SME announces 2010 International Honor Award recipients.
Press Release Summary:
SME's International Honor Awards honor those at the zenith of their careers and who have made significant contributions to such manufacturing areas as research, education, and processes as well as to the Society itself. This year's Honor Award recipients include Gerald Byrne with SME Frederick W. Taylor Research Medal, Thomas R. Kurfess with SME Education Award, Carl R. Williams with Joseph A. Siegel Service Award, and Hans-Peter Wiendahl with SME Gold Medal.
Original Press Release:
SME to Honor Inventors, Educators and Industry Leaders With 2010 International Honor Awards
DEARBORN, Mich., - Manufacturing is the genius behind just about everything you see and touch. Whether it's your smart phone or your automobile, it took some very smart people to figure out how to make them work.
That's why for more than 50 years, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) has recognized manufacturing professionals at various stages of their careers. In particular, SME's International Honor Awards honors those at the zenith of their careers and who have made significant contributions to such manufacturing areas as research, education, processes as well as to the Society itself.
"This year's Honor Award winners truly represent a cross-section of manufacturing professionals. Their individual research and efforts have ultimately improved international production," said Barbara M. Fossum, PhD, FSME, SME president 2010.
"Four recipients were chosen from a highly selective process and we will be pleased to honor them at our International Awards Gala this summer in Nashville," she added.
The Gala will be held in conjunction with the upcoming "Bridging the Gaps" SME Annual Conference, June 6-8, 2010 at the Sheraton Music City in Nashville, Tenn. The event will gather manufacturing professionals from around the world looking for breakthrough technologies and processes that span the scope of manufacturing from metalworking to composites and nanotechnology.
This year's Honor Award recipients include:
Gerald Byrne, Dr.-Ing., FSME
Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Advanced Manufacturing Science Research Centre
University College Dublin
School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering
Dublin, Ireland
Gerald Byrne is recognized with the SME Frederick W. Taylor Research Medal for his significant and leading edge published research which has led to a better understanding of materials, principles, operations and their application to improve manufacturing processes.
Byrne is internationally renowned as a leading engineer, researcher and innovator in material removal processes and process monitoring. Other research interests include environmentally clean manufacturing, surface engineering and rapid product development. He is currently director of the University's Advanced Manufacturing Science Centre and was Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Dean of Engineering.
Thomas R. Kurfess, PhD, FSME, PE
Professor and BMW Chair of Manufacturing
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Director, Carroll A. Campbell Jr. Graduate Engineering Center
Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research
Greenville, S.C.
Thomas R. Kurfess is recognized with the SME Education Award for the development of manufacturing-related curricula, fostering sound training methods or inspiring students to enter the profession of manufacturing.
Renowned as one of the world's leading experts in the field of micro-scale manufacturing metrology, with research focused on the design and development of high precision manufacturing and metrology systems, Kurfess began his career in academia at Carnegie Mellon University in 1988 and later moved to the Georgia Institute of Technology. By 2005, Kurfess joined the faculty at Clemson University, where he also currently leads the internationally recognized Campbell Graduate Engineering Center.
Carl R. Williams, CMfgE, EMCP, PE
Associate Professor and Coordinator for Graduate Studies, Engineering Technology
Herff College of Engineering
University of Memphis
Memphis, Tenn.
Carl R. Williams is recognized with the Joseph A. Siegel Service Award for his significant and unique contributions to the Society.
Williams has been an active and dedicated member of SME since 1980. During this time, he has served 17 consecutive years in various elected positions including three terms with the SME Board of Directors and two terms on the Member Council. Williams has also been instrumental in developing SME's growing lean certification program, now considered to be the most comprehensive and rigorous training of its kind in industry. Currently, he is a membership consultant to chapters in Arkansas, North Mississippi and West Tennessee. Additionally, he is the faculty advisor of Student Chapter S140 at the University of Memphis and serves on the Manufacturing Enterprise Council.
Hans-Peter Wiendahl, Dr.-Ing., Dr.h.c.mult.
Professor Emeritus
Institute of Production Systems and Logistics
Leibniz University Hannover
Germany
Hans-Peter Wiendahl is recognized with the SME Gold Medal for his outstanding service to the manufacturing engineering profession through published literature, technical writings and lectures.
Wiendahl is highly respected for his rigorous study of fundamental issues in production logistics. The author or co-author of more than 300 publications and a dozen books, his most notable work, "Load Oriented Manufacturing Control" has been published in several languages. He previously served as director of the Institute of Production Systems and Logistics at the University of Hannover where he established a long career as a researcher, educator and co-founder of a non-profit research company. Since his retirement in 2003, he remains active as a lecturer, an author and consultant for industry including serving as an advisor to several German research foundations.
Nominations for the 2011 SME International Honor Awards are due August 1, 2010 and forms can be downloaded at sme.org/awards and submitted any time before the deadline. For more information about the SME Annual Conference visit sme.org/conference.
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About SME:
Founded in 1932, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers 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, oil and gas and alternative energy. A 501(c)3 organization, SME has members around the world and is supported by a network of technical communities and chapters worldwide.
Contact:
Lori Ann Dick, APR
Senior PR Representative
communications@sme.org
Tel 313.425.3187
