Isaac Underwood

Background

Isaac Underwood is on the faculty of the Department of Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Waterloo. Before Porter, Isaac was a manufacturing engineer for a defense contractor.

Isaac's research focuses on work design and ergonomics, with related work in supply-chain operations; undergraduates are involved in the lab most terms.

Areas of expertise

• Work design and ergonomics
• Supply-chain operations
• Undergraduate research and project mentoring

Teaching

Isaac regularly teaches courses in Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering, Engineering Technology. Specific sections and syllabi are listed in the class schedule each term.

Courses lean on current problems from the field: students read recent work, reproduce a result or method, and then extend it. Isaac builds in low-stakes practice before graded work and gives written feedback on drafts.

Advising and office hours

Isaac advises students in the Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering programs and holds weekly office hours during the fall and spring terms, posted on the office door and in the course pages. Prospective students are welcome to email to arrange a visit or a call.

Advising conversations usually cover course sequencing, whether to add a minor or a concentration, and how classroom work connects to internships, research, or graduate study. Students who are undecided are welcome; part of the job is helping them narrow things down.

Recent and representative work

Isaac's recent activity is a mix of peer-reviewed work, conference talks, and student-involved projects in work design and ergonomics and supply-chain operations. Representative items:

• A peer-reviewed article on work design and ergonomics in a disciplinary journal.
• A conference paper on supply-chain operations, co-authored with an undergraduate researcher.
• An internally funded project applying work design and ergonomics to a regional partner's problem.

Titles and venues here are illustrative. UW–Porter Falls is fictional; Isaac has no real publication record.

Get in touch

The fastest way to reach Isaac is email (iunderwood@uwporterfalls.edu); messages during the fall and spring terms are usually answered within two business days. Prospective students and families can ask the Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering department office to set up a call, a class visit, or a meeting during an admitted-student day.