Barry Nelson Wins Purdue Alumni Award
Nelson earned the honor for people who have distinguished themselves in any field in ways that reflect favorably on Purdue University, the engineering profession, or society in general.
Northwestern Engineering’s Barry Nelson won a 2026 Distinguished Engineering Alumni/Alumnae Award from Purdue University.
Nelson, Walter P. Murphy Professor Emeritus of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering, earned the honor that is presented to people who have distinguished themselves in any field in ways that reflect favorably on Purdue University, the engineering profession, or society in general. After receiving his bachelor of arts in mathematics and computer science from DePauw University in 1979, Nelson earned his master’s (1981) and PhD (1983) in industrial engineering from Purdue.
A member of the Northwestern faculty since 1995 and chair of IEMS from 2008 to 2014, Nelson’s expertise is on the design and analysis of computer simulation experiments, with an emphasis on improving statistical efficiency, analyzing multivariate outputs, simulation optimization, and managing model risk, with applications spanning financial engineering, computer performance, quality control, manufacturing, and transportation systems. Methodology created by Nelson has been implemented in the leading commercial simulation software products, and his books have been the foundation of simulation education for generations of students.
During his career, Nelson mentored 34 PhD students and two postdoctoral researchers.
Along with his work at Northwestern, Nelson has served as a consultant to numerous companies, including Dell Computer, Sloan Valve, and Whirlpool Corporation.
“Purdue changed my life in ways both subtle and profound, putting me on a path to a satisfying and interesting career,” Nelson said. “I could not have designed a better way to start.”