A package on the doorstep marks the end of a journey shaped by engineering decisions. However, that journey can look different depending on where someone lives or which business ships the order.

Watch Kay’s award video

For NC State faculty member Michael Kay, those differences raise a question. What would it take to make affordable delivery available to more people?

That question has guided more than 25 years of his research into public logistics networks. These shared systems would give more businesses and communities access to delivery capabilities.

Kay received the 2026 Reed-Apple Award, a lifetime achievement honor recognizing contributions to material handling and logistics education. The award was presented on September 29 during Awards Night at the MHI Annual Conference in Palm Springs. The executive council of the College Industry Council on Material Handling Education nominated him.

Opening the Door to Better Delivery

Most shoppers see the delivery truck. Behind it, however, sits a network that organizes the flow of products from businesses to customers.

“For over 25 years, my research has focused on public logistics networks,” Kay explained. “Most logistics networks, like UPS’s, are private. An open, public network would allow much broader participation.”

For Kay, that broader participation could change who benefits from convenient delivery. Small businesses could gain more shipping options, while residents outside major cities could receive more affordable service.

“It would give small shippers the same capabilities now available only on private networks, give small towns the low-cost delivery found in large cities, and let the elderly and disabled have their shopping needs met without having to drive,” he said.

Although that vision remains a research goal, it has already shaped how Kay prepares students to solve problems.

“Public logistics networks have not been implemented as such, but they have served as a research agenda, a way to focus on topics that matter as the technology needed for home delivery evolves,” Kay said.

When asked where his work has made the clearest difference, Kay pointed to the people he has taught. As he explained, “The best example is my students.”

Those research questions have given students opportunities to explore challenges facing an evolving industry. “That has made them a great training ground, and my students have gone on to jobs at leading-edge companies and in academia,” he said.

Carrying NC State’s Legacy Forward

Kay also credited MHI and the Material Handling Education Foundation, which presented the award, for supporting engineering education. Through scholarships, teachers’ institutes and research gatherings, these organizations help sustain the field and prepare future engineers.

The recognition also connects Kay to an earlier chapter in NC State’s history. James Tompkins, a former industrial engineering professor, received the award in 1984.

For Kay, that connection reaches directly into the classroom. “I’m very honored,” he said. “Tompkins was a professor in our industrial engineering department and taught the same facilities course I later taught, using his textbook and some of his actual notes.”

That shared teaching legacy has also created career opportunities. As Kay noted, “His company, headquartered in Raleigh, has employed many of our graduates.”

From classroom notes passed between professors to graduates entering the profession, that legacy continues through the people they prepare.