ASME Pays Tribute to Engineering Innovators at the Honors Asse...

ASME Pays Tribute to Engineering Innovators at the Honors Asse... ASME Pays Tribute to Engineering Innovators at the Honors Asse... ASME Pays Tribute to Engineering Innovators at the Honors Assembly(Left to right) ASME President Julio Guerrero James Rice, winner of the ASME Medal, Judy Vance, chair of the Committee on Honors and ASME Executive Director Thomas Loughlin. Nine leading innovators from the engineering profession - including James Rice, Ph.D., of Harvard University, Freeman A. Hrabowski III, Ph.D., from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and F. Suzanne Jenniches, formerly of Northrop Grumman Corp. - were recognized by ASME for their achievements at this years Honors Assembly. The impressive multi-media ceremony was held Monday, Nov. 16, during the ASME 2015 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition in Houston, Texas. The event was co-hosted by ASME President Julio Guerrero, Ph.D., and Judy Vance, Ph.D., chair of the Committee on Hono rs. Dr. Rice, the Mallinckrodt Professor of Engineering Sciences and Geophysics at Harvard University, received the Societys highest award, the ASME Medal, at the Honors Assembly. Rice was recognized for his significant contributions to the field of applied mechanics, including the J-integral method in elastic-plastic fracture mechanics, which has been broadly applied in mechanical engineering and related disciplines. His pioneering concepts have had a major impact on engineering practice and have led to new directions of research.Dr. Hrabowksi, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, was the recipient of the ASME Ralph Coats Roe Medal for his dedicated service as a global advocate for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), engaging the general public, lawmakers, funding agencies and foundations to create opportunities for minorities in STEM fields that will help ensure their future personal and professional success. Established in 1 972, the Ralph Coats Roe Medal recognizes outstanding contributions toward a better public understanding and appreciation of the engineers worth to contemporary society. Freeman A. Hrabowski III (right) the recipient of the 2015 ASME Ralph Coats Roe Medal, with ASME President Julio Guerrero.Ms. Jenniches, a former vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman Corp.s Government Systems Division, received the Kate Gleason Award at this years Honors Assembly. The award, which commemorates the legacy of Kate Gleason, the first woman to become a full member of ASME, recognizes a female engineer who is a highly successful entrepreneur in a field of engineering or who has had a lifetime of achievement in the engineering profession. Jenniches, who began herbei more than 40-year career as a high-school biology teacher, is being honored by the Society for outstanding leadership in manufacturing innovation for setting the highest voreingestellts of excellence in producibil ity engineering and for her continuous efforts to increase womens participation in STEM careers.Included among the dignitaries recognized for their engineering contributions and achievements was Karen A Thole, Ph.D., prof and head of the department of mechanical and nuclear engineering at The Pennsylvania State University and recipient of the George Westinghouse Gold Medal. Dr. Thole, an ASME Fellow, was recognized for outstanding contributions toward better cooling of gas turbine airfoils, particularly the discovery of a leading-edge fillet to reduce vortices in airfoil passages and the development of physics-based correlations used by industry for predicting microchannel cooling and film cooling. The medal was established in 1952 to recognize eminent achievement or distinguished service in the power field of mechanical engineering.James A. Thomas, president of ASTM International was the recipient of the Melvin R. Green Codes and Standards Medal for his extraordinary l eadership, and achievements to ensure that voluntary consensus standards developed by ASTM and ASME continue to be afforded fair treatment as international standards under the World Trade Organizations Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement thus facilitating the ability for national regulatory authorities and global industries to select ASME standards as their standard of choice. ASME President Julio Guerrero (left) presents F. Suzanne Jenniches with the Kate Gleason Award at this years ceremony. David A. Dornfeld, Ph.D., the Will C. Hall family professor of engineering, chair of the mechanical engineering department and professor of manufacturing engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, was selected to receive the M. Eugene Merchant Manufacturing Medal of ASME/SME - given in recognition of outstanding contributions to manufacturing research and development and for leadership in U.S. research in sustainable manufacturing. Dr. Dornfeld is recognized through out the international manufacturing research community. His innovative research contributions, spanning a broad area of advanced manufacturing science and engineering, have been implemented in industry to improve productivity and quality of life. And finally, three individuals were added to the ranks of Honorary Membership, first bestowed in 1880, the founding year of ASME. The award recognizes a lifetime of distinguished service by individuals whose work has contributed substantially to the highest goals of the engineering profession. Joining this distinguished group of engineers were Romesh C. Batra, Ph.D., Clifton C. Garvin professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Webb Marner, Ph.D., adjunct professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Terry E. Shoup, P.E., Ph.D., professor of mechanical engineering at Santa Clara University. ASME President Julio Guerrero (left), with Romesh Batra. Dr. Batra was one of three ASME members who received Honorary Membership, which recognizes a lifetime of distinguished service by individuals whose work has contributed substantially to the highest goals of the engineering profession. Webb Marner and Terry Shoup were also named Honorary Members at the 2015 Honors Assembly.Dr. Batra was recognized for his outstanding mentoring of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows and for pioneering work in applied mechanics including rubber-covered rolls, nonlinear elasticity, laminated plates, functionally graded structures, instabilities in microelectromechanical systems, mechanical characterization of carbon nanotubes, and adiabatic shear banding. Dr. Marner was honored for his significant contributions to the mechanical engineering profession through research in enhanced heat transfer, gas-side fouling and process engineering outstanding teaching and student mentoring and extensive, exemplary professional service. Dr. Shoup was recognized for his d istinctive career contributions as a researcher and educator, and through service to the engineering profession as exemplified by leadership positions in various engineering societies, including his service as the 125th president (2006-2007) of ASME.At the conclusion of the Honors Assembly, Dr. Vance stated that the work and achievements of each of the distinguished honorees, both inspired and challenged us to continue to set high standards for ur work, so that together we can continue to share the excitement of engineering and make the world a better place.