DEARBORN – SME, founded as the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, installed its 2018 officers at its annual banquet Saturday, Nov. 4.

Officers of SME are chosen by a nominating committee and selected by the SME Board of Directors. These directors are elected annually by the entire voting membership of the organization.

SME’s 2018 officers installed were: Thomas R. Kurfess, PhD, FSME, PE, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, president; Mark L. Michalski, MKS Instruments, Wilmington, Mass., president-elect; Susan M. Smyth, PhD, FSME, General Motors, Warren, vice-president; Michael D. Packer, FSME, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, treasurer; and Dianne Chong, PhD, FSME, The Boeing Co., Seattle (Retired), secretary.

SME also recognized its 2017 Class of Fellows, who are selected once a year from among the highest achievers of industry, academia and government, and nominated only by honorary, fellow, life or professional members of SME. Those selected as fellows have 20 years or more of manufacturing experience and expertise. They have contributed notably to the social, technological and educational benefit of manufacturing and the engineering profession.

2017 SME College of Fellows are:

  • Douglas D. Decker, FSME, Technical Fellow, Northrop Grumman Corp., Redondo Beach, Calif.
  • Bryan G. Dods, FSME, Executive Director, Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence, United Technologies Research Center, East Hartford, Conn.
  • Laine Mears, PhD, FSME, CMfgE, PE, BMW Smart State Endowed Chair of Automotive Manufacturing, Professor and Founding Faculty Member, Automotive Engineering Department, Clemson University, Greenville, S.C.
  • Steven R. Schmid, PhD, FSME, CMfgE, PE, Professor, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Ind.; Program Director for Manufacturing Machines and Equipment, National Science Foundation, Alexandria, Va.
  • John H. Vickers, FSME, Principal Technologist, Space Technology Mission Directorate, NASA, Huntsville, Ala.
  • Shiyu Zhou, PhD, FSME, Professor, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wis.

Nominations are currently being accepted for the 2018 SME College of Fellows. Submit nominations on or before Dec. 1 at sme.org/fellows.

Also recognized at the event were two of SME’s 2017 Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineers, honored for exceptional contributions and accomplishments in the manufacturing industry. All are age 35 or younger and represent both industry and academia. SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineers are selected based on work in emerging manufacturing applications, technical publications, patents, and academic or industry leadership.

2017 SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineers attending were Rohit Bhapkar, Research Specialist, Innovation and Technology Development Division, Caterpillar Inc., Mossville, Ill., and Yayue Pan, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago.

Since 1980, SME’s Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineers Award has recognized the careers and achievements of more than 370 manufacturing engineers. Nominations are accepted annually on or before Aug. 1. Visit sme.org/oyme to learn more about the award and the nominating process.

More at http://www.sme.org