Don Taylor to receive University of Massachusetts Amherst Outstanding Alumni Award
G. Don Taylor, department head of Virginia Tech's Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, will be honored with the 2015 College of Engineering Outstanding Senior Alumni Award by the University of Massachusetts. Taylor will receive the award at the college's fall homecoming reception on Oct. 16.
The award is bestowed upon Taylor in celebration of his significant achievements and leadership within the industry, and in honor of his service to the profession, university, and society, stated the award citation.
Taylor, who holds the Charles O. Gordon Professorship, will also participate on a leadership panel moderated by the college's dean, Tim Anderson. The "town-hall" discussion is free and open to the campus community.
His research interests focus on the simulation and optimization of complex systems and the logistics of material flow and freight transportation. Taylor's research has led to more than 200 technical publications, including 10 edited books.
Taylor has served as principal investigator or co-principal investigator on more than 75 externally funded projects while partnering with approximately 60 different companies.
Twice under Taylor's leadership, the Grado department received a University Exemplary Department Award; in 2007 for the development and execution of innovative and effective approaches to advising its undergraduate and graduate students and again in 2012 for effectively linking assessment with instruction in order to improve student learning.
He is a fellow and president emeritus of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE). Currently Taylor chairs the board of IIE Solutions, Inc. and is a fellow of the World Academy of Productivity Science. Taylor is a member of the American Society for Engineering Education, Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, and the International Council on Systems Engineering.
Prior to joining the Virginia Tech community in 2004, Taylor held the Mary Lee and George F. Duthie Endowed Chair in Engineering Logistics and was the director of the Center for Engineering Logistics and Distribution at Kentucky's University of Louisville.
He obtained his bachelor's degree and masters' degree from the University of Texas at Arlington, and his Ph.D. in industrial engineering and operations research from the University of Massachusetts.
