George Youssef Receives Purdue Student Union Board Pillars of Excellency Award for Research and Innovation
Industrial Engineering senior George Youssef has been honored with the Purdue Student Union Board (PSUB) Pillars of Excellency Award in the Research and Innovation category, recognizing his outstanding achievements in human factors and healthcare research as well as his wide-ranging involvement across campus.
Youssef was nominated and encouraged to apply for the award earlier this year and chose the Research and Innovation pillar, which aligned closely with his experience and passions. After submitting his application over the summer, he was invited to interview with the selection committee this fall.
“It was an interview with six people, and while they asked about my research with Dr. Yih and Dr. Denny Yu, most of the questions were about who I am as a person, my involvements, my motivations, and why this scholarship mattered to me,” Youssef said. “They wanted to understand what drives me and how I stay connected to Purdue IE.”
George Youssef (Far Right) receiving award at a Purdue Football home game.
From Team Performance to Trauma Care
Since joining Purdue’s School of Industrial Engineering as a researcher in spring 2024, Youssef has contributed to multiple projects spanning team dynamics and healthcare analytics.
Working first with Associate Professor Denny Yu, he helped analyze team performance based on communication patterns, quantifying how speech behaviors predicted outcomes in collaborative environments. That project, which concluded after a semester, is now being published in the Human Factors Journal, with Youssef as one of the co-authors.
He then joined Tompkins Professor of Industrial Engineering Yuehwern Yih’s research group in fall 2024, shifting toward healthcare systems and trauma data analytics. His work has focused on understanding how pre-hospital variables, such as emergency response times and transport delays, influence patient outcomes, including ICU stays, ventilator use, and mortality rates.
“The goal was to help St. Vincent’s Hospital in Indianapolis assess whether they were doing enough for their trauma patients,” Youssef explained. “Working with Dr. Yih has been an incredible privilege. Her humanitarian focus really inspires me, and that’s something I want to carry forward in my own career.”
Balancing Ambition and Curiosity
Originally from Venezuela, Youssef emphasized how his Purdue experience has expanded his perspective and helped him grow beyond his comfort zone.
“When I came to Purdue, I promised myself not to deny any opportunity because I felt unqualified,” he said. “I always tell people: don’t apologize for being ambitious. For me, ambition means staying curious, trying new things even when you’re scared, because that’s how you learn.”
That mindset has led him to an impressive range of roles and responsibilities. In addition to maintaining an 18-credit course load and active research projects, he serves as:
• Vice President, Boilermaker Consulting Group
• Treasurer, Alpha Pi Mu (Industrial Engineering Honor Society)
• Director of Professional Development, Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA)
He has also worked as a grader for IE 330 and served as an IE 200 mentor.
Looking Ahead
Youssef plans to begin a co-op in January 2026, followed by a full-time consulting position in connected supply chains starting in October 2026. While his immediate focus is industry experience, he hopes to eventually pursue a master’s degree in healthcare analytics and possibly a Ph.D.