Program to examine computer systems improvements

Contact: Maridith Geuder

Ways that computer technologies can increase efficiencies in a variety of systems will be the subject of an Oct. 28 public lecture at Mississippi State University.

Royce O. Bowden, MSU associate professor of industrial engineering, leads the 3:30 p.m. program in the Colvard Union small auditorium.

His presentation is sponsored by the campus chapter of Sigma Xi, the national professional body devoted to the support of original research in sciences and technology.

Bowden directs the industrial engineering department's Simulation and Advanced Computation Laboratory, a research, teaching and training facility focusing on the use of advanced technologies to optimize processes. His lecture will describe ways in which these techniques are helping companies save millions of dollars.

From healthcare to manufacturing to transportation, a variety of systems operate throughout society. Bowden describes computer simulations as an "extremely powerful technology for designing, analyzing and evaluating manufacturing and service systems."

A master's and doctoral graduate of Mississippi State, Bowden received last year's Ralph E. Powe Sigma Xi Research Award. His studies have been supported by a variety of agencies, including the National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In addition to his leadership of the computation lab, Bowden is the newly named deputy director of the National Center for Intermodal Transportation, a joint research program between MSU and the University of Denver.

For more information on his presentation, telephone Frank Howell at (601) 325-2014.