Scott T. Poage, emeritus professor and former chairman of the University of Houston Department of Industrial Engineering, passed away May 13, 2008 in Waco, Texas. He was 76.
Poage graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering, received his Master of Science from Texas A&M University and doctoral degree from Oklahoma State University.
His academic career included teaching and research in industrial engineering and related subjects at both Texas A&M and Oklahoma State, as well as at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he established its Department of Industrial Engineering in the early 1960s. In 1968, he became professor and chair of the UH Department of Industrial Engineering.
During his tenure at UH, Poage established the Ph.D. program in industrial engineering, graduating the department's first doctoral student, Victor Zaloom, in 1970. He pursued research on queuing theory and published the book Quantitative Management Methods for Practicing Engineers. He also published articles on such topics as laboratory simulators, analytical methods in industrial engineering and work sampling. He left the department in 1976 to pursue his interests in the private sector and authored several software packages for use on personal computers, including Pic-Pac, a system for generating engineered standards of performance in grocery warehouses.
Poage's pioneering work in applications of mathematical optimization techniques in solving industrial engineering problems gained him an international reputation. He received the IIE Fellow Award from the Institute of Industrial Engineering. The award recognizes an individual’s life long professional and academic achievements. In 2005, he was bestowed the distinction of emeritus professor at the University of Houston and the department named its lecture series in his honor. In addition to his remarkable academic achievements, he was a professional registered engineer in Texas for over 40 years.
Memorial services will be held at Oakwood Cemetery in Waco, Texas on Saturday, May 17 at noon.