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Marshall S. White

Professor Emeritus
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Biography

Dr. Marshall S. (Mark) White is Professor Emeritus at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, and a graduate of Colorado State University and Virginia Tech with B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. He served as Director of the Center for Unit Load Design and The Pallet & Container Research Laboratory.  He was responsible for the research, technical assistance and educational programs offered by the Center on behalf of the pallet, packaging and container manufacturers and user industries.  The main thrust of these efforts has been the investigation of the relationship between the design of pallets and unit loads and their performance during storage and distribution of consumer and industrial products. The focus is on studying the dynamic and static mechanical interactions between packaging, pallets, and unit load handling equipment.  In 2004 Dr. White established the undergraduate study option in Packaging Science at Virginia Tech. He has published and lectured widely on the subject of CAD design of pallets and containers and the dynamic sequence of palletized unit-loads in shipping environments. Dr White has developed three commercially successful pallet and unit load design software tools; Best Pallet™, Best Load™, and the Pallet Design System®.

 Dr White was recognized by Modern Materials Handling Magazine as one of the Top Ten Materials Handling Professionals for his revolutionary ideas on the “Systems-Based” alternative to the existing “component-based design” of Global supply chains.  He is the recipient of the 2018, R. David LeButt Award for Excellence in Education in Packaging Design and Testing by The International Safe Transit Association. Dr. White has been a member of The Institute of Packaging Professionals, and the American Society of Testing and Materials D-10 Committee on Packaging. In this latter organization, he was co-chair of the pallet Testing Task Group. He has also served as Head of the U.S. Delegation to the International Standards Organization (ISO) TC-51 Committee on Pallets, and past Chairman of the ANSI/MHI, MH1 Committee on US Pallets Standards. He is therefore a contributing author of many National and International pallet standards.

Dr. White’s recent research has focused on the development of a non-chemical and sustainable phytosanitary treatment of wood products moving through international supply chains to reduce forest pest migration on these products.

Dr. White is President of White & Company LLC (www.whiteandcompany.net), which is a consulting and software development company specializing in pallet, packaging, and unit load supply chain design and performance.

Dr. White is also President of Phytosanitation Vacuum Systems LLC (phytovac.com). Phytovac manufactures and operates vacuum and steam equipment and systems to efficiently sanitize various wood products that move through International supply chains.

Education

  • B.S. in Wood Utilization, Colorado State University (1969)
  • M.S. in Forest Products, Virginia Tech (1973)
  • Ph.D. in Forest Products, Virginia Tech (1976)

 Areas of Expertise

  • Pallet, and distribution packaging design and performance
  • Unit Load design and performance
  • Sustainable, unit load supply chain design
  • Control of forest pest migration on wood [products moving through international supply chains
  • Sustainable phytosanitary treatments to sanitize wood products traded internationally