These seven SME International Honor Award winners are recognized for their significant contributions to manufacturing in the areas of manufacturing technologies, processes, technical writing, education, research and management, and service to SME.
Eli Whitney Productivity Award
Awarded for distinguished accomplishments in improving capability within the broad concept of orderly production.
Lonnie Love, PhD, FSME
Fellow, National Security Programs
Sandia National Laboratories
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Lonnie Love is a fellow, National Security Programs at Sandia National Laboratories. Previously, he was a corporate fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory leading many of the large-scale additive as well as advanced manufacturing for defense programs at ORNL. His team demonstrated advanced manufacturing technologies on several high-profile projects including the first 3D-printed car, the printed Cobra for the Department of Energy, as well as high-speed, low-cost tooling for NAVSEA, Boeing and Ford. Most recently, Love’s team was focused on hybrid and digital manufacturing for nuclear and defense applications. In addition, he led a 16-lab consortium to address manufacturing supply chain challenges due to COVID-19. Love is a fellow of ASME and SME, was ORNL’s 2014 Distinguished Research Scientist, 2009 Inventor of the Year, has over 25 patents and 150 peer-reviewed publications. SME Member Since 2016
Joseph A. Siegel Service Award
Awarded to an SME member for significant and unique contributions that benefit SME. This award is the only International Honor Award that must only be conferred upon SME members.
Sandra Bouckley, FSME, P.Eng.
Executive Director & CEO (retired)
2017 President
SME
Southfield, Michigan
Sandra Bouckley is an accomplished senior executive with more than 40 years of experience at Fortune 500 companies in the automotive, aerospace, hydraulics, electrical and construction industries. Bouckley has a record of leading and driving business growth, organizational optimization and operational excellence across business functions while serving in leadership roles at companies including GKN, Eaton, Tyco, Chrysler and General Motors. As the executive director and CEO of SME from 2018-21, she successfully helped the organization navigate the pandemic while also directing and overseeing operations and strategies for SME’s five major business units. In 2017, Bouckley served as SME president, leading the executive compensation, audit, finance and budget committees. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, a master’s degree in manufacturing management from Kettering University (formerly General Motors Institute) and an MBA from the Michigan State University Executive Program. She is a licensed professional engineer in Ontario, Canada, and was elected to the 2016 Class of SME Fellows. SME Member Since 2004
Donald C. Burnham Manufacturing Management Award
Recognizes exceptional success in the integration of the infrastructure and processes of manufacturing through innovative use of human, technical and financial resources.
Vaughn M. Hall Jr.
International Vice President and General Manager
Corning Precision Materials
Corning Inc.
Asan, South Korea
Vaughn Hall Jr. is the international vice president and general manager of Corning Precision Materials. In this role, Hall is responsible for leading operations and supporting strategy for Corning’s flat glass businesses in South Korea. In addition, he leads the engineering and supply chain organizations within Corning’s display glass business, managing to establish new manufacturing facilities while simultaneously delivering on the glass demands for all of Corning’s flat glass businesses. Through his 27-year career with Corning, Hall has become recognized within the corporation as a leader in capturing synergies for technology deployment and supply chain management to achieve cost and performance breakthroughs. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electronic and computer technology from North Carolina A&T State University and an MBA from Duke University. SME Member Since 2023
SME Frederick W. Taylor Research Medal
Honors significant published research leading to a better understanding of materials, facilities, principles, operations and their application to improve manufacturing processes.
Shaochen Chen, PhD
Chair and Zable Endowed Chair Professor
NanoEngineering Department
University of California, San Diego
San Diego
Shaochen Chen is chair and Zable endowed chair professor in the NanoEngineering Department at the University of California, San Diego. Before joining UCSD, Chen had been a faculty at the University of Texas at Austin (2002-10) and Iowa State University (1999-2001). Between 2008 and 2010, he served as the program director for the Nanomanufacturing Program of the National Science Foundation. Chen is a pioneer in 3D printing and bioprinting with over 240 publications. Chen founded Allegro 3D Inc. (now a BICO company) commercializing 3D-bioprinting technologies. For his research, Chen received the NSF CAREER Award, ONR Young Investigator Award, NIH Edward Nagy New Investigator Award and the ASME Milton C. Shaw Manufacturing Research Medal. He is an elected fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Inventors and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, and a fellow of AAAS, AIMBE, ASME and SPIE. SME Member Since 2021
SME Albert M. Sargent Progress Award
Recognizes significant accomplishments in the field of manufacturing processes, methods or systems.
Subir Chowdhury, FSME
Chairman and CEO
ASI Consulting Group
Bingham Farms, Michigan
Subir Chowdhury is chairman and CEO of ASI Consulting Group. He has been helping his clients in many industries to transform their organizations by embracing quality and develop processes that increased profitability by saving billions of dollars and increase market share. Chowdhury’s alma mater, the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, established the Subir Chowdhury School of Quality and Reliability, the first of its kind in the world to promote the education and research on quality. He is the author of 15 books, including several international bestsellers such as The Power of Six Sigma, The Ice Cream Maker, Design for Six Sigma and The Difference. Chowdhury has received numerous prestigious awards from different professional societies including the SME Gold Medal; the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s Mensforth Manufacturing Gold Medal; SAE International’s Henry Ford Distinguished Award for Excellence in Automotive Engineering and Siegel Humanitarian Award; ASQ’s Distinguished Service Medal; and ASME’s Soichiro Honda Medal. He is an honorary member and/or fellow of 10 prestigious global professional societies. Chowdhury has received three honorary doctorate degrees. SME Member Since 1996
SME Education Award
Honors the educator most respected for the development of manufacturing-related curricula, fostering sound training methods or inspiring students to enter the profession of manufacturing.
Laine Mears, PhD, FSME, CMfgE, PE
BMW SmartState Endowed Chair of Automotive Manufacturing
University Centennial Professor and Department Chair
Automotive Engineering Department
Clemson University
Clemson, South Carolina
Laine Mears is the BMW SmartState endowed chair of automotive manufacturing, university centennial professor and department chair in the Automotive Engineering department at Clemson University, located at the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research. He leads the Multimaterial Joining Lab and Clemson Vehicle Assembly Center. Mears was recognized in 2020 by SME's Smart Manufacturing magazine as one of the 20 Most Influential Professors in Smart Manufacturing. In addition to academic experience, Mears has over 10 years in industry, having held positions with Hitachi Automotive and SKF Bearings as both a manufacturing engineer and an engineering manager in high-volume precision manufacturing environments. Mears has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering Virginia Tech (1993), a master's degree (2001) and doctorate (2006) in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech. He is a fellow of both SME and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and is an SME Certified Manufacturing Engineer. SME Member Since 2017
SME Gold Medal
Recognizes outstanding service to the manufacturing engineering profession in technical communications through published literature, technical writings or lectures.
Shreyes N. Melkote, PhD, FSME
Morris M. Bryan, Jr. Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta
Shreyes Melkote is the Morris M. Bryan Jr. professor of mechanical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He also serves as executive director of the Novelis Innovation Hub at Georgia Tech and as associate director of the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute. Melkote’s research focuses on the science and technology of manufacturing processes, industrial robotics for manufacturing and data-driven methods for cyber manufacturing. He has published over 280 technical papers on these topics, has one U.S. patent and has successfully transitioned technology to industry. Melkote is a recipient of the SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award, the ASME Blackall Machine Tool and Gage Award and several best paper awards. He served as president of SME's North American Manufacturing Research Institution (NAMRI) from 2014-15, and as ASME Swanson fellow and assistant director for Technology at the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office at NIST from 2015-16. Melkote is a fellow of SME, ASME and CIRP. SME Member Since 1994
