Iris Vis appointed as Captain of Science of the Top Sector Logistics

Prof. dr. Iris F.A. Vis, Professor of Industrial Engineering, has been appointed as Captain of Science of the Top Sector Logistics by the Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. Effective August 1, she will succeed professor Rob Zuidwijk (Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University).

Iris Vis is Professor of Industrial Engineering at the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Groningen (UG). Within the Top Sector Logistics, Iris Vis is currently theme coordinator Supply Chain Coordination and a member of the Steering Group on Supply and Logistics Chains. Among other things, she is also a member of the Institute Advisory Council of ASTRON.

Aad Veenman, figurehead of the Top Sector Logistics, on the appointment: "We are very pleased with the appointment of professor Iris Vis. With her many years of experience in the scientific world and the connections she has built with industry and government, she will provide an important stimulus to research within our Top Sector, among other things.”

Industry Relations

Until 2022, Vis was Dean of Industry Relations for the UG. In that role, she and her team built on the strategy and implementation of the university's collaboration with external parties on behalf of the Executive Board. Vis and her team initiated or supported numerous social impact initiatives, including on the topics of digital society and the circular economy. Among other things, Vis chaired the network organization Noorden Digitaal and the living lab Smart and Sustainable Mobility Hive.mobility. In addition, the creation of interdisciplinary innovation agendas of researchers from several faculties was facilitated, for example for societal challenges related to Green Industry and Smart Mobility.

Research into logistics and in the cross-over with other sectors

Before joining the University of Groningen, Vis was an associate professor at the VU University Amsterdam. She was also a visiting researcher at CIRRELT (Montreal / Quebec City, Canada), Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, USA) and Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, USA). Her research focuses on designing and improving sustainable logistic processes and transportation networks. She enjoys working at the cross-over of logistics and other sectors, such as energy, healthcare and education. Vis has realized many externally funded projects with consortia consisting of companies, non-profit organizations, governments and knowledge institutions. An important aspect of Vis' work is sharing research outcomes with professionals.

Vis looks forward to taking on the role of Captain of Science within the Top Sector Logistics, working with stakeholders from many disciplines and domains. "Logistics is everywhere. From that thought, there are also many cross-overs to be made with other sectors in order to jointly develop solutions to issues related to societal challenges.”

Questions? Please contact Iris Vis.