SME honors manufacturing engineering's innovators.
Press Release Summary:
For more than 50 years, SME has recognized manufacturing engineering's innovators through its International Honor Awards, Award of Merit, and Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award. Recipients represent both current and next generation of inventors, industry leaders, and innovators as well as Society volunteers. Their research, inventions, and work collectively contribute to much of world's bottom line. List of recipients can be found in full release.
Original Press Release:
SME Honors Inventors, Industry Leaders, Volunteers and Young Engineers
DEARBORN, Mich., February 19, 2009 - Advances in manufacturing have made things cheaper, stronger and safer for consumers. Each advancement was made by dedicated practitioners whose contributions may never be known by the public.
That's why for more than 50 years, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) has recognized manufacturing engineering's innovators throught its International Honor Awards, Award of Merit and Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award.
Recipients represent both the current and next generation of inventors, industry leaders and innovators as well as Society volunteers. Their research, inventions and work collectively contribute to much of the world's bottom line as manufacturing accounts for multitrillions of dollars not to mention millions of jobs.
Each year, SME honors the current generation of manufacturing practitioners with the International Honor Awards and Award of Merit, while its Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award honors the next.
"All of these awards play significant roles in the Society's history and tradition of honoring the best and the brightest at work who, in the end, make our lives better," said SME Executive Director and General Manager Mark C. Tomlinson. "In some cases over the years these awards have shown career progression as previous Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineers have gone on to receive Honor Awards."
2009 International Honor Award Recipients
Since 1955, the International Honor Awards have recognized significant contributions to the field of manufacturing engineering in such areas as manufacturing technologies, technical writing, education, research, management and service to the Society. This year's recipients include:
Masahiko Mori, D-Eng., FSME
President
Mori Seiki Co. Ltd.
Nagoya City, Japan
Masahiko Mori is recognized with the Donald C. Burnham Manufacturing Management Award for his exceptional leadership of Mori Seiki Co. Ltd., a global machine tool manufacturer with worldwide sales and operations. Mori Seiki and its subsidiaries have achieved $5.5 billion in sales and expanded into the European market by acquiring a division of Sandvik.
K.P. Rajurkar, PhD, FSME
Distinguished Professor of Engineering
Industrial and Management Systems Engineering Department
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, Neb.
K.P. Rajurkar is recognized with the SME Gold Medal which is awarded for prolific contributions to technical communications through published literature, technical writings or lectures. His technical areas of interest include nontraditional manufacturing such as electric discharge, electrochemical and other processes. Rajurkar's research helped pave the way for the establishment of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Center for Nontraditional Manufacturing Research.
Brian A. Ruestow
Operations Manager
F.W. Roberts Manufacturing Co. Inc.
Lockport, N.Y.
Brian A. Ruestow is recognized with the Joseph A. Siegel Service Award for his significant and unique contributions to the Society. Ruestow has served on various SME Education Foundation committees, including the Scholarship Review Committee, for more than 20 years. His efforts have made it possible for thousands of students to receive college scholarships.
John W. Sutherland, PhD, FSME
Henes Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Director, Sustainable Futures Institute
Michigan Technological University
Houghton, Mich.
John W. Sutherland is recognized with the SME Education Award for his pioneering curricular contributions to manufacturing, for fostering sound training methods and for inspiring students to enter the manufacturing profession. Sutherland's career spans more than 25 years with the majority of his accomplishments as an engineering educator at Michigan Tech, where he established innovative sustainability courses in environmentally responsible design and manufacturing.
Kazuo Yamazaki, PhD
Professor of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering
University of California, Davis
Davis, Calif.
Kazuo Yamazaki is recognized with the SME Frederick W. Taylor Research Medal for his significant published research, which has led to a better understanding of materials, facilities, principles, operations and their application to improve manufacturing processes. Yamazaki is author of more than 100 journal papers and nearly 100 conference papers and is also a prolific inventor who holds 31 registered patents.
Read more
2009 Award of Merit Recipients
Since 1958, the Award of Merit has honored SME chapter members who have made valued, balanced contributions to the Society's professional activities and growth. This year's recipients are:
Michael Flaman
Portland No. 63
Paul Nutter, MBA, CMfgE, CQE, CQA
Ohio Northern University S186
Richard Thurman
Florida Suncoast No. 159
2009 John G. Bollinger Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award
For the past 30 years, the Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award has honored the next generation of educators, engineers and above all, innovators. The 2009 award recipients are:
Nicholas X. Fang, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Science & Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Urbana, Ill.
Nicholas X. Fang leads a research group of doctoral students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where his students concentrate on creating devices for focusing photon and sound into a nanometer scale and using them for imaging and nanofabrication. These devices and technologies could lead to revolutionary methods of diagnosing living cells at molecular-scale details without the use of an electron microscope.
Dean Ho, PhD
Assistant Professor
Northwestern University
Evanston, Ill.
At Northwestern University Dean Ho investigates the scalable fabrication of nanodiamond platforms for drug delivery, as well as polymeric microfilm devices for applications in chemotherapy, anti-inflammation and regenerative medicine. His research achievements have garnered news coverage on mainstream media. Read more
Kehai Li, PhD
Product Engineer
ESAB North America
Florence, S.C.
Kehai Li's major research interests include high-speed and high-productive welding, laser hybrid welding and welding/cutting process control among other specialties. He has published nearly 20 peer-reviewed journal articles, in addition to a number of conference publications. Read more
J. Rhett Mayor, PhD
Assistant Professor
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta
J. Rhett Mayor received his PhD from the University of Natal in South Africa and is an assistant professor at Georgia Institute of Technology. Mayor's primary research interests are the emerging areas of micromanufacturing and micropower generation. His research has been sponsored by such partners as the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, General Motors and Chrysler among others.
Jun Qu, PhD
R&D Staff Scientist
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Jun Qu is currently a R&D staff scientist in the Materials Science and Technology Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He has published more than 40 papers in peer-reviewed journals and holds two patents.
Iris V. Rivero, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Industrial Engineering
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas
Iris V. Rivero is an associate professor of industrial engineering at Texas Tech University. Her research interests include nanomaterials, manufacturing processes, biomedical engineering and nondestructive testing. Rivero has participated as a Faculty Fellow at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and has worked on funded projects from NASA, the Department of Energy and SME.
For the most comprehensive information about the SME International Honor Awards & Recognition program, please visit www.sme.org/awards. Or, to nominate an exceptional manufacturing practitioner, submit nominations by June 1, 2009, to nominations@sme.org.
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About SME:
The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (www.sme.org) is the premier source for manufacturing knowledge, education and networking. Through its many programs, events and activities, SME connects manufacturing practitioners to each other, to the latest technology and the most up-to-date processes spanning all manufacturing industries and disciplines, plus the key areas of aerospace and defense, medical device, motor vehicles, including motorsports, and oil and gas. A 501(c)3 organization, SME has members in more than 70 countries and is supported by a network of technical communities and chapters worldwide.
