SME announces 2023 College of Fellows

SME, the national nonprofit leading the industrial ecosystem by elevating manufacturers, academia, professionals and their communities, has announced its 2023 SME College of Fellows. Since 1986, the SME College of Fellows has honored those members who have made outstanding contributions to the social, technological, and educational aspects of the manufacturing profession.

These nine industry professionals have earned this highly prestigious honor through 20 years or more of dedication and service to manufacturing. Recipients will be honored at the SME Fall Gala event in Long Beach, Calif. in November.   

The nine selected manufacturing leaders, all SME members, have diverse technical backgrounds spanning advanced technologies and processes including additive manufacturing, automation, machining and advanced materials.  

"It is our pleasure to recognize these exceptional individuals, inviting them to join hundreds of prestigious SME College of Fellows recipients honored over the past 30+ years,” said Robert ‘Bob’ Willig, SME executive director and CEO. “Their unwavering dedication to the field of manufacturing is a cause for celebration, and it is visionary professionals like these nine fellows who will continue to redefine the industry’s future."  

The ongoing work by the 2023 SME College of Fellows has influenced all manufacturing industries, including aerospace, defense, automotive, machine tool and design and more.   This year's fellows are (in photo, order is from top to bottom, left to right):

• Gary J. Cheng, PhD, FSME, Professor, School of Industrial Engineering and School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana  
• Jennifer Fielding, PhD, FSME, Ceramics Branch Chief, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio 
• Youping Gao, PhD, FSME, Founder, Chief Scientist & Executive Vice President, Castheon Inc., Thousand Oaks, California 
• J. Randall (Randy) Gilmore, FSME, Vice President and Chief Development Officer, The National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining, Johnstown, Pennsylvania 
• Burak Ozdoganlar, PhD, FSME, Ver Planck Endowed Chair and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering, and the Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 
• Adele Ratcliff, FSME, Director of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Industrial Base Policy, Innovation Capability and Modernization Office, Washington, DC 
• Hui-Ping Wang, PhD, FSME, Technical Fellow, General Motors, Warren, Michigan 
• Z. Cedric Xia, PhD, FSME, Distinguished Engineer & Director, Hardware Engineering, Apple Inc., San Jose, California 
• Wen-Jun (Chris) Zhang, PhD, FSME, Professor, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada 

Recipients are vetted through the SME International Awards & Recognition Committee and receive lifetime, dues-free membership and carry the designation “FSME” (Fellow of SME) after their names.   

SME is accepting nominations for the 2024 SME College of Fellows through Dec. 1. Previous winners, award information and nomination criteria can be found here.