Last month, the ASU chapter of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) visited ThermoFisher Scientific Inc. in Carlsbad, California. ThermoFisher is a huge industry leader with centers in 50 different countries, so the opportunity was extremely beneficial.
The tour was organized by an industrial engineer and ASU alum, so the chapter knew they were in good hands. In addition to guiding the tour, the head of engineering and head of operations for the facility walked the group through each step of the manufacturing processes. This was especially accommodating to the wide array of questions that each IIE member had. As a life sciences facility, ThermoFisher provided many learning opportunities for the industrial engineers. They got to learn about new types of equipment as well as the challenges that come with manufacturing more fragile products such as enzymes and proteins.
Overall, the trip was a success. “IIE represented ASU extremely well […],” reported Erin Glavin, current IIE treasurer. The group had a lot of fun and gained valuable knowledge and experience in fields that they are not as familiar with. Erin reflected on the experience and said, “I am hopeful that this tour opened up more doors for members of IIE and other ASU engineers.”