Kenneth E. Case, Ph.D., P.E.
Kenneth E. Case is Regents Professor Emeritus of Industrial Engineering and Management at Oklahoma State University. He is a graduate of OSU (BSEE, MSIE, and Ph.D.) and has taught at both OSU and Virginia Tech, beginning his career in 1969. He was also a Management Scientist for GTE Data Services in Florida and served as Assistant Director of OSU’s Institute for Teaching and Learning Excellence (ITLE). He has been an Outside Director for Webco Industries since 1995. He is a licensed professional engineer and was named the Outstanding Engineer in Oklahoma in 1987.
Ken served as a Senior Examiner on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award from 1988 to 1990 and was on the Panel of Judges for the Baldrige from 1991 to 1993. He received the Quality Oklahoman Award from Governor Brad Henry in November 2003, the Oklahoma Medal for Excellence in College / University Teaching from the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence in 2005, and the Melvin R. Lohmann Medal from the College of Engineering Architecture and Technology (CEAT) at OSU in 2013 for national and international leadership and technical contributions to industrial engineering and quality assurance.
He has held these ASQ certifications: ASQ CQE, CRE, CQA, CMQ/OE, SSBB, SQP, and CCT. His primary interests are in quality and reliability engineering, and engineering economic analysis. He is a consultant to industry, having assisted 60 organizations, many involving repeat visits, some with 10-30-year relationships.
Ken was elected in 1990 to the National Academy of Engineering, where he chaired the Peer Committee and served as a member of the Committee on Membership, the Nominating Committee, and the Membership Policy Committee. He is also an active Academician Emeritus in the International Academy for Quality.
Ken is a Fellow of the American Society for Quality which he served as President Elect, President, and Chairman of the Board, sequentially, from July 2002 through June 2005. He was previously National Director, Treasurer, and on the Board of Directors. He was the ASQ Tulsa Section Chairman in 1977-78 when that Section won the Berg Award as the most outstanding in its class. He has presented SPC, Quality Engineering, and Quality Cost seminars for the ASQ. He is a recipient of the Eugene L. Grant Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal, and in 2020 was named an Honorary Member (34th in 73 years).
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers, which he served as President in 1986-87. Other IISE positions held include Vice President of Systems Engineering and Technical Divisions, Director of Professional Registration, Director of Conference Program Coordination, and Editor of the Applied Probability and Statistics Department of IISE Transactions. In 2002 he became the 29th person since 1962 to receive the Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Industrial Engineering Award, the highest honor presented by the Institute. In 2020 he received the Medallion Award for impact upon the IE profession.
He has been the Project Director on over 30 sponsored research projects / renewals, including funding from government and industry. He has published 70 refereed / invited articles and has co-authored five books (13 editions), two of which won the Joint Publishers--IISE Book of the Year Award. He also received the 2015 Wellington Award for advances in engineering economy. He has received 11 departmental teaching awards selected by the OSU students, the NTU Outstanding Teacher Award 10 times for satellite teaching, the IBM Outstanding Satellite Teacher Award (1st out of 350 instructors), the Advancia Distance Learning Award, plus the Halliburton Outstanding Engineering Professor Award at OSU, the Outstanding Graduate Teacher Award at OSU, the Regents Distinguished Teacher Award, and several other awards. He received the "Distinguished Eagle Scout Award" in 1986, is a Regent for Life of the National Eagle Scout Association and has received the Silver Beaver Award and Woodbadge beads from the Boy Scouts of America. Ken is a Life Member of Sigma Chi fraternity and was named a Significant Sig (top 1%) in 2014. He has been an amateur radio operator for 65 years, holds an Amateur Extra Class license (K5KC), and has talked into every country on the planet.
Ken and his wife Lynn live in Stillwater, OK. They were married in 1966 and have two children and four grandchildren. Their daughter Kristin is a Fellow in the ASQ, an Academician in the IAQ, and much sharper than her Dad.