Congress assembly honors outstanding contributions

CHICAGO — At ASME's International Congress and Exposition here last month, 10 engineering pacesetters were recognized for their contributions to ASME and the profession during the Society's annual Honors Assembly.

ASME's highest honor — Honorary Membership — was conferred upon three engineers during the ceremony.

A.L. "Tad" Addy, professor emeritus of mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was named an Honorary Member for "a lifetime of internationally distinguished research in fluid dynamics and national advocacy of quality and innovation in engineering education." Addy, an ASME Fellow, also was cited for "more than two decades of superb leadership of a nationally recognized academic department."

ASME President Terry Shoup presents J. Robert Sims, Jr. with the Melvin R. Green Codes and Standards Medal at the Honors Assembly.

ASME Fellow James R. Welty, professor emeritus of mechanical engineering at Oregon State University, Corvallis, received Honorary Membership status during the ceremony for "outstanding technical accomplishments in the area of fluidized bed research, highly regarded textbooks and publication record, impressive credentials as a teacher, and extensive service to ASME."

A third ASME Fellow, Ward O. Winer, was named an ASME Honorary Member for more than "40 years of research and leadership in science and engineering of tribology; for innovative leadership in mechanical engineering education at Georgia Institute of Technology, as well as fostering interdisciplinary programs in bioengineering and paper science and technology; and for the advancement of international programs in mechanical engineering and nuclear radiological engineering." Winer is the Eugene C. Gwaltney, Jr. Chair at the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech.

Yoram Koran was the recipient of the 2006 M. Eugene Merchant Manufacturing Medal of ASME/SME (Society of Manufacturing Engineers)

Former ASME President Richard J. Goldstein was awarded the ASME Medal for his "pioneering and distinguished accomplishments in the field of heat transfer with applications to air breathing engines, and many contributions to the broad field of mechanical engineering." Goldstein, an Honorary Member and Fellow of ASME, is Regents' Professor and James J. Ryan Professor at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in Minneapolis.

Yoram Koran received the M. Eugene Merchant Manufacturing Medal of ASME/SME (Society of Manufacturing Engineers) for "outstanding contributions to the science, education and practice of manufacturing through innovations in reconfigurable manufacturing systems, robotics and manufacturing systems control; and for establishing reconfigurable manufacturing as a worldwide scientific discipline." Koran is the Paul G. Goebel Professor of Engineering and director of the NSF Engineering Research Center for Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

The Melvin R. Green Codes and Standards Medal was given to J. Robert Sims, Jr., engineering fellow at Becht Engineering Co., for "exemplary leadership in the advancement of ASME codes and standards, including the technical development of new ASME standards and services for the industrial sector, and promoting the global recognition of ASME."

Charla K. Wise, recipient of the Henry Laurance Gantt Medal

Charla K. Wise received the Henry Laurance Gantt Medal for her "distinguished achievements in management, and for service to society and the community." Wise, an ASME member and vice president of business operations at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., is responsible for optimizing business performance at Lockheed facilities in California, Georgia and Texas.

The Frank Kreith Energy Award was conferred upon Roland Winston, a professor of engineering and natural science at the University of California, Merced. Winston, an ASME member, was recognized for "pioneering and developing a fundamentally new branch of applied optics called nonimaging optics, which revolutionized the understanding, design and impact of solar concentrators, and led to the design of a variety of practical devices."

Congressman Richard Pombo, R-Calif., U.S. House of Representatives, was honored with the Dixy Lee Ray Award at the ceremony for "the promotion of peer-reviewed scientific and engineering information in initiating, fostering and completing legislation dealing with the environment in general and endangered species in particular."

Also at the ceremony, the ASME Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies Inc. Medal was awarded to ASME Fellow Abel Hernandez-Guerro. (For more information, please see the story "Hernandez-Guerrero receives 2007 JJCCI Medal," also in this issue.)

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