High volume conveyor sortation system analysis

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor Dr. Chen Zhou, for his numerous supports and mentorship. I learned a lot from him both academically and personally, which will become an invaluable asset in my future career life. I wish to thank Dr. Wardi for serving on my committee and for their careful reading of my dissertation. Their insightful comments and suggestions greatly helped improve this research. I would like to deliver a special gratitude to Dr. Leon McGinnis and professors in Virtual Factory Laboratory, who have supported me during the course of my PhD study. I thank all the professors in Georgia Institute of Technology who taught me in the past five years. Their high quality courses will always be my treasure. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, Youguo Wang and Lisheng Wang, and my husband, Rongqiang Qin. They have always been a tremendous source of encouragement in my life. I also thank to my lovely daughter, Tina for her understanding of my busy schedule during my PhD study. I am also grateful to all church members in Chinese Campus Fellowship for their prayers and love.