A group of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering (ISE) students traveled to Ames, Iowa, in early February to attend the annual IISE North Central Regional Conference, hosted by Iowa State University in partnership with the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE).
The conference brought together industrial and systems engineering students from across the region for a weekend focused on professional growth and community-building. Throughout the event, students participated in engaging keynote sessions and corporate presentations that explored leadership, industry trends, career pathways, entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence and interpersonal skills—all core competencies for future engineers.
Technical Paper Competition Success
A major highlight of the weekend was the Technical Paper Competition, where ISE students demonstrated outstanding academic and research excellence.
Tushar Jain earned first place for his paper on developing an AI-driven guitar tutor that delivers real-time feedback through computer vision and machine learning. His system tracks finger placement, compares it to ideal chord positions and provides natural-language coaching tips. In testing, the tool achieved 89% detection accuracy with response times under 500 milliseconds, offering users personalized, instructor-style guidance at scale.
Chase Cassin secured second place for his research on robust evacuation route statistics. His paper analyzed
evacuation planning during tropical storms and hurricanes in the Southeastern United States, using Wilmington, North Carolina, as a case study. By developing and evaluating three routing algorithms, his work aims to reduce shelter overcrowding and improve evacuation timing. The research presents a repeatable framework for cities seeking to strengthen emergency management systems.
With their top finishes, both students will advance to the national IISE conference in Texas this May, representing Illinois on a national stage.
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