As part of the campaign to grow NC State Engineering by 40 percent, ISE has hired four up-and-coming “aces” to its faculty.

Adolfo Escobedo

Associate Professor
Biography
Before coming to the NC State ISE Department, Adolfo Escobedo worked with the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence at Arizona State University. He was an assistant professor in the industrial engineering program starting in 2016 and executive director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Accelerating Operational Efficiency in 2023. Escobedo received his Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering from Texas A&M University in 2016 and a BA in mathematics (with a minor in history) from California State University in 2009.
Why Engineering? ISE?
Escobedo picked engineering as his way of moving from studying the past to exploring the future. As a history major for the first half of his undergraduate studies, he always took at least one math course a quarter to hone his quantitative skills. However, Escobedo’s interests gradually gravitated towards more challenging mathematics courses that satisfied his intellectual curiosity. Eventually, he switched majors. After graduating, he decided to pursue graduate school in a field where a mathematics skill set would be necessary but where his work could make more tangible and timely impacts on real-world problems.
As far back as 2009, Escobedo had been interested in the NC State ISE Department. He was captivated by the unique research areas of the ISE faculty at that time (which included furniture manufacturing). Luckily, the stars aligned this time, and he jumped at the opportunity to join the Wolfpack.
Research Interests
Escobedo’s research interests focus on operation research, discrete optimization, computational linear algebra, sustainable infrastructure development, circular economy, computational social choice and crowdsourcing.
Even or Odd Numbers?
Odd numbers. A mathematical reason is that they include all but one of the current (and yet-to-be-discovered) prime numbers. A non-mathematical reason is they have the lucky and unlucky numbers 3, 7, 13 and 23.

Jordan Kern

Assistant Professor
Biography
Jordan Kern’s first job after undergrad was as a contractor at the US Department of Energy. He then returned to Chapel Hill for his master’s and Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences and Engineering. He remained at UNC and became a research faculty member before starting at NC State.
Kern joined NC State in 2018 as an assistant professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources (FER). It was the only academic offer then, so he didn’t choose NC State as much as NC State chose him.
Why Engineering? ISE?
Kern only had a little direct exposure to engineering as a kid. Science, yes, but not engineering. However, he had a strong interest in understanding complex systems and problem-solving. Halfway through his time as an undergrad, Kern realized that he wanted to pursue engineering. But because UNC doesn’t have an undergraduate engineering program, he pursued it in graduate school.
His road to ISE was a little more complicated. Kern’s background is in environmental systems engineering – an area of applied research that combines environmental science, engineering, economics, applied statistics and operations research to solve problems that involve both natural and human systems. Although he enjoyed being in the FER department, he knew being in engineering would be a better fit. So, he jumped at the chance to switch to the ISE department.
Research Interests
Kern’s research interests lie in the design and management of low-to-zero carbon energy systems focusing on building high-resolution models of real-world energy systems, simulating system dynamics under uncertainty and stress, and providing insights for making capital investments and short-term operational decisions.
Even or Odd Numbers?
Evens. Kern is a twin, and he has twins. Being able to divide things equally has been important in my life.

Fred Livingston

Associate Teaching Professor
Biography
Fred Livingston received his Ph.D. from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at NC State in 2014. Before joining the NC State faculty, he was a principal robotic engineer for defense contractors. He developed autonomous solutions for health systems, maritime systems, precision agriculture, and search and rescue for the Department of Defense. Livingston explored the integration of cutting-edge technologies like decentralized sensor fusion, edge computing, machine learning, robot manipulation, advanced control and computer vision for advanced autonomy.
Why Engineering? ISE?
Growing up in North Carolina during the 80s, Livingston spent time in my parents’ garage, fascinated by how things were made. He would tinker with almost anything but often couldn’t put the items back together. His parents eventually locked the tool cabinet to prevent further mishaps. During that time, he also became an avid supporter of Wolfpack basketball, particularly after their victory in the 1983 championship. His family often visited the NC State campus and attended engineering open houses. These experiences fueled his desire to pursue a degree in engineering at NC State.
Twenty years later, Livingston is proud to be a faculty member at the university, where he can use his robotics and automation expertise. The ISE department aligns perfectly with his interests and expertise.
Research Interests
Livingston’s research and teaching involve the advancement of cyber-physical systems for autonomy. These systems utilized multi-agent robotics technologies, decentralized control, sensor fusion, optimal motion planning, edge computing, reinforcement learning, blockchain, smart contracts, perception and security.
Even or Odd Numbers?
As an identical twin, Livingston firmly believes in the power of two. Having a companion who shares his every experience makes life even more fulfilling.

April Yu

Assistant Professor
Biography
April Yu received her Ph.D. and MS in Operations Research from Georgia Tech. Before that, she received her bachelor’s degree in Statistics from Nankai University in Tianjin, China. In 2022, she spent the summer as an applied scientist intern at Amazon.
Why Engineering? ISE?
Yu has always enjoyed applying what she has learned to solving real-life problems and improving system performance (even a little bit). She believes engineering bridges the gap between theoretical science and practical applications by solving complex real-world problems and contributing to cutting-edge developments. Yu chose NC State because it offered great opportunities for collaboration among different disciplines. She decided on the ISE Department because it provides various research topics, from advanced manufacturing to biomedical engineering to operations research. Yu is excited about working with students and faculty from diverse backgrounds and experiences at NC State.
Research Interests
Yu’s research primarily focuses on stochastic modeling and optimization, with applications to healthcare, queueing systems and supply chain management. She considered topics in her recent works: How to set vaccine pricing models better to create more equitable access to vaccinations worldwide? How about personalized scheduling to help more children get vaccinated? What impact can the combination of testing and self-isolation have on the spread of infectious diseases? What are the differences in utilization and survival between split liver and whole liver transplantation?
Even or Odd Numbers?
Although Yu doesn’t have a strong preference, she believes that even numbers are slightly better because there is no need to worry about any remainder when they are divided by two.