Kimberly P. Ellis

Kimberly P. Ellis is an Associate Professor in the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. She holds affiliations as Site Director of the Center for Excellence in Logistics and Distribution (CELDi) and Associate Director of the Center for High Performance Manufacturing (CHPM). Her research focuses on manufacturing systems engineering, logistics optimization, and applied operations research, addressing challenges in production planning, supply chain management, and industrial gas distribution.

Education: Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, M.S. and B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Tennessee.

Research interests include large-scale operational planning, material logistics, and process optimization. Her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, Ericsson, Lucent Technologies, and others. She co-directs the Dover Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Integration and has served in leadership roles at the College Industry Council on Material Handling Education (CICMHE), including past-president (2014–Present).

Awards include the Dean’s Award for Service Excellence (2011–12), Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence (2009–10), and the Ralph R. Teetor Award for Young Educators (2002). Recent courses taught include Production Planning and Inventory Control, Production Systems Analysis, and Systems Engineering Process.