NAMRI/SME Announces 2016-17 Board of Directors

smelogoDEARBORN, MI, July 12, 2016 – The North American Manufacturing Research Institution of SME (NAMRI/SME), a research and development-based subset of manufacturing nonprofit association SME, installed its 2016-17 board of directors on July 1.

Dean Bartles, PhD, FSME, 2016 SME president, chief manufacturing officer and executive director of the Digital Manufacturing & Design Innovation Institute in Chicago, assumed his position as the new board president.

Bringing together researchers from leading companies, government laboratories, academic institutions and industrial think tanks located around the world, NAMRI/SME is dedicated to the advancement of the scientific foundation of discrete-parts manufacturing.

“Manufacturing research is critical, with three-quarters of all U.S. private R&D being done by manufacturers,” said Bartles, 2016-17 NAMRI/SME president. “It’s an honor to be a part of an organization advancing this field, and my thanks to Steven Schmid for his work as president over the past year.”

Steven Schmid, PhD, PE, 2015-16 NAMRI/SME president, will continue to serve on the board as past president.

NAMRI/SME officers are chosen by a nominating committee and selected by the NAMRI/SME Board of Directors. Officers are then elected by a vote of the NAMRI/SME membership during their annual meeting.

Other board members assuming new leadership roles for 2016-17 include:

  • President-elect
    • Bryan Dods, FSME, manufacturing consultant
  • Second past president
    • Shreyes Melkote, PhD, FSME, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Secretary
    • Hitomi Yamaguchi Greenslet, Dr. Eng., University of Florida
  • Scientific chair
    • Lihui Wang, PhD, FSME, PE, KTH Royal Institute of Technology
  • Scientific chair-elect
    • Livan Fratini, PhD, University of Palermo

In addition, three new at-large directors were elected, and one re-elected, to the board by the NAMRI/SME membership:

  • Kristen Bloschock, PhD, Lockheed Martin
  • Ihab Regai, PhD, PE, Pennsylvania State University
  • Laine Mears, PhD, PE, Clemson University
  • Albert Shih, PhD, FSME, University of Michigan

Existing at-large directors who will continue in their role for 2016-17, include:

  • Edward Smith III, PhD, Deringer-Ney Inc.
  • David Stephenson, PhD, FSME, Ford Powertrain

Thomas Kurfess, PhD, FSME, PE (Georgia Institute of Technology), will continue in his role as ex-officio to the SME board of directors.

About SME

SME connects all those who are passionate about making things that improve our world. As a nonprofit organization, SME has served practitioners, companies, educators, government and communities across the manufacturing spectrum for more than 80 years. Through its strategic areas of events, media, membership, training and development, and the SME Education Foundation, SME is uniquely dedicated to the advancement of manufacturing by addressing both the knowledge and skills needed for the industry.

Follow @SME_MFG on Twitter or facebook.com/SMEmfg.

About NAMRI/SME

The North American Manufacturing Research Institution of SME (NAMRI/SME) brings together researchers from leading companies, government laboratories, academic institutions and industrial think tanks located around the world for the purpose of advancing the scientific foundation of discrete-parts manufacturing. This group’s work covers refining fundamental technologies and developing emerging technologies and processes for material removal and material forming, as well as research on manufacturing modeling, simulation, monitoring and control systems.

Learn more at sme.org/namri.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *