Outstanding Researcher Dr. Rapinder Sawhney
As a teenager, Rapinder "Rupy" Sawhney spent summers entering accounting data for his uncle's food manufacturing company in Iran. His family hoped that after earning a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering at the University of Tennessee, Sawhney would return home and carry on the family tradition in the manufacturing business. However, the industrial engineering associate professor chose another path -- to find ways to improve companies consisting of diverse cultures from an academic standpoint.
After attending American schools in Iran, Sawhney spent 12 years at UT earning a bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree.
Sawhney learned the importance of working in a culture, and he encourages his graduate students to be able to do the same.
Sawhney's graduate students have studied during semesters at international universities such as the Universite de Technologie in Troyes, France, through an exchange-student type program. Siemens Corporation has also provided assistance for Sawhney's students to work around the world at manufacturing companies for three months at a time. The program may also eventually include faculty participation.
Sawhney prepares his students to be technically competent and to practice their abilities in diverse manufacturing environments. He supervises group projects that facilitate students to gain skills through working on projects and encourage teamwork.
The Lean Manufacturing Fellowship that Sawhney received in 1993 from the National Institute for Standards and Technology through his work with the Tennessee Manufacturing Extension Program provided Sawhney with financial resources to help Tennessee industry competitiveness. His role revolves around advising companies, developing research agendas to increase manufacturing, implementing the plans and training employees to carry them out. The goal of lean production is to require less human effort, a smaller amount of inventory and a reduced amount of time to develop products while continuing to create top quality products.
From John Deere to General Electric, Sawhney offers manufacturing companies the same advice: reduce lead-time-reduce cost. Tools like activity based costing, statistics, simulation modeling and other industrial engineering tools aid Sawhney in advising companies on how to increase productivity.
Through Sawhney's efforts, UT is a member of MISSION and IRMA, research consortiums that look at the U.S. future in manufacturing plants and at the role of simulation and virtual reality in manufacturing plants. In addition to the Reuben Harris Award for Outstanding Project in Tennessee for the development of the Lean Production Program from Tennessee Manufacturing Extension Program, Sawhney has been given a Honeywell grant for research efforts in simulation modeling and manufacturing. Sawhney's latest research is in combining lean manufacturing and sustainable manufacturing.
He has worked with the Center for Clean Products and Clean Technology and the EPA to find ways to use alternative processes in manufacturing that are environmentally friendly, has won the Alcoa faculty development award and received outstanding teaching awards in industrial engineering consecutively several years in a row. An engaging teacher, Sawhney gives students opportunities to participate in many research projects.