into the NAE, which has provided independent, objective analysis and leadership since its founding in 1964.<\/p>\n<p>Smith was recognized by her peers for her advancements in computational intelligence as applied to the modeling and optimization of complex systems. She is among 128 new members and 22 international members in the Class of 2025, bringing total U.S. membership to 2,487 and international membership to 336.<br \/>\n\u201cIt was pretty exciting,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI knew that Auburn hadn\u2019t had a full-time person elected before, but it was still a huge shock. I also had to teach a class immediately after receiving the notification, so I was a little distracted that day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After class, she wrote to her nominator to express her appreciation for putting her in a position to be elected, calling the achievement the \u201ccrowning glory of my career.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor any engineer, unless they have realistic ambitions toward a Nobel Prize, this is one of the top honors,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Head of the Class\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CqbYzIicYUo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Journey to academia<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Smith\u2019s journey into engineering began with a three-week engineering program at the University of Notre Dame, designed to introduce women to the field, which ignited her interest between her junior and senior years of high school.<\/p>\n<p>Born and raised in St. Louis, Smith excelled academically, particularly in applied math. Although she enjoyed literature, history and art, she focused on engineering programs when applying to colleges. Ultimately, she chose Rice University, a prestigious private school in Houston known for its science and engineering specialization, and declared a major in civil engineering.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t like science, which ruled out chemical engineering. Thermodynamics for mechanical engineering wasn\u2019t appealing either,\u201d Smith said. \u201cElectrical engineering involved circuits, which I found uninteresting. Civil engineering appealed to me for its physical interpretation and emphasis on applied math.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After earning a bachelor\u2019s degree in civil engineering, Smith chose to enter the engineering industry rather than a graduate program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was tired of being in school and poor, so I took a job with one of my summer internship companies \u2014 Southwestern Bell Corporation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10382\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10382\" style=\"width: 1119px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-10382 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-09-at-11.21.42-AM-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1119\" height=\"746\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-09-at-11.21.42-AM-2.png 1119w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-09-at-11.21.42-AM-2-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-09-at-11.21.42-AM-2-600x400.png 600w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-09-at-11.21.42-AM-2-75x50.png 75w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1119px) 100vw, 1119px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10382\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Smith works in her office in the early 1990s at the University of Pittsburgh.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After earning an MBA at St. Louis University, she continued advancing in the engineering field, earning recognition as a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).<\/p>\n<p>By the late 1980s, realizing the corporate world wasn\u2019t for her, Smith quit her job and sought more freedom and creativity by enrolling in a doctoral program in engineering management and systems engineering at the Missouri University of Science and Technology.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI felt aligned with engineering and felt like it was my calling,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI had already been involved with promoting engineering to underrepresented groups, especially women, working through the Society of Women Engineers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Industry experience sharpened her problem-solving skills and fueled her interest in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). During her doctoral studies, she focused on a then-growing field \u2014 AI, specifically neural networks, now more commonly referred to as deep learning. Her research applied AI to quality control for production environments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a very novel topic in the late 1980s,\u201d Smith said. \u201cAt the time, there were several people with more traditional backgrounds who said my topic wasn\u2019t real, and there were no proofs or theories to support it.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10383\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10383\" style=\"width: 1050px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-10383 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_9-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1050\" height=\"802\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_9-1.jpg 1050w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_9-1-768x587.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1050px) 100vw, 1050px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10383\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Smith works on a research project in the 1990s with Eljer Plumbingware, which was known for its manufacture of bathroom and kitchen fixtures.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI work on things that interest me. I don\u2019t think about what\u2019s fundable or what\u2019s going to get the most attention. I think about how important it could be to solve real problems because that\u2019s what I want to do,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>After earning her doctoral degree in 1991, she was offered a position at the University of Pittsburgh in the industrial engineering department, becoming the first person hired there with expertise in AI.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>From the Steel City to the Plains<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>After spending eight years in Pittsburgh, rising from assistant professor to associate professor and establishing herself in the academic and research community, Smith was ready for a new challenge \u2014 administration.<\/p>\n<p>She applied for department chair positions at universities across the country and eventually secured an interview for Auburn University\u2019s industrial and systems engineering department with Larry Benefield, former dean of engineering.<\/p>\n<p>Pittsburgh was cold and snowy in March, while Auburn was in full bloom, making the campus an unforgettable first impression.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe azaleas were blooming, the campus was beautiful and people treated me so well and with respect,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n<p>After meeting with faculty and administration, she was excited about the opportunity to revitalize the department. When Benefield extended an offer, she accepted, making history as Auburn\u2019s first female engineering department chair.<\/p>\n<p>Moving from the North to the South was a big transition, but Smith had only one last hurdle \u2014 convincing her three children. She sweetened the deal with the promise of a swimming pool, sealing the decision.<\/p>\n<p>From 1999-2011, Smith served as department chair, leading the program through a period of significant growth in student enrollment, research funding and private donations.<\/p>\n<p>After 12 years in administration, she faced another crossroads: continue climbing the administrative ladder to pursue a deanship elsewhere or return to faculty life at Auburn, focusing on research and teaching.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10395\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10395\" style=\"width: 1680px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10395\" src=\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1680\" height=\"1260\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_1.jpg 1680w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_1-1600x1200.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1680px) 100vw, 1680px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10395\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Smith celebrates with her research group during fall 2024.