TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Recent University of Alabama industrial engineering graduates Tonita Romero and Kayla Erwin placed second and third, respectively, for the Institute of Industrial Engineers Student Award for Excellence.

The IIE Student Award for Excellence was established to recognize undergraduate university members who have distinguished themselves through excellence of scholarship and campus leadership. Each university chapter of IIE is encouraged to nominate up to two members for this award, and UA has consistently placed students in the top three since 1997.

Romero recently was named the industrial engineering department student of the year. The Prattville, Ala., native is a Presidential Scholar, a member of XXXI honorary and president of Alpha Pi Mu industrial engineering honor society. Romero is a Capstone Men and Women ambassador, the executive secretary for the UA Student Government Association and has served as a senator for the College of Engineering.

Erwin recently was awarded the Capstone Engineering Society award for Most Outstanding Ambassador of the College of Engineering and the IIE’s Outstanding Senior Award. The Grand Bay, Ala., native has served as president of UA’s student IIE chapter and secretary of Alpha Pi Mu.

Founded in 1948, IIE is the premier society dedicated to serving the professional needs of industrial engineers and all individuals involved in improving quality and productivity. IIE has more than 16,000 members and more than 150 chapters in 13 countries.

In 1837, UA became the first university in the state to offer engineering classes and was one of the first five in the nation to do so. Today, the College of Engineering, with about 1,900 students and more than 90 faculty, is one of the three oldest continuously operating engineering programs in the country and has been fully accredited since accreditation standards were implemented in the 1930s.