1st Place - Zoie Stitt "Rubik's Cube"

Zoie Stitt created the first-place winning piece, a depiction of a Rubik’s Cube filled with industries and concepts related to IE. Stitt says of her piece, “Much like the multitude of career paths and industries one could go into post-graduation, a Rubik’s Cube is a versatile puzzle, capable of over 43 quintillion unique combinations.”

Zoie has been a long-time fan of the Beautify Grissom competition. “The Beautify Grissom competition has always been one of my favorite events that the school of IE puts on. The paintings are inspiring, and they remind me why I want to be an industrial engineer.” she says. “I was inspired to create this painting because I want to remind other students who are working in Grissom of the exciting future their industrial engineering degree will bring.” Zoie hopes that following her graduation this spring, she will be able to return to Purdue and see the paintings created by future students through the contest. “While I am sad my time here is over, I am happy that this contest has allowed me to leave my mark.”

1st Place - Huichi Yang "IE Factory"

As part of her submission, Yang described her artistic vision "my artwork concept is about drawing an IE factory, At the factory, IE students gain the ability they need and apply their strength to fix real-world problems. So you can see there's a manufacturing line with brains (=IE student) on it, and then the robot arms (=Purdue IE) give the brains specific skills to match the job position the students want. For example, you can see the human factors engineer tag on the manufacturing line for one brain, and on the brain, there are terms like usability, cognitive, and reliability, which are the knowledge offered by Purdue IE."

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1st Place - Bethany Lengacher, BSIE 2022, "Markov on the Mind"

Last semester, I learned about Markov chains in IE 336; when I completed my practice questions, I looked down at my notebook and was so pleased. Each problem had an organized transition probability matrix, and next to it was a unique, hand-drawn diagram. I was giddy with excitement that I had taken given situations and modeled them mathematically with nothing but a few steps. That assignment cemented the idea for this work, Markov on the Mind, in my brain.

The reason I chose to study Industrial Engineering was the idea of elegance. In the words of famous Versatec founder and physicist, Renn Zaphiropoulos, elegance is achieved when nothing must be added and yet nothing can be taken away. With my art I wanted to summarize what I consider to be the three most important aspects of IE: technical prowess, organization, and the beauty of elegance. The brain represents the technical knowledge needed to speak intelligently on all matters; the transition diagram on the right half represents the ability to think clearly and summarize complex systems into easy-to-understand models; and the flowers around the other elements represent the elegance and beauty that comes with the implementation of a well-designed process. I chose to switch the two hemispheres, making the layout opposite from the typical right/left brain diagram, because the elements of creativity and logic are so intertwined in the field of Industrial Engineering that they cannot be separated.

The meaning of the flowers, for me, is more than just elegance, though. I grew up working for a wedding florist, and now aside from school I am a freelance florist myself. Flowers are the reason I discovered my desired career field where I would like to apply engineering, and it is fascinating to see the complex processes used in a field as small and non-engineering-related as floristry. In this way, this work is a combination of my favorite things about IE and the potential I see for myself in my future career.

3rd Place - Julia Conversa, BSIE 2020, "FrlEndship of the Future"

When I think of Industrial Engineering and where the field is heading, I think of the ways that IE is leading to the merging of humans and machines. In my vision for this painting I wanted to portray the Industrial Engineering degree as a bridge between the human and the robot to symbolize how it prepares us to incorporate the future of technology into our lives and work.

Industrial Engineering allows us to understand what that future relationship will look like and gives us the background we need to lead others as the world moves in that direction. I view the IE diploma as giving us that opportunity to take the next step into innovation where systems and humans will work together more than ever before.

2nd Place - Patrick Stuff, "Engineering 150 Years"

Purdue is world-renowned for our leaders who forge the future. From Apollo 11 & Neil Armstrong planting the flag on the moon, to Gus Grissom & the rest of our 22 astronauts, to advances in almost every field known to man, Purdue alumni have been changing the world for the better for 150 years. In this piece, I wanted to pay tribute to some of those pioneers in the field of IE. Whether it be Frank & Lillian Gilbreth, Alan Pritsker, James Barany, our distinguished alumni, incredible faculty members (past & present), or current IE students, Purdue IE has been changing history since 1955 and will do so for the next 150 years and beyond.

