Jamestown, N.D. resident, Katherine Roth, was awarded a PhD from NDSU’s Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering department on May 11, 2024.
Roth, who is the Executive Director of the Jamestown Regional Entrepreneur Center (www.jrecenter.com), also completed an Associate of Arts, Bachelor of Arts, and Master of Business Administration from Williston State College, the University of Jamestown, and the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater, respectively.
As part of earning the Doctor of Philosophy degree, Katherine surveyed regional manufacturers to collect data to learn about the current level of Industry 4.0 integration within the sector and to gather insights into current organizational management techniques. Her academic supervisors were Drs. Farahmand, Grewell, and Yadav. She intends to continue this workforce research beyond her academic studies as an initiative within the entrepreneur center in partnership with other non-profit organizations.
As a graduate student she was able to attend in-person and virtual presentations on pertinent Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering topics. The emergence of hybrid educational programs offered at NDSU during the past few years afforded her the opportunity to continue her education as a working professional.
North Dakota State University is leading the state’s efforts in engineering through the new Richard Offerdahl ‘65 Complex that will be built in the heart of the campus. With a collaborative design studio, precision agriculture headquarters, college commons, and flexible teaching and research labs the Richard Offerdahl ‘65 Engineering Complex aims to accelerate development of engineers who will address questions related to artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, precision agriculture, data science, energy stewardship, advanced infrastructure, manufacturing, and robotics.
