Professor Woodruff explores operations management of companies and organizations, including capacity planning, scheduling, supply chain optimization, materials management, inventory control, quality control and distribution. He is an expert in production planning under uncertainty, optimization and data mining, and data analysis. He teaches courses in production and operations management, the management of information systems, and the design and specifications of computer-based information systems.

Professor Woodruff recently co-authored a book that provides managers and information technology professionals with a basic understanding of computational optimization models for production planning in a supply chain. He has published more than 30 articles in leading academic journals and has served on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Production Research, Production and Operations Management and INFORMS Journal On Computing. He is the past chair of the INFORMS Computing Society, which is concerned with computer science, artificial intelligence, and their relationship to operations research and the management sciences. He is currently area editor of the Journal of Heuristics

As director of concurrent degree programs, Professor Woodruff oversees the School's interdisciplinary studies, including MBA/Law, MBA/Engineering, MBA/MD and other MBA joint programs, as well as programs that enable graduate researchers and Ph.D. candidates in the sciences to concurrently earn an MBA.

As associate dean, Professor Woodfuff oversees and coordinates academic matters for all programs, including the Daytime MBA Program, the Working Professional MBA Programs in Sacramento and the Bay Area, and the undergraduate Technology Management Minor. He manages the curriculum and course schedules and, along with faculty, evaluates new and existing courses.