 ATLANTA (September 12, 2000) -- Leon McGinnis has been selected the College of Engineering's Eugene C. Gwaltney Chair in Manufacturing Systems.
McGinnis is a professor in the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering and associate director of the Manufacturing Research Center. He holds three degrees in industrial engineering: a bachelor's from Auburn University, and master's and doctoral degrees from North Carolina State University. Since 1975, he has played an integral role in various Georgia Tech manufacturing initiatives including Computer Integrated Manufacturing Systems (CIMS), the Material Handling Research Center, and the Keck Virtual Factory Laboratory.
"Manufacturing has been a trademark of Georgia Tech for many years and continues to be a major and critical strength of the Institute," said Jean-Lou Chameau, dean of the College of Engineering. "Leon has been one of our distinguished faculty in this discipline and played a key role in its development. I am looking forward to even greater accomplishments in his new role as the Gwaltney Chair in Manufacturing Systems."
Steven Danyluk, director of the Manufacturing Research Center, chaired the search committee that included Bill Black, Ari Glezer, Dennis Hess, Nan Jokerst, George Nemhauser and Dan Schrage. Approximately 50 candidates applied for the position. The committee spent more than a year interviewing candidates and narrowing the field.
"The charge from the dean was that the chair could be in any academic unit within engineering, so it was a wide-open search," said Danyluk. "A number of foreign candidates from a wide variety of disciplines applied or were nominated for the position. Our criteria was to look for candidates with a strong emphasis in manufacturing."
Of the 50 candidates, 12 passed through the first round, Danyluk said. The committee ultimately narrowed the selection to two candidates: McGinnis and one external candidate.
"Leon has been the technical leader in a number of interdisciplinary areas including CIMS and the Virtual Factory and one of the true multidisciplinary individuals on campus. He has been a champion of multidisciplinary research through his whole career," said Danyluk. "Manufacturing is, by definition, multidisciplinary. So, in addition to his technical leadership his emphasis on manufacturing positioned him at the top of the field of candidates every time."
For McGinnis, the Gwaltney Chair will aid in his outreach efforts on behalf of Tech's manufacturing community.
"The Gwaltney Chair gives me the ability to strengthen the network between the people at Tech who are doing exciting things in manufacturing and other leading manufacturing experts around the world. That networking opportunity is really important," McGinnis said.
"It also gives me the ability to recruit students and faculty for Tech," McGinnis said. "Like a lot of other areas of business, manufacturing is becoming more and more an intellectual business. If you want to be at the front edge you've got to have the intellectual resources, and that's people—good, smart, well-trained, creative, hard-working people. And, those people are in high demand."
In addition to being an accomplished researcher, McGinnis has made valuable contributions as a teacher and advisor for 25 years. He said one of his proudest achievements has been supervising six women doctoral candidates—one of who is Professor Jane Ammons, now his colleague in ISyE.
"I was one of his first, if not the first, of his Ph.D. advisees, so I like to tease him that I had to break him in on this process," said Ammons. "Benefiting from the hindsight now from years of experience advising my own students, I can see that he was tremendously patient with me as I bumbled along in various stages of development. He was very supportive of all of my struggles, from scholarship issues to barriers I was facing as ISyE's first woman Ph.D. student. I strongly believe that Leon's superior level and breadth of understanding and support is why he has successfully graduated so many women ISyE Ph.D. students."
Ammons continued, "We are fortunate to have Leon on our faculty. Many other programs have tried to lure him away. In addition to his expertise and international visibility, Leon brings a special 'character' element to our program with his unique personality and quick wit."
About the Gwaltney Chair
The Gwaltney Chair honors Eugene "Gene" C. Gwaltney (M.E. '40). He helped direct Russell Corp. to national prominence during a 40-year career. The Gwaltney family is a big supporter of Georgia Tech and has been associated with the Manufacturing Research Center and the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering for many years.
John A. White, former dean of the College of Engineering, held the Gwaltney Chair when he was at Tech. After White's departure, the chair was vacant for a few years and its value grew and eventually split into two chairs. Ward O. Winer, Chair of the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, holds one Gwaltney Chair, being appointed in 1998. The search for a candidate to fill the current Gwaltney Chair began in summer of 1999.
Appearing in Georgia Tech's News & Information website online. |
