Professor Dr. Leon Mcginnis

Biography

Leon McGinnis is a Professor Emeritus at the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech. His research specializes in model-based systems engineering and discrete event logistics systems, focusing on fundamental representation issues and performance assessment models. Throughout his tenure, he has developed and administered numerous industry-focused interdisciplinary education and research programs. In 1982, he helped establish the Material Handling Research Center, managing multiple research programs over a decade. He also played a key role in setting up the Computer Integrated Manufacturing Systems Program in 1983, receiving the LEAD Award from ASME for his contributions to graduate-level interdisciplinary manufacturing education. As CIMS Director, he led a team that secured a $1 million TRP grant, which resulted in the establishment of the Rapid Prototyping Manufacturing Institute. In 1994, he led a faculty team to secure over $2 million in grants from the W. M. Keck Foundation to create the Keck Virtual Factory Lab, aimed at advancing research in industrial engineering systems design and control. McGinnis has been recognized with several awards, including the Outstanding Publication Award and the David F. Baker Distinguished Research Award from the Institute of Industrial Engineers. He values teaching his students to think like industrial engineers, particularly through the application of mathematical and computational models to support the design of facilities and control systems.

Research Interests