SME Announces 2010 Election Results for International Directors and Member Council

International Directors

Dean L. Bartles, PhD, is vice president and general manager of the Large Caliber Ammunition Strategic Business Unit for the Ordnance and Tactical Systems Division of General Dynamics Corp. Bartles has more than 30 years of management experience, which has included positions with Fairchild Republic Co., General Defense Corp. (acquired by Olin Corp.), Olin Ordnance and Primex Technologies Inc. (a new company formed when Olin Corp. spun off its Ordnance Division). He currently serves on the Industrial Committee of Ammunition Producers as the chairman emeritus and also serves on the Department of Commerce Manufacturing Council and the Manufacturing Council of the National Defense Industrial Association. Bartles is a member of the Industry Advisory Board of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, serves on the Smart Machine Advisory Committee and is a member of the National Council for Advanced Manufacturing. In addition to being an SME member since 2002, he is a member of the Association of the United States Army, the National Defense Industrial Association, the Tampa Bay Area Foreign Relations Committee, the American Marketing Association, the Academy of Management, the Academy of International Business and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Bartles graduated from Shepherd College with a BS in business administration and holds a master’s degree in international business from Tampa College, an MBA from Shippensburg University and a doctorate in business administration from Nova Southeastern University. He has also just recently completed all required coursework through Indiana State for his PhD in technology management with a concentration in manufacturing systems and expects to complete his dissertation research and graduate in 2011.

Dennis S. Bray, PhD, FSME, is the former president and CEO of Cincinnati Incorporated, an advanced manufacturer of metalworking machinery with some 500 employees. From 2001-05, he was executive vice president of Cincinnati Incorporated, where he established and led new product development teams. Prior to that he was executive vice president and chief technology officer for Ingersoll International Inc., and served in various management positions with Ingersoll Milling Machine Co. starting in 1980. His entire career has been devoted to broadening the knowledge base of manufacturing. A member of the Society since 2002, Bray was elected to the SME College of Fellows in 2003. In 2005 he chaired the SME Manufacturing Enterprise Council (MEC) and has been a member of that group since 2002. The MEC has provided strategic direction for the SME Technical Community Network and has worked closely with the SME Member Council to help create an environment where members have an opportunity to contribute and participate in a professional society. Throughout his career, Bray has participated in numerous conferences and events for different organizations serving as a panelist, speaker and session chair, or by presenting technical papers. His honors include the 1985 SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award and the Ford Foundation Fellowship – University of Wisconsin. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering and a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Michael F. Molnar, FSME, CMfgE, PE, is the director of environmental policy and sustainable development for Cummins Inc. He is responsible for corporate initiatives such as energy efficiency, sustainability of operations and compliance affairs such as reduction of hazardous materials. Molnar has 25 years of industrial experience in leadership roles across functions, including manufacturing engineering, quality, capital planning and technology development. He has been an active SME member since 1982. Recent SME involvement includes two years on the SME Member Council, where he presently serves as chair. Prior to this, he chaired the Technical Communities Steering Committee and served as chair for the Automated Manufacturing & Assembly Community. Molnar has also served as a keynote speaker at local chapter events and SME conferences. He volunteers with the Boy Scouts of America and with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, where he presently is the senior leader for ASME’s manufacturing technical divisions. In this capacity, he is a strong sponsor of collaborative work and joint events to expand the visibility of SME. His credentials include service as a White House Fellow and citations from the National Academy of Engineering. He was elected an SME Fellow in 2008 and holds BSME and MSMSE degrees from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame.

Robert R. Nesbitt, CMfgE, is manager of advanced development and research advisor at Eli Lilly and Co. in the Pharmaceutical Delivery Systems Division, where he drives the creation of new delivery devices. He previously worked at Roche Diagnostics/Boehringer Mannheim Corp. as an advanced manufacturing leader, manufacturing manager, and manager of operations and systems planning; Baxter Healthcare Corp. as a manager in capacity planning, production manager and engineering manager; Interlake as a manager of automated guided vehicle systems development; Portec as a supervisor of systems development; and Deere & Co. as an engineer in material handling/plant layout. Nesbitt has served the International Standards Community, as part of the ISO Community, since 1999 in the area of medical devices. He joined SME in 1984 and is a member of Indianapolis No. 37. Nesbitt served on the SME Board of Directors in 2008, is currently a member of the SME Member Council and has participated in regional manufacturing executive forums to get Eli Lilly more actively engaged in SME’s manufacturing strategy. In 2001, he received an award from Lilly for his device designs, which were considered breakthrough devices for the delivery of pharmaceutical agents. In 2006, Nesbit received the Lilly Research Laboratories’ President’s Award recognizing his work in establishing a collaborative network of development partners in the device design development area. He was educated at Iowa State University and the University of Chicago.

Richard C. Peters, LSME, CMfgE, PE, incumbent director, is plant manager for The Timken Company’s aerospace aftermarket facility. An SME member since 1979, Peters served as President of SME in 2004 and is a past chair of the former Region 7 and Greater Canton (Ohio) No. 110. He has chaired the SME Member Council and is a past chair and past member of the SME Professional Licensure Committee. Additionally, Peters chaired the International Director/Member Council Nominating Committee and the International Officer Nominating Committee. In 2007, he represented SME as chair of National Engineers Week. Peters has also been active in Science Fair, MATH-COUNTS^® Foundation and other student and community programs. He has two mechanical engineering degrees — a BS from The Ohio State University and an MS from the University of Akron.

Jack H. Schron Jr. is president of Jergens Inc., a family-owned manufacturing business in Cleveland, begun by his father and grandfather. An SME member, like his father and grandfather before him, Schron has been active in SME for many years, including both local Cleveland involvement and national involvement. He currently serves as a member of the SME Board of Directors. Schron previously served on the SME Board Work Group on Governance and the Audit Committee. He has made many presentations about lean manufacturing and online industrial training to national audiences and to Cleveland No. 3, which regularly holds its meetings at the Jergens’ facility. Schron has been involved in Jergens’ manufacturing operations since 1978 and has served as president for more than 20 years. He also co-founded and is president of Tooling University^® LLC, which has provided online manufacturing education to more than 80,000 students since its founding. Schron received his bachelor’s degree from Florida Southern College and his Juris Doctor degree from Ohio Northern University Law School. He served 28 years active and reserve in the U.S. Army in the Army JAG Corps. Schron is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, the Florida Bar Association and the U.S. Army Court of Military Review. He takes an active role in numerous local regional manufacturing and work force development boards. In the area of the environment (green), Schron has served for more than five years on Clean Ohio Fund Brownfield Reclamation program, which has successfully cleaned up blighted industrial sites throughout the state, returning the land back to productive use.

Member Council

Sampson E. Gholston, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Engineering Management at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. He has a PhD in industrial and systems engineering from The University of Alabama in Huntsville, a master’s in industrial engineering from The University of Alabama and a BS from Austin Peay State University. Gholston is currently the advisor for The University of Alabama – Huntsville S325 student chapter, a chapter he helped found in 2000. Since joining SME in 1989, Gholston has served in various positions for North Alabama No. 171 and the former Region 8, including secretary, chair, executive board and chairman of the education committee. He is currently chair of North Alabama No. 171. Gholston has also worked in industry, including contract work for Delphi Automotive and International Paper, as well as working as a lead supplier quality engineer for the GM Saturn Corp. For two years he was also a NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Summer Faculty Research Fellow.

Edward G. “Ed” Halloran, CMfgE, PE, is president of HALCO Management Systems, a manufacturing and management consulting company located in the Seattle area. Halloran has nearly 40 years of professional experience, including numerous leadership responsibilities as a senior aerospace manufacturing engineer, production and program manager. He also has held additional senior management careers in both the recreational sailboat building and automotive aftermarket products industries. Halloran has been an integral member of SME’s WESTEC Exposition “Student Activities” Planning Committee for the past several years, recently serving as an SME Special-Purpose Membership Consultant. In 2003, he received the SME Distinguished Engineering Achievement Award for his efforts in support of the annual WESTEC Exposition. Halloran is also the cofounder and director-at-large of The Century Club, a nonprofit 501c(3) organization in Southern California dedicated to helping students become aware of the rewarding careers available in manufacturing by creating and arranging creative exposure programs with education institutions, industry and government organizations. His efforts on behalf of young people also extend to his role as the Washington state campaign director of the nationwide Dream It. Do It. campaign. An SME member since 1975, Halloran was a longtime member of Los Angeles Area Manufacturing Management No. 27 and more recently as a member of Seattle No. 39 where he served as the 2006 chapter chair. He is currently the student chapter advisor for Edmonds Community College S357 and continues to dedicate time to other Puget Sound area nonprofit organizations, advisory groups and civic committees.

Bonnie Knopf is the president of Intrepid Plastics Manufacturing. She has a bachelor’s in plastics engineering technology from Ferris State University. Knopf started her career as a program manager in extrusion, then moved into injection mold tooling and then into injection molding. She worked in many facets of the engineering world, including being a local representative for Nypro to large Tier 1 automotive suppliers. Throughout her career, she was often reminded of the opportunities for women-owned businesses and decided to venture out on her own and started Intrepid Plastics Manufacturing in 2003. Because of the persistence to grow her company, Intrepid Plastics Manufacturing was recognized in March 2009 as Women Owned Business of the Year. Knopf, an SME member since 2001, has held all of the chapter executive board positions and is currently the SME Membership Consultant for West Michigan. She leads the local chapter fundraising for student scholarships and was involved in planning and executing a major manufacturing expo for the West Michigan area. Knopf attributes much of her success to SME for the networking and professional growth obtained from the volunteer opportunities.

Chris J. Riegel, CMfgE, PE, is manager, process improvement, at Amsted Rail, a steel foundry that casts railroad wheels. Riegel is currently responsible for quality, lean and six-sigma continuous improvement initiatives. Prior to joining Amsted Rail, he had a 22-year career at Whirlpool/Maytag where he held various management positions, including manufacturing engineer, supplier quality team leader and materials manager. In these positions he has led numerous lean improvement events and six-sigma project initiatives while earning certifications as a Lean Sigma Master Black Belt. An SME member since 1991, Riegel has served in a variety of elected and appointed positions for Des Moines No. 80, including chapter chair in 1996. He also served in various elected positions for the former North Central Region 9. Riegel served on the 2003-04 SME Member Council and was appointed to the SME Member Council Subcommittee Chapter Enhancement in 2005. He has served on the SME Constitution and Bylaws Committee, Lean Oversight Technical Committee and is currently chair of the SME Certification Committee. Riegel has a BS in mechanical engineering from Iowa State University and an MBA from Drake University. He received the SME Presidents Award and the 2006 SME Award of Merit.

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