350 Leonhard, Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering 
Penn State University, University Park PA 16802

 
 
 
NEWS: Dr. Enrique del Castillo elected Editor-in-chief of the 
 Journal of Quality Technology (JQT) for 2006-2009.
 
 
 
 

 
 The Engineering Statistics Laboratory was founded in 2000. Its
 mission is to conduct advanced research on statistical methodologies
 for the control and optimization of the characteristics that define the
 quality of a production process or of a product. The lab provides advanced
 computing facilities (software and hardware) to graduate students and 
 faculty working in the Engineering Statistics field. Since its 
 inception, the ESL has focused on two main research thrusts:
 
 1. Statistical and Time Series Process Control: Process 
 adjustment methods based on discrete-time data are being 
 investigated. Topics include design and analysis of EWMA controllers
 for run-to-run semiconductor manufacturing, and deadband adjustment
 policies (both univariate and multivariate). Recent work has taken
 place on the setup adjustment problem, particularly with respect
 to cases in which the process parameters are unknown, the cost
 function is asymmetric, and when there are fixed adjustment costs.
 
 
 2. Process optimization and response surface methods: Techniques
 for the optimization of a noisy manufacturing process are 
 investigated. This includes stopping rules for steepest 
 ascent, ascent directions, confidence region computation for 
 the optimal settings, and new approaches for robust parameter
 design based on Bayesian predictive distributions.
 
  In each of these two areas, both frequentist and Bayesian approaches
 are being pursued. In particular, Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods
 are being investigated with application to each of the two main research 
 thrusts. 
 
 Application Areas:
 
 1. Semiconductor Manufacturing 
 
 2. Advanced Machining processes
 
 3. Automobile Design