Melkote Awarded 2023 SME Gold Medal

Shreyes N. Melkote, who holds the Morris M. Bryan, Jr. Professorship in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, won the 2023 SME Gold Medal award which recognizes outstanding service to the manufacturing engineering profession in technical communications through published literature, technical writings, or lectures.

SME is a nonprofit association committed to advancing widespread adoption of manufacturing technologies and developing North America’s talent and capabilities. He was among seven 2023 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. The 2023 SME International Awards Gala was held on June 5 at the Royal Park Hotel in Rochester, Michigan.

Melkote 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.

For over six decades, SME’s International Honor Awards have identified professionals whose bodies of work have led to critical breakthroughs and advancements in manufacturing technologies, processes, and education as well as honored members for their volunteerism.

“These seven professionals are among the most accomplished thought leaders in manufacturing, and I’m proud to acknowledge they also hold membership in SME,” said Bob Willig, executive director and CEO of SME. “Though their backgrounds are varied, all share a penchant for continuous improvement where status quo just doesn’t cut it.”

Melkote 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 and has been a SME member since 1994.

SME 2023 International Honor Award Recipients:

• SME Gold Medal — Shreyes N. Melkote, Ph.D., FSME, Morris M. Bryan, Jr. Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
• Eli Whitney Productivity Award — Lonnie Love, Ph.D., FSME, Fellow, National Security Programs, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Joseph A. Siegel Service Award — Sandra Bouckley, FSME, P.Eng., Executive Director & CEO (retired), 2017 President, SME, Southfield, Michigan
• Donald C. Burnham Manufacturing Management Award — Vaughn M. Hall Jr., International Vice President and General Manager, Corning Precision Materials, Corning Inc., Asan, South Korea
• SME Frederick W. Taylor Research Medal — Shaochen Chen, Ph.D., Chair and Zable Endowed Chair Professor, NanoEngineering Department, University of California, San Diego, San Diego
• SME Albert M. Sargent Progress Award – Subir Chowdhury, FSME, Chairman and CEO, ASI Consulting Group, Bingham Farms, Michigan
• SME Education Award — Laine Mears, Ph.D., FSME, CMfgE, PE, BMW SmartState Endowed Chair of Automotive Manufacturing, University Centennial Professor and Department Chair, Automotive Engineering Department, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina