2007 SME OYME Award Recipients

Leandro G. Barajas, PhD Senior Research Engineer General Motors Corporation Warren, MI

Leandro G. Barajas is a Senior Research Engineer at the Research and Development Center for the General Motors Corporation in Warren, Michigan. His research focus includes automotive e-manufacturing optimization, virtual manufacturing, and diagnostics and prognostics for plant floor systems and controls. During his short tenure at GM, Leandro has received numerous awards for his research which has produced over 21 records of invention that in turn have been translated into over 13 patents and patent applications, and 12 publications. His professional affiliations include among others IEEE, SAE, Sigma Xi, and SME where he is an active member of the Oakland/Macomb Chapter 069 and a Tech Group Leader of the Machine Vision Technical Group.

Samuel Bigot, PhD Researcher Cardiff University United Kingdom

Since completing his PhD, Samuel Bigot has been working as a Project Manager at the Manufacturing Engineering Centre (MEC) at Cardiff University in the UK where Micro Fabrication and Machine Learning are his principal research fields. Currently, he is work-package leader of a project focusing on the development of a radically new concept for biosensors: a low cost and disposable polymer-based card combining biologically active surfaces with integrated optics and biocompatible multi-channel micro-fluidics. He recently won a Fellowship funded by the Research Councils of the United Kingdom. He also serves as leader of the Centre's Micro Manufacturing Research Division.

Jaime A. Camelio, PhD Assistant Professor Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI

Jaime Camelio is currently an Assistant Professor in the Mechanical Engineering - Engineering Mechanics Department at Michigan Technological University. Previously he was a consultant in the Automotive/Operations Practice at A.T. Kearney Inc. Camelio obtained his BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from the Catholic University of Chile in 1994 and 1995 respectively. In 2002, he received his PhD from the University of Michigan. After graduation, he received a Postdoctoral Research position and later a Research Scientist position in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His research interests are in assembly systems modeling, uncertainty management, systems diagnosis/prognosis, and remanufacturing. Camelio is also a member of the Kalamazoo Chapter of SME.

Gary J. Cheng, PhD Assistant Professor University of Houston Houston, TX

Gary J. Cheng received his BS and MS in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Science and Technology-Beijing in 1993 and 1996 respectively. He received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University in 2002. He is currently an assistant professor at University of Houston. Before that, he was an assistant professor at Washington State University. His research interests include Laser materials processing, micro/nano manufacturing, mechanical property of materials, biosensors, synthesis and processing of nanobiomaterials. Cheng holds several patents and has authored or co-authored numerous publications. He has also served as a mentor to numerous minority students and high school educators.

Kaan Erkorkmaz, PhD Assistant Professor University of Waterloo Ontario, Canada

Kaan Erkorkmaz joined the University of Waterloo as an Assistant Professor in March 2004. He is credited with establishing the Precision Controls Laboratory, which conducts collaborative research with industrial and academic partners. Erkorkmaz' research interests are in the areas of modeling and precision control of feed drives, smooth and optimal trajectory generation for multi-axis machines, and development of efficient identification techniques to construct virtual models of production machinery. He also works on machining biodegradable materials as part of a collaborative study to develop tissue engineered bone implants, and is co-inventor of the Virtual CNC. During his study at UBC, Erkorkmaz was selected the best Teaching Assistant in the Engineering Faculty. At Waterloo, he teaches graduate and undergraduate level courses in manufacturing and controls. He is a member of the Grand River Valley Chapter of SME.

Boonserm Kulvatunyou, PhD Researcher National Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, MD

Boonserm (Serm) Kulvatunyou is currently a researcher at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He is on assignment at the Manufacturing Systems Integration Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He is the principle architect of the Manufacturing B2B Testbed at NIST. Kulvatunyou's research interests are in the applications of Artificial Intelligence, Knowledge Representation, and Management in e-commerce, enterprise and e-business integrations, systems interoperability and conformance, computer-integrated manufacturing, and simulation. He is a senior member of the Washington DC Chapter and Computer and Automated Systems Association (CASA) of SME.

