Dr. Leon F. McGinnis' Home Page, Georgia Institute of Technology

Leon F. McGinnis, Ph.D., P.E.

- The Georgia Institute of Technology -

Position

Eugene C. Gwaltney Professor of Manufacturing Systems
Associate Director, Manufacturing Research Center

Education

B.S., 1970, Auburn University, Industrial Engineering
MS., 1973, North Carolina State University, Industrial Engineering
Ph.D., 1975, North Carolina State University, Industrial Engineering

Research Interests

I am intrigued by the complexity of manufacturing logistics systems, and the apparent difficulty of designing them to be both efficient and robust. I believe that there are fundamental structures to these systems that can be the basis for effective engineering design and analysis tools, and my research attempts to discover that structure, to develop both generic and specific models for design and analysis, and to develop computational prototypes that are used in case studies. For example, I have lead teams of faculty and students to develop the following:

a CAD-based workstation for designing and optimizing automated guided vehicle systems
a CAD-based workstation for assessing the reliability of automated transporters in clean rooms
a generic object-oriented model and simulation program for discrete-event manufacturing systems
a generic approach to process optimization in printed circuit card assembly, and a suite of specific optimization models and software.

This work requires a broad understanding of the domain of application, access to a facility with both cutting edge computational methods and tools, and expertise in the use and development of models and algorithms for analysis and optimization.

Link to Recent Refereed Publications
Link to Recent Conference Presentations

Personal

I was born in Selma, Alabama, in 1948. I grew up on a dairy farm near Birmingham, and graduated from Springville High School with 29 other seniors. I attended Auburn University, where for the last three years, I held a full time job, working from 4 pm until midnight, with Mondays and Tuesdays off. At Auburn, I met and married Marcia Hope Brooks, who for some unfathomable reason, has stayed with me. After a brief stint at GE, I returned to school at NCSU. Upon completing my Ph.D., I joined Georgia Tech in January, 1975.

Marcia and I have two sons, Joel and Aaron, both of whom were homeschooled. Joel, a Georgia Tech alum (LCC 2000, IDT 2002), is a karate brown belt, a fine potter, an excellent cook, and former member of the Atlanta Pipe Band. Joel is now employed by High Voltage in Chicago, IL, where he lives with wife Amity. Aaron, an avid computer game player and martial artist, is now a student at Oglethorpe University. Marcia is co-founder and leader of SHARE Atlanta, a support group for neonatal loss, and she also has developed a large and internationally known website. Not to be shown up by my family, I have collaborated with John Sewell to develop a website devoted to the politics of homeschooling in Georgia.

I'm a basketball has-been and golfing wannabee (my index as of January, 2004 is 13.6, right where it's been for the last 5 years). I believe in hard work and fair play. My greatest professional satisfaction comes from my work with students, and my proudest professional accomplishment has been supervising six women Ph.D.s.