Eberhardt Rechtin Keynote Lecture Brings Industry Insight from Top Engineer at UPS

The Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial Engineering hosted its Eberhardt Rechtin Keynote Lecture on Friday April 5, with ISE alumnus Juan Perez offering insights from his role as Chief Information and Engineering Officer at UPS.

During the lecture, which took place at the USC Hotel Ballroom, Perez discussed balancing the relationship between industrial engineering and information technology, and how wearing two hats, as Chief Information and Engineering Officer, allowed him to drive innovation at UPS.

Perez holds a B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering and an M.S. in Computer and Manufacturing Engineering from USC and served as a lecturer for seven years.

Prior to his current role, Perez served as the Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Technology for UPS, following various senior management roles in Operations, Industrial Engineering, Process Management and Technology, Plant and Automotive Engineering and the Advanced Technology Group.

Perez led the development of ORION, the On-road Integrated Optimization and Navigation system that optimizes UPS delivery routes to improve service efficiency. He has secured several patents that support UPS’s intellectual property and has led the implementation of new technologies including artificial intelligence, virtual assistants and virtual reality solutions for UPS driver training.

Perez has been honored with numerous awards, including the 2018 CIO of the Year® Orbie Award from the Georgia CIO Leadership Association.

The Rechtin Keynote Lecture was named for the late Eberhardt Rechtin (1926-2006), a former Viterbi School Professor, National Academy of Engineering member, and an important figure in the development of the Systems Architecture Engineering discipline.

Rechtin played a key role in the development of U.S. space technology in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, before joining the USC faculty.  Rechtin headed JPL’s Communications Group in the 60s, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (later to become DARPA) soon after, and was named CEO of the Aerospace Corporation.

Further images from the 2019 Rechtin Lecture are available here. 

Published on April 29th, 2019

Last updated on April 29th, 2019