Brigid Mullany, PhD Assistant Professor University of North Carolina-Charlotte Charlotte, NC

Brigid Mullany received both her BE and PhD from University College Dublin, Ireland. After her PhD, which focused on the chemical mechanical polishing of oxide coated silicon wafers was awarded; she accepted a Marie Curie post doctoral position at Carl Zeiss in Oberckocken, Germany. Since August 2004 she has been working as an assistant professor in the department of mechanical engineering at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte. She is also affiliated with the Center for Precision Metrology at UNC, Charlotte. Mullany's research focuses largely on the fundamentals of precision polishing, sub-surface damage detection and novel techniques for characterizing polishing system components.

Bala Muralikrishnan, PhD Research Engineer National Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, MD

Muralikrishnan is currently a research engineer in the Precision Engineering Division at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). His research focus is on developing probing systems for dimensional and form metrology of micro-features and holes with applications in fuel injector nozzles of automobiles, medical devices such as stents, communications components such as fiber ferrules etc. He has developed a contact fiber probe for the Moore M48 CMM at NIST. This probe will be used for calibrations of micro feature Standard Reference Specimens and other small hole samples. Muralikrishnan received his doctorate from the Center for Precision Metrology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2003 and has since been at NIST.

Jonathan H. Owen, PhD Staff Research Engineer General Motors Corporation Warren, MI

Jonathan H. Owen is a member of the Manufacturing Systems Research Lab at GM Research and Development (R&D). Since joining GM R&D in 1999, his research has focused on developing new modeling systems, algorithms, and software tools for the analysis and improvement of GM's manufacturing systems and processes. In his current assignment, Owen manages the Manufacturing Planning group in the Manufacturing Systems Research Lab at GM R&D. Owen's contributions have been internally recognized at GM with several individual and team awards for technical accomplishment, and he was a member of the team that received the international 2005 Franz Edelman Award for its role in improving GM's manufacturing productivity. He is also a member of the Detroit Chapter of SME.

O. Burak Ozdoganlar, PhD Assistant Professor Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA

Burak Ozdoganlar is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). He is also an affiliated faculty member in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at CMU. After receiving his PhD from University of Michigan in 1999, Ozdoganlar served as a Post Doctoral Research Associate at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Subsequently, Ozdoganlar worked as a Senior member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM. He has been at Carnegie Mellon University since January 2004. Currently, he is the chair of Manufacturing Equipment technical committee of ASME's Manufacturing Engineering Division. He also is a recipient of 2006 National Science Foundation CAREER award, and 2006 research initiation award from SME. Ozdoganlar is also a member of the Pittsburgh Chapter of SME.

Frank E. Pfefferkorn, PhD Assistant Professor University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI

Frank Pfefferkorn has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 2003. Currently, Pfefferkorn is part of a team of researchers that have grown ultra-thin nanocrystalline diamond films on micro end mills which show a significant reduction in cutting forces and burr formation. The goal of all his work is to develop and apply a science-based understanding of these processes in order to increase performance and offer new and improved manufacturing tools to industry. The results of his researched are conveyed to students in undergraduate and graduate level courses on heat transfer and manufacturing in an effort to foster new interest in manufacturing engineering. Pfefferkorn is a member of the Madison, Wisconsin Chapter of SME.

Steven J. Skerlos, PhD Associate Professor University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI

Steven J. Skerlos is Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan (UM). He researches and teaches environmentally sustainable design and manufacturing. Currently, he is also the director of the Environmental and Sustainable Technologies (EAST) Laboratory. He has co-authored over 50 scholarly publications, co-founded a start-up company, and has been issued one patent with another pending. He serves as Course Leader for the Capstone Senior Design and Manufacturing course in Mechanical Engineering and as faculty advisor to the BLUElab, the UM student group dedicated to engineering for the greater good. Skerlos is also an active member of the Detroit Chapter of SME.

Todd J. Szallay Manufacturing Engineer 3 Northrop Grumman El Segundo, CA

Todd L. Szallay began his engineering career at Northrop Grumman as a technical intern and was asked to return to Northrop Grumman as a Manufacturing Engineer after he graduated. He began as Mechanical Process Engineer, developing procedures, equipment and tools for processes required for airframe assembly and composite part fabrication. Currently, Szallay is a Manufacturing Technology Development Lead, responsible for multiple research and development projects of automated and composite systems for increased capability and cost savings. This includes technical roadmap and strategy development, integrated test plans, and cost and schedule business management. He is continuing his education at the University of Southern California seeking a graduate degree in Systems Architecture and Engineering. Szallay is an active member of SME's Southern California Chapter.