20届校友博士Busayo Aworunse知道世界“忙碌”的含义。今年早些时候，他在Thomas J. Watson工程和应用科学学院完成了工业和系统工程博士学位，同时还在霍尼韦尔国际有限公司担任全职生产支持工程师。
问:是什么促使你决定重返学校攻读博士学位?
Aworunse:我想进入一个不同的行业。我的专业是天然气工程与管理。我毕业于尼日利亚的Obafemi Awolowo大学，我的家乡。我在那里学习电子与电气工程，并在俄克拉荷马大学获得了天然气工程与管理硕士学位。我学习石油是因为石油在尼日利亚是一个很大的产业，我打算在那里工作。
我在这里找到了一份工作并呆了下来，但我意识到石油和天然气行业正在发生变化，我想继续从事与数据科学相关的工作。很难转换到新的东西，所以我想获得一个学位，为我打开新的机会。我认为系统工程将是一个完美的结合。
问:你为什么选择宾汉姆顿大学?
Aworunse:当我在寻找系统工程的学位课程时，我偶然发现宾汉姆顿的SSIE[系统科学和工业工程]系，我决定申请那个项目。我和系主任Mohammad Khasawneh教授谈过，我有那种感觉，那种联系。我想，“是的，那就是我想去的地方。”
问:当你决定重返学校时，你在哪里工作?你的日常生活是怎样的?
Aworunse:在我离开天然气和石油之后，我在霍尼韦尔的航空部门找到了一份工作，在印第安纳州南本德的工厂。我在生产支持工程部担任DMAIC(定义、测量、分析、改进和控制)项目负责人，在那里我花了很多时间来改进工艺。通过数据分析，我致力于降低成本，制定广泛的路线图，并使团队更加以数据为导向。
就在那时，我决定，我需要找到一种方法，在我的全职工作和获得学位之间架起一座桥梁。我不想仅仅为了学习而获得学位——我希望它能非常适用于我的工作。
这个程序的异步特性很有帮助。一旦我离开工作回到家，我就从全职工程师变成了全职学生。我登录BLACKBOARD，试着补上我的课。毫无疑问，这是严酷的。我回到家时已经筋疲力尽，但我心中有最终的目标。
问:你在沃森学院的经历是怎样的?
Aworunse: SSIE项目对我来说非常有价值。它不是那么抽象或理论的东西。当你知道你今天在课堂上学到的东西就是你明天在办公室里要做的事情。这是一件无价的东西。
这里的教授也很了不起。在我的第一学期，我上了一些统计学的课，在那里我遇到了Jia Deng教授。我问他有没有带博士生。在与他的交谈中，我发现他的工作更多的是基于实验室的，我也在寻找更多的基于模拟的东西。所以，他把我推荐给Changquing Chen教授，他们决定成为我的共同顾问。两位优秀的教授在我的整个旅程中给予了指导。
问:你是如何对系统工程和技术产生兴趣的?
Aworunse:小时候，我就对数学和物理很着迷，我喜欢建造东西。从小到大，我的核心目标就是成为一名工程师——我只是还不知道自己想成为什么样的工程师。上高中时，我决定在电气工程专业完成本科学业。它为我在石油和天然气行业的职业发展提供了良好的背景。
问:现在你有了博士学位，你未来的目标是什么?你认为自己在未来三到五年内会有什么发展?
Aworunse：我的学位确实给了我职业发展的机会。这让我更有市场。我想继续尽可能多地学习。我不完全确定我还喜欢做什么，但我仍然希望自己在过程改进中发现自己，并将我所受的教育应用到新的领域。无论您在哪个领域，目标始终是改进流程和减少变化。
问:工作之余，你喜欢做什么?
Aworunse:我喜欢看电影，我还经常玩Scrabble和FIFA 。我也很喜欢旅游。今年3月，在疫情封城之前，我还在印度旅游，这太棒了。我还在英国、澳大利亚和突尼斯生活过。我因为工作和个人旅行去过很多地方，包括除了南极洲以外的所有大陆。
问:我们听到大家都在谈论“忙碌文化”，并利用我们的每一点空闲时间来提升自己。作为一个真正经历过那种生活的人，你对那些想要做同样事情的人有什么建议呢?
Aworunse:时刻记住要跳出舒适圈。这需要做出很多牺牲，有能力走出你的舒适区真的很重要。你必须有达到特定目标的热情。你需要知道你为什么要做你正在做的事情——它使你到达终点线。
Elizabeth Short SUNYBinghamtonEng 10月6日
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: BUSAYO AWORUNSE
校友聚光灯：BUSAYO AWORUNSE
Nigeria native earned Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering while holding down full-time job
尼日利亚人在全职工作的同时获得工业和系统工程博士学位
Busayo Aworunse presented at several conferences during his time as a Ph.D. student at Watson College.
