Dr. Craig Downing’s areas of expertise include industrial-academic relationships, quality management system development, and productions/operations management. He continually explores new research opportunities related to quality and operations management. He has been a faculty mentor for Rose-Hulman’s National Science Foundation-supported Making Academic Change Happen workshops, which has developed change agents at educational institutions across America. Dr. Downing is a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and has industry experience as a process engineer and private consultant for organizations such as Lockheed Martin/NASA, Parker Hannifin, Crain Enterprises, and Peerless Pump. In his free time, Dr. Downing enjoys playing golf.
Academic Degrees
- BS, Southeast Missouri State University, Applied Mathematics and Statistics, 2005
- PhD, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Workforce Education and Development, 1999
- MS, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Manufacturing Systems, 1994
- BS, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Mechanical Engineering Technology, 1992
Awards & Honors
- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Honorary Alumni Award, 2015
- American Society of Engineering Management Meritorious Service Award, 2015
- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Excellence in Service Award, 2013
Research Experiences
- Entrepreneurship
- Lean Six Sigma
- Operations/Manufacturing
- Process Engineer/Operations Team Coordinator, Spinnaker Electrical Tape Co. (1995-1999)
Select Publications & Presentations
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- Chow, T. and Downing, C. G., “Adopt and Adapt: Using Six Sigma Methodology in Academia,” Industrial and Systems Engineering at Work (ISE), 9(48), 113-117, September 2016
- Wullbrandt, J. and Downing, C. G., “Stress Fracture: Adverse Effects of Lean Initiatives,” Proceedings of ASEE 2016 Conference, New Orleans, June 2016
- Strategic Partnering and Team Development: WEPAN Change Leader Forum, 2016
- Andrijcic, E., Schindel, W. D., and Downing, C. G., “Preparing Our Graduates to be More Effective Leaders In a World of Systems-Oriented Risk,” Proceedings of ASEE 2014 Conference, Indianapolis, June 2014.
- Ingram, E. L., House, R. A., Chenoweth, S., Dee, K. C., Ahmed, J., Williams, J. M., Downing, C. G., and Richards, D. E., “From Faculty to Change Agent: Lessons Learned in the Development and Implementation of a Change Workshop,” Proceedings of ASEE 2014 Conference, Indianapolis, June 2014
- Chow, T. and Downing, C. G., “A Case for Implementing Six Sigma Improvement Methodology in Academia,” Proceedings of IIE 2014 Conference and Expo, Montreal, Canada, June 2014
Teaching Interests
- Engineering leadership
- Supply chain management
- Manufacturing systems