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In the end, her passion for research and teaching won.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you become a dean, teaching and research become incredibly difficult. It was a hard decision because it defined the trajectory of the rest of my career,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI chose to return to the faculty because I love working with students and my colleagues. I enjoy posing research questions, writing papers and being in the classroom. I didn\u2019t want to give those things up. I enjoyed administration, and I believe I did a good job overall, but I didn\u2019t want it to be my life\u2019s work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Research and teaching<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Throughout her tenure, Smith has held several prestigious positions within the college, including the Joe W. Forehand Jr. Distinguished Professor, Joe W. Forehand\/Accenture Distinguished Professor, W. Allen and Martha Reed Professor and the Philpott-Westpoint Stevens Professor.<\/p>\n<p>She has also been a principal investigator on more than $12 million in sponsored research, securing funding from the Department of Defense, NASA, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Science Foundation and other government agencies.<\/p>\n<p>Smith has also held visiting professorships and Fulbright Fellowships in Turkey, Colombia and Chile.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the NAE, Smith is a Life Fellow of IEEE, a Fellow of the Institute for Operations Research and Management Science (INFORMS) and the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE).<\/p>\n<p>She is also a senior member of the Society of Women Engineers, a registered professional engineer and serves as an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer and INFORMS Official Speaker. In 2021, she was appointed as an INFORMS Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Ambassador.<\/p>\n<p>She also returned to school to earn a bachelor\u2019s degree in Spanish, graduating from Auburn in 2022.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10391\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10391\" style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10391\" src=\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_6-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_6-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_6-1800x1013.jpg 1800w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_6-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_6-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_6-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_6-674x380.jpg 674w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10391\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>In December 2022, Smith graduated from the College of Liberal Arts with a bachelor\u2019s degree in Spanish.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Peer support<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>When Smith was named chair in 1999, she was asked to set up an alumni council for the department.<\/p>\n<p>When looking for qualified candidates to serve, Tim Cook, \u201982 industrial engineering and Apple CEO, came up. He was vice president for worldwide operations at Apple then.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had a meeting with Tim and told him what we wanted to do, and he was eventually elected chair of the alumni board,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe met twice a year for a while and developed a friendship from professional interactions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cook, who has known Smith for more than 20 years, said he couldn\u2019t think of anyone more deserving of induction into the NAE.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDr. Smith\u2019s brilliance and curiosity set an example for us all,\u201d Cook said. \u201cShe is a leader who has pushed her field forward, motivating countless students to learn, innovate and challenge themselves. Her election to the National Academy of Engineering is a well-deserved recognition of an extraordinary career.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10393\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10393\" style=\"width: 1358px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10393\" src=\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_10.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1358\" height=\"1018\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_10.jpg 1358w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2025\/05\/Alice-Smith_10-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1358px) 100vw, 1358px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10393\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Smith takes a photo with Tim Cook, \u201992 industrial engineering and Apple CEO, at an Auburn baseball game. Cook, who has known Smith for more than 20 years, said he couldn\u2019t think of anyone more deserving of induction into the National Academy of Engineering than Smith.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Fred Glover, chief technology officer of Engagement Inc. and fellow NAE member familiar with Smith\u2019s research, said Smith\u2019s work ranks her among the elite in mathematical optimization and its real-world applications.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlice Smith is making valuable and exciting contributions in mathematical optimization, including serving as a principal investigator on projects for key government organizations, international groups and high-profile industrial partners,\u201d he said. \u201cHer election to the National Academy of Engineering is a fitting tribute to her exceptional range of accomplishments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chris Roberts, president of Auburn University and former dean of engineering, praised Smith for her achievement.<br \/>\n\u201cBeing elected to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest distinctions for an engineer,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cThis is a significant achievement and recognition for Professor Smith, the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering and Auburn University. We couldn\u2019t be more proud of her hard work and dedication, and she is a shining example of our exceptional faculty and the excellent research being conducted at Auburn University.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mario Eden, dean of engineering, echoed Roberts\u2019 sentiments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDr. Smith\u2019s work on advancing computational intelligence as applied to modeling and optimization of complex systems ranks among the best in the world, so her election into the National Academy of Engineering comes as no surprise to those who work alongside her every day,\u201d Eden said. \u201cHer career has been filled with accomplishments as a researcher, author and educator, and she has been a catalyst in helping the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering continue its upward trajectory as one of the best in America.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>What\u2019s next?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Being elected to NAE isn\u2019t a culmination of a career for Smith. She wants to continue teaching, researching and contributing to her professional organizations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t want to retire. I feel I\u2019m a healthy person, and I love being in the classroom. I love what I do. I love the people here,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI feel like I have a lot left to give, and I want to spend more time mentoring younger faculty and doctoral students.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She said NAE isn\u2019t just an honor, but an active organization with smart and accomplished people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to be as involved as I can,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI want to continue to look for ways to enhance academia but also elevate Auburn University and the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering in general.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alice Smith is the first full-time engineering faculty member to be inducted into the National Academy of Engineering<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":10378,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Head of the class &raquo; 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