Busayo Aworunse在沃森学院读博士期间在几次会议上发表过演讲。
Busayo Aworunse, Ph.D. 20, knows the meaning of the world “hustle.” Earlier this year, he completed his doctoral degree in industrial and systems engineering from the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science while maintaining a full-time job as a production support engineer for Honeywell International Inc.
Question: What inspired your decision to go back to school for a doctoral degree?
Aworunse: I wanted to move into a different industry. I originally studied natural gas engineering and management. I received my bachelor’s from Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria, where I’m originally from. I studied electronic and electrical engineering there and got my master’s in natural gas engineering and management from the University of Oklahoma. I studied that because petroleum is a large industry back in Nigeria, and that’s where I was planning to work.
I got a job here and stayed, but I realized that the oil and gas industry was changing, and I wanted to move on to something more data science-related. It’s hard to switch to something new, so I wanted to get a degree that would open new opportunities for me. I decided that systems engineering would be a perfect blend.
Q: Why did you choose Binghamton University?
Aworunse: When I was searching for degree programs for systems engineering, I came across the SSIE [systems science and industrial engineering] department at Binghamton, and I decided to apply for that program. I spoke with Professor [Mohammad] Khasawneh, the chair of the department, and I had that feeling, that connection. And I thought, “Yeah, that’s where I want to be.”
Q: Where were you working when you decided to back to school? What was your day-to-day like?
Aworunse: After I moved away from gas and oil, my background got me a job at Honeywell in its aerospace division at the facility in South Bend, Ind. I worked in the production support engineering department as the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) program lead, where I spent a lot of time working on process improvements. I worked on cost-reduction initiatives and developing extensive road maps through data analytics, as well as making the team more data-driven.
That was when I decided I needed to find a way to bridge my full-time job with getting a degree. I didn’t want to just get a degree for the sake of it — I wanted it to be very applicable to what I was doing at my job.
The asynchronous nature of the program helped. Once I left my job and got back home, I’d move from being a full-time engineer to a full-time student. I’d log into Blackboard and try to catch up on my classes. It was rigorous, no doubt. I’m getting back home and I’m exhausted, but I had the end goal in mind.
Q: What was your experience like at Watson College?
Aworunse: The SSIE program was very valuable for me. It wasn’t something so abstract or theoretical. You know that what you learned in class today is what you’re going to be doing in the office tomorrow. It was something very priceless.
The professors here were also very amazing. In my first semester, I took some statistical class and that’s where I met Professor Jia Deng. I reached out to see if he was taking any doctoral students. Talking with him, I saw his work was more lab-based, and I was also looking for something more simulation-based. So, he referred me to Professor Changquing Chen, and they decided to be my co-advisors. It was a blend of two excellent professors to guide me throughout my journey.
Q: How did you get interested in systems engineering and technology?
Aworunse: As a kid, I was always fascinated with math and physics, and I loved to build things. Growing up, my core focus was wanting to be an engineer — I just didn’t know what kind of engineer I wanted to be yet. In high school, I decided that electrical engineering was the area in which I wanted to complete my undergraduate degree. It gave me a strong background when my career progressed to the oil and gas industry.
Q: What are your goals for the future now that you have your doctorate? Where do you see yourself in the next three to five years?
Aworunse: My degree has definitely given me career progression. It’s made me more marketable. I’d like to keep learning as much as I can. I’m not entirely sure what else I might like doing, but I still want to find myself in process improvements and apply my education to newer areas. The goal is always to improve processes and reduce variation, regardless of what field you’re in.
Q: What do you like to do outside of work?
Aworunse: I like to watch movies, and I play Scrabble and FIFA a lot. I also really love to travel. Back in March, before the shutdowns, I was in India, which was amazing. I’ve also lived in the U.K., Australia and Tunisia. I’ve been to a lot of places for work and for personal trips, including all the continents except Antarctica.
Q: We hear all this talk about “hustle culture” and using every bit of our free time to better ourselves. As someone who’s really lived that life, what advice do you have for others looking to do the same?
Aworunse: Keep the end game in mind. It takes lots of sacrifice, and having the ability to step outside your comfort zone is really important. You have to have that zeal to reach that particular goal. You need to know why you’re doing what you’re doing — it’s what makes you reach the finish line.