SME Honors Seven for Outstanding Achievements

    DEARBORN, Mich., June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The Society of Manufacturing
 Engineers (SME), the world's leading professional society supporting
 manufacturing education, today announced the SME International Honor Award
 recipients.  The SME International Honor Awards recognize those individuals
 who have made significant contributions in education, production processes,
 manufacturing, or technology in the industry.
     "On behalf of the Society, I am extremely proud and honored to recognize
 these seven individuals," said Marcus B. Crotts, SME president.  "Through
 their diligent research efforts and technical achievements, these individuals
 significantly contributed to advancing the manufacturing industry."
     The awards were presented at the SME Annual Awards Banquet on May 31,
 2002, in Dallas, Texas
 
     The 2002 SME International Honor Award recipients are:
 
     John G. Steeves received the Joseph A. Siegel Service Award
     The Joseph A. Siegel Service Award recognizes SME member John G. Steeves,
 for making unique contributions to benefit the Society.  Steeves, professor
 emeritus at the Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts has
 dedicated 30 years to SME.  Steeves has served in leadership positions in the
 local, regional, national and international levels of SME.  He is recognized
 for his contributions to SME membership education through his work as student
 faculty advisor, his tireless leadership with SME's Education Committee, and
 his willingness to assist in developing the curricula for workshops and
 manufacturing conferences.
 
     Hendrik Van Brussel received the SME Frederick W. Taylor Research Medal
     The SME Frederick W. Taylor Research Medal honors Professor Hendrik Van
 Brussel, a world-renowned pioneer in robotics research and scientific
 educational applications, for significant published research leading to a
 better understanding of materials, facilities, principles, operations, and
 their application to improve manufacturing processes.  Van Brussel is credited
 for research that merged machine design control and software engineering into
 a new discipline, mechatronics.  Mechatronics has been incorporated into
 traditional engineering curricula worldwide.  Currently, he is developing a
 new design methodology for micro-mechatronic systems and pursuing the factory-
 of-the-future idea (Japan) by adopting the holonic (sic) systems paradigm as a
 basic framework.  In holonic manufacturing systems, his team has developed
 more distributed control methods, which can adapt to changing manufacturing
 conditions.  Van Brussel is chairman of the department of mechanical
 engineering at Katholieke University-Leuven, Belgium.
 
     Gregg Ekberg received the SME Eli Whitney Productivity Award
     The SME Eli Whitney Productivity Award is granted to Gregg Ekberg for
 distinguished accomplishments in improving capability within the broad concept
 of orderly production.  Ekberg is founder and president of Highline Controls
 Inc. (Detroit, Michigan), a consulting firm that specializes in advanced
 control systems in the manufacturing and computer systems industries.  He is
 credited for solving problems on the manufacturing floor to increase
 productivity and product quality for small and medium-sized manufacturers.
 
     Subir Chowdhury received the SME Gold Medal
     The SME Gold Medal is awarded to Subir Chowdhury, for outstanding service
 to the manufacturing engineering profession in technical communications
 through published literature, technical writings, and lectures.  Hailed by the
 New York Times as a "Leading Quality Expert," Chowdhury is the author of The
 Power of Six Sigma: An Inspiring Tale of How Six Sigma is Transforming the Way
 We Work, Management 21C: Someday We'll All Manage This Way, The Talent Era:
 Achieving A High Return on Talent, and QS-9000 Pioneers.  He co-authored with
 Dr. Genichi Taguchi, Robust Engineering and The Mahalanobis-Taguchi System.
 Chowdhury is executive vice president of ASI - American Supplier Institute in
 Livonia, Michigan.
 
     Myron Zimmerman received the SME Albert M. Sargent Progress Award
     The SME Albert M. Sargent Progress Award recognizes Dr. Myron Zimmerman,
 Ph.D., for significant accomplishments in the field of manufacturing
 processes.  Zimmerman, chief technology officer responsible for product
 planning and co-founder of Venturcom (Cambridge, Massachusetts), transformed
 the company from a consulting-based business to a growing product-focused
 company.  Venturcom is now a leading provider of software and services that
 enhance the quality of service of Microsoft Windows-based intelligent
 connected equipment.  Zimmerman and his department are credited for products
 like RTX, a real-time extension for Windows embedded operating systems; Phar
 Lap ETS, a complete RTOS embedded development environment; and Boot-NIC, which
 provides remote booting and centralized maintenance of multiple Windows
 embedded systems.
 
     Matthew Cotterell received the SME Education Award
     The SME Education Award honors Matthew Cotterell as the educator most
 respected for the development of manufacturing-related curricula, fostering
 sound training methods, and inspiring students to enter the profession of
 manufacturing.  Matthew Cotterell is a senior lecturer and degree course
 coordinator at the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at
 Cork Institute of Technology, Ireland.  Cotterell is responsible for
 introducing the SME Certification Program to Cork Institute and throughout
 Ireland.  From 1991 to 1997, Cotterell set up and managed the Center for
 Advanced Manufacturing and Management Systems (CAMMS), now at the forefront of
 advancing manufacturing education throughout Ireland.  Cotterell was highly
 instrumental to introducing the new Biomedical Engineering Diploma as well as
 a new part-time degree in Advanced Manufacturing Technology at Cork Institute.
 
     Anand Sharma received the SME Donald C. Burnham Manufacturing
     Management Award
     The SME Donald C. Burnham Manufacturing Management Award recognizes
 Mr. Anand Sharma for his exceptional success in the integration of the
 infrastructure and process manufacturing.  Sharma, president and CEO of TBM
 Consulting Group Inc., (Durham, North Carolina), founded TBM to help
 industrial companies achieve manufacturing excellence using Time Based
 Strategies and the Kaizen Breakthrough Methodology.  Over the past decade, TBM
 has helped increase productivity in over 500 companies including Chrysler
 Corp., Delphi/GM, Mercedes-Benz, Black and Decker, Johnson and Johnson,
 Polaroid and Pella Corporation.
 
     Celebrating its 70th anniversary, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers
 is the world's leading professional society supporting manufacturing
 education.  Through its member programs, publications, expositions, and
 professional development resources, SME promotes an increased awareness of
 manufacturing engineering and helps keep manufacturing professionals up to
 date on leading trends and technologies.  Headquartered in Michigan, SME
 influences more than half a million manufacturing engineers and executives
 annually.  The Society has members in 70 countries and is supported by a
 network of hundreds of chapters worldwide.  Visit us at www.sme.org .
 
     CONTACT: Maria F. Ward
     SME Communications
     313.271.1500, ext. 1862
     Email: wardmar@sme.org
 
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SOURCE  The Society of Manufacturing Engineers