2025 Winners

1st Place – Gigi Winter – “Jack of All Trades”

$500 Amazon Gift Card

For sophomore Gigi Winter, this year’s Beautify Grissom competition was a long-anticipated opportunity. “I’ve actually been wanting to participate in this competition since last year, and I’m so glad I finally decided to go for it this year!” she said. 

Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Winter is deeply involved on campus through IISE, Glenwood Cooperative, Purdue Launch, and the Purdue Ski and Snowboard Club. When she’s not immersed in her IE studies, she’s likely working out, golfing, running, or testing a new recipe in the kitchen. 

Winter’s choice to pursue IE was shaped by the encouraging environment she found at Purdue: “I was drawn to the supportive atmosphere among the instructors, administrators, and peers. I also felt that my strengths aligned really well with the IE curriculum and the diverse career opportunities it offers — I can truly see myself thriving in this field one day.” 

Her piece, inspired by the versatility of Industrial Engineers, draws a creative parallel to the world of skilled trades. “When I think of an Industrial Engineer, I picture someone who is skilled across many different areas and has the flexibility to switch careers or roles throughout their life — truly a ‘jack of all trades.’ What really inspired me was seeing plumber and handyman trucks on the road loaded up with tools and equipment. These workers switch tasks every day, tackling something new each time, and that felt like a perfect parallel to what industrial engineers can do. That’s what sparked the idea for my painting.”

 

2nd Place – Sneha Chakraborty

$300 Amazon Gift Card

Sneha Chakraborty’s painting offers a powerful visual interpretation of Industrial Engineering — not just as a field of study, but as a mindset that bridges people and progress. 

At the heart of the piece is a striking face, which captures the essence of IE’s dual nature: “The divided face at the center represents the duality at the heart of IE: the harmony between human emotion and technological advancement. One side is organic, soft, and emotional, while the other is mechanical, analytical, and data-driven — because IE is not just about systems and efficiency; it's about people. It's about improving lives.”

Personal touches, like a small heart tattoo and a line of code, subtly ground the artwork in Chakraborty’s own story. “The tiny heart tattoo and the phrase print("Hello world, East") are deeply personal touches: a reminder that even in a world of code and automation, our work is led by human intention and empathy.”

With this piece, Chakraborty invites viewers to reconsider what drives Industrial Engineering at its core: “Industrial engineering is the silent architect of progress. There will never be a future — never a field — that doesn't require optimization, and that's where IE thrives. It's not always loud or glamorous, but it's essential. This painting is my way of showing that IE isn't just about making things faster or cheaper — it's about making them better.”

 

3rd Place – Sophia Raffin – “Untitled”

$200 Amazon Gift Card

Sophia Raffin, a senior in Industrial Engineering, has successfully participated in the Beautify Grissom contest for a second time this year. She has always enjoyed painting and drawing, and typically uses it as a stress relief activity. Raffin created this piece because she enjoys making art. “I felt like the contest was a good challenge and opportunity to do something that I enjoy, but don't always have the time for.” 

Inspired by murals that weave together multiple images to tell a deeper story, Raffin’s work captures the essence of the Purdue IE experience. At its center is Dr. Yih, a well-known professor beloved by IE students. Her mural pays tribute to key people, places, and moments in the program’s history — including Frank Gilbreth, widely regarded as one of the fathers of Industrial Engineering. After featuring Lillian Gilbreth in her artwork last year, Raffin chose to highlight Frank this time.

Raffin comes from a family of engineers, so she knew she wanted to be one too, but IE especially stood out to her: “I decided on Industrial Engineering through reading about Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, Henry Ford and the assembly line, and a general interest in taking processes and making them better.”

 

Finalists

Katie Kraus – “The IE Desk”

$100 Amazon Gift Card

A junior set to graduate this December, Katie Kraus approached the competition with excitement and intention, conceptualizing her design as early as January. Her piece — a meticulously detailed scene of a student’s desk — tells the story of the IE curriculum through objects, screens, and subtle references, from a supply chain diagram and data analysis tools to a sticky note reminding her to “email Mario,” one of her most memorable IE professors.

As Kraus reflected on what IE meant to her, she knew she didn’t want her mural to focus solely on manufacturing. “I really wanted to showcase lots of technical skills IEs have — like the computing we learn in IE332. I realized the best way for me to do that was to start with a desk and fill the rest of the space with everything I had learned!”

Every element in the mural is intentional and rooted in IE concepts. The iPad, for instance, features a project management schedule and a decision tree, while the vertical monitor exhibits ergonomics lab images and a Markov chain. Even the tiny coin and die scattered on the desk represent the probability and statistics courses that IEs take.

Outside the classroom, Kraus is active at Purdue through Stewart Cooperative and a line dancing club she co-founded with a friend. The Beautify Grissom contest is a full-circle moment for Kraus: “I’ve always loved art and even mentioned in my application to Purdue how I thought engineering brought a really cool balance between math and being able to be creative.”

 

Rishab Shah – “Balancing Progress”

$100 Amazon Gift Card

Rishab Shah, a graduate student currently interning at Tesla, is passionate about innovation in the manufacturing sector. “My long-term goal is to become a thought leader in the manufacturing industry, delivering impactful contributions that leave a lasting legacy,” he said. 

Shah’s artwork brings to life the realization he had that, “progress in life comes with the right balance.” His painting depicts a woman in formalwear and a Purdue hard hat walking a tightrope while balancing two baskets: one filled with popular technical concepts like manufacturing and automation, and the other with  often-overlooked elements such as human factors and sustainability. Shah said, “It is a symbolic narrative of the evolution of Industrial Engineering: an artistic timeline that reflects not just the transformation of industry, but the balancing act that engineers perform between precision and empathy, systems and people, legacy and innovation.”

Shah embodies the message of his painting in his personal life. A triathlete, black belt in karate, and dedicated student with several other hobbies, he is constantly juggling multiple pursuits. Despite having little prior painting experience, he took on the Beautify Grissom challenge and “engineered his way” into creating a beautiful visual tribute to the discipline.