In this piece, I tried to incorporate all of that into one work. I included portraits of the most influential Purdue IEs, including Gilbreth, Pritsker, and Barany. I also wanted to show that advances like theirs aren’t something that has just happened in the past and is done with, but that every student at Purdue has the chance to change the world. That is why for the 4th bubble I included two generic Purdue IEs, to show the potential for greatness that is cultivated each and every day here. I included a shout-out to student groups at Purdue with the IISE logo on the student shirt. Each one of these portraits is projected off of one of the faces of the people helping to plant the flag on the moon, in similar fashion (the poses are identical) to the iconic image from Iwo Jima in WWII. Just as those men dedicated themselves to our country and creating a better future for our nation, the people in this image dedicated themselves to Purdue and to creating a better future for the world. Above, I drew the earth as seen from the surface of the moon, with booming industry represented by the cityscape. The "150" over the earth is in tribute to the 150th anniversary of Purdue. The bottom left corner contains some words related to Purdue IE, including the 4 pillars our school values: Manufacturing, Human Factors, Operations Research, and Production Systems.

4th place - Angie Wells, "Our Founding and Our Future"

As graduation for me is fast approaching, I wanted to create a painting that is symbolic of the time I spent here at Purdue. I entitled it Our Foundation and Our Future because Purdue’s Industrial Engineering Program has prepared me for the exciting opportunities that lie ahead. The bottom half of the painting depicts the foundation of Industrial Engineering. The "roots" include the "founders" of IE (Fredrick Taylor, Lillian Gilbreth, Frank Gilbreth), calculus and physics concepts, computer programming, time studies, ergonomics, Markov chains, etc., all of which I feel encompasses the majority of what I have learned from my time in Industrial Engineering. The future is depicted by the college graduate and the globe, to represent the limitless, global opportunities being a Purdue Industrial Engineer affords you.

1st Place - Parklynn Petty, "Oh, the Places IE'll Go"

This painting was inspired by my study abroad experience as a Purdue IE student, symbolizing the countless programs available that offer unthinkable sights, diverse educational opportunities, and life-long friendships. I wanted to represent how study abroad expands perspectives by opening up the world to explore. Each possible destination presents its own architecture, nature, customs, and society, all which develop a greater cultural understanding. I believe this is increasingly important for disciplines like industrial engineering that can take you anywhere and have you work with anyone. I personally got to experience the culture that Hong Kong and its neighboring countries had to offer, but I wanted to portray that whether it’s Asia or Europe, South America or Australia, the Purdue IE study abroad program provides limitless adventures and beautiful experiences.

3rd place - Casey Stowers, "Oops, I Did My Homework on a Canvas!"

This painting is intended as a representation of the foundations of industrial engineering moving forward into the future of industrial engineering. The foundations are depicted on the bottom half of the painting. We have a portrait of Lillian Gilbreth with her face composed of therblings. The background is a representation of much of the handwritten, theory-based work we do in IE. The top half is a representation of the present and future IE. It features the engineering fountain to represent Purdue as a large component in the future of IE. The background is a conglomeration of code from a variety of different languages to depict the movement from doing work by hand to using computers. As it is on top, the future is resting on the foundations. They take up equal space because the importance of the foundations never changes or diminishes. Even as technology progresses, it is important that we know the foundations in order to apply the technology to them and ensure it works correctly. Everything we do will always have a basis in these foundations and that should never be forgotten.

5th place - Megan Rodder, "passIonatE"

My piece is entitled "passIonatE". In the painting, Passion starts with the unfinished Purdue P for two reasons. The first reason is that my passion for Industrial Engineering began at Purdue. Second, this symbol represents how I will always continue learning and applying my IE skills throughout my career. The background contains various equations from topics that I have learned about throughout my time in IE. This represents the variety of knowledge taught in the IE department, making the IE students diverse. The brain represents IE ideas. There are "roads" spreading out from the brain to represent the how IE ideas can be transported and applied anywhere in the world. The buildings on the left side represent how ideas can be spread locally, through cities and hospital systems, as well as the people that can be helped through applying engineering skills. The right side has a computer to represent the increasing field of "Big Data" and the impact that technology has on IE and our world. Attached to the computer are growing vines - these acknowledge the fact that we cannot focus solely on technology, because we need to prioritize other things, such as the environment and quality.

