Lecture: Top Ten Problems for Humanity…and how industrial engineering can help solve them

2024 Douglas C. Montgomery Distinguished Lecture Series
with Dr. G. Don Taylor

About the lecture:
Top Ten Problems for Humanity…and how industrial engineering can help solve them
Over the years, many groups and individuals have put together interesting and thought-provoking research agendas. But few of these have remained as compelling and relevant as Richard Smalley’s “Top Ten Problems for Humanity.” Following Smalley’s win of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his discovery of buckminsterfullerene (buckyballs), his list of research problems gained widespread attention.

Although Smalley’s agenda was introduced over twenty years ago, the issues he flagged remain equally daunting today. What is particularly compelling about his list is that it is prioritized, with the solution of each problem in turn leading to the solution of others lower on the list. Smalley’s ten broad challenges will require efforts that take advantage of the full range of human endeavor, but industrial engineers are uniquely positioned to provide technological and management solutions.

The purpose of this lecture is to motivate creative thought about how industrial engineers can help to solve these planetary problems of truly massive scale.

About Dr. G. Don Taylor
G. Don Taylor is the Executive Vice Provost and the Charles O. Gordon Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech.

Taylor’s research interests focus on the simulation of complex systems and the logistics of material flow and freight transportation. He has served as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on more than 60 externally funded projects. His research has led to the publication of 10 edited books, more than 75 journal articles and book chapters, and more than 120 conference papers and technical reports. 

Taylor has made more than 200 formal presentations at conferences or seminars and has had research relationships with more than 50 different companies. He is a Fellow and a Past-President of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) and is currently the inaugural Chairperson of the Board of IISE Solutions, Inc., a for-profit subsidiary. He is a recipient of IISE’s prestigious Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Industrial Engineering Award, a Fellow and past member of the Board of the World Academy of Productivity Science and is a registered Professional Engineer.