Show notes
What does industrial and systems engineering look like when the system you’re working in is 250 miles above Earth?
In this special ISE Day episode of Problem Solved, retired NASA astronaut and U.S. Army Colonel Shane Kimbrough joins us to explore the systems, people and decisions behind human spaceflight.
Across three missions, Kimbrough spent nearly 400 days in space, commanded the International Space Station and completed nine spacewalks. He also flew aboard three very different generations of spacecraft: the Space Shuttle, Russian Soyuz and SpaceX Crew Dragon. With a master’s degree in operations research from Georgia Tech, Kimbrough brings an industrial and systems engineering perspective to environments where efficiency matters and failure can have extraordinary consequences.
Kimbrough shares what happens when an astronaut sees a better way to do something aboard the ISS, how experiments and limited resources are managed in orbit, and why even highly automated spacecraft still need human judgment.
The conversation also explores NASA’s approach to failure and safety, building trust within high-performing teams, preparing for the first critical minutes of a spacewalk, and a leadership philosophy Kimbrough carried from the Army into space: invest in people.
Plus, he reflects on one unforgettable final night aboard the ISS, what leaving Earth taught him about our planet, the future of human exploration, and the advice he hopes the next generation of engineers will take with them: do hard things.
Happy ISE Day 2026!
This special episode of Problem Solved was brought to you by Binghamton University. Learn more at binghamton.edu/ssie
Learn more about The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE)
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Problem Solved Executive Producer: Elizabeth Grimes
Interested in contributing to the podcast or sponsoring an episode? Email egrimes@iise.org
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