2nd Place - Lily Bishop, "StarrIE Night"

My painting is based on Vincent van Gogh’s "The Starry Night", which has been one of my favorite paintings for years due to its incredible use of color and motion. I was inspired to base my painting on it because I saw it as a way to portray space travel in a dreamy, child-like way. I have been fascinated, ever since I learned what Industrial Engineering was, about the value IE can bring to the mission to put a human on Mars. To an IE, such a monumental task can be viewed as one extremely large system where every individual part must come together to achieve success. I took that idea, brainstormed a bit, and developed it into "StarrIE Night", which employs minimal symbolism to get its message across. In the bottom right, Grissom Hall and Armstrong Hall are linked by a pathway, symbolizing the partnership between IE and other engineering disciplines that is necessary for a successful manned mission to Mars. Purdue’s bell tower and engineering fountain can be seen in the center. The fountain is decorated with therblig symbols, which represent the basic motion elements used by IEs to study motion and ergonomics in the workplace. Therbligs were created by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, former Purdue professors and two of the founders of the IE discipline. Finally, in the upper right a space shuttle flies towards Mars. Physically inaccurate, yes, but a space shuttle is easily recognizable and added to the feeling of innocent excitement that I was trying to invoke. When fellow IE students look at "StarrIE Night", I wanted them to feel inspired to use their IE education to pursue their dreams, no matter how big, insurmountable, or ludicrous they may seem to others.

1st Place - Audrey Whitmire, "Great Heights"

"Industrial engineering for me has always been about seeking knowledge and solutions for purposes of benefitting mankind–about using individual talents, discoveries, and efforts to improve life for someone else. When I first started painting, I thought about what kinds of things represent engineering objectively, which can be seen in the gears, cityscape, and detailed pattern. But really the metaphor behind the painting is the idea that even an ordinary person can rise to great heights and go places he/she never thought possible through the pursuit of knowledge and goodness (represented by the colorful gear-balloons). For me, that's what engineering is all about."

3rd Place - Pam Yuan, "From the IE Perspective"

"Given the theme for the Beautify Grissom contest, "What is IE to you?" I think back to all the opportunities IE has given me to travel, having been the only Industrial Engineer on my Global Engineering Programs team, I've been able to use my supply chain management skills and economical way of thinking to travel to five countries with the team; hence the world map in the painting on the foreground. More specifically, the continent Africa is centered on the map because I spent my first summer internship as an IE student in Cameroon, my freshmen year. I associate many of positive memories of doing Industrial Engineering work there, and those experiences confirmed to me that I was in the right engineering discipline, having just come out of First Year Engineering. Within my first semester being in IE, the School of Industrial Engineering has been increasing in ranking worldwide standing at a proud #3 right now alongside Stanford University. That is why I painted the arrows on the engineering fountain as well as the arrows on the metrics that all point upward. The gears next to the metrics not only serve as the ultimate symbol of the mechanics that go into engineering, but it shows that engineering requires a lot of collaborative effort, since each gear must be working for the system to run. The left corner has a silhouette of the Chicago skyline representing the proximity of Purdue to major cities and industrial centers where we, as students, can aspire to work to make a difference in the corporate and real world. Finally, Purdue is ultimately home to me in my growth as an Industrial Engineer and Purdue's Engineering program, in general, is something I'm incredibly proud of; therefore, I included the bell tower and arch as symbols of our school spirit. This is what IE is to me and I am ever grateful to be part of this amazing program."

2nd Place - Wanyu Wu, "Flying Dreams"

"Since we were told to paint what industrial engineering means to us, I just imagined what we can become after studying all the materials and textbooks provided, that we can become everyone we want to be and our stage is not limited to the earth. Also the girl standing there holding a bunch of paper is just outlined with the color white because white includes all the colors in the world and represents diversity, and the paper she is holding can represent everything we learned in industrial engineering. So the flying papers are like flying dreams to every jobs and everywhere in the universe," Wu explains.

4th Place - Anna Ye, "Untitled"

2nd Place - Anna Ye, "Untitled"

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4th Place - Gaurav Nanda, Various Facets of IE

"IE is a multi-faceted field which encompasses various areas of problem solving and improving the process and world around us. I wanted to depict that in my painting."

2nd Place - Kelly Patsavas, "The IE Supply Chain"

"I wanted to show how all of the different courses you can take within IE lead to graduation and success and each course plays an important role into the industrial engineer you become," Patsavas writes.