2025 SME International Honor Award Winners These seven 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. Eli Whitney Productivity AwardAwarded for distinguished accomplishments in improving capability within the broad concept of orderly production. Satyandra K. Gupta, PhD, FSMESmith International ProfessorUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos Angeles, Calif. Satyandra K. Gupta, PhD holds the Smith International Professorship in the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California and serves as the founding director of the Center for Advanced Manufacturing. He is also co-founder and chief scientist at GrayMatter Robotics. His research interests include embodied artificial intelligence, computational foundations for decision-making, and human-centered automation. Gupta has published more than 500 technical articles in journals, conference proceedings, and edited books, and holds 24 patents. He is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Solid Modeling Association (SMA), and SME. Gupta is a member of the National Materials and Manufacturing Board (NMMB). He has received numerous honors, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2001 from President Bush and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the ASME Computers and Information in Engineering Division in 2024. SME Member Since 1993 Joseph A. Siegel Service AwardAwarded to an SME member for significant and unique contributions that benefit SME. This award is the only International Honor Award that must only be conferred upon SME members. Matthew L. Hilgendorf, LSMEChief Operating OfficerACME IndustriesElk Grove Village, Ill. Matthew L. Hilgendorf is the chief operating officer of ACME Industries in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. He previously served as vice president of operations for Atkore International, overseeing daily operations at more than ten manufacturing facilities and leading workforce development, lean initiatives, and enterprise resource planning systems transformation. Hilgendorf has also held leadership roles at Black Horse LLC, a joint venture of Caterpillar Inc. and Ariel Corp., where he led quality, sourcing, and operational excellence efforts. He holds bachelor's degrees in mechanical engineering and manufacturing engineering from Kettering University and a master's in engineering management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Hilgendorf is an SME endowment member, active SME Education Foundation donor, and has served multiple terms on the SME Board of Directors. He was named an SME Marcus B. Crotts Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer in 2018. SME Member Since 2002 Donald C. Burnham Manufacturing Management AwardRecognizes exceptional success in the integration of the infrastructure and processes of manufacturing through innovative use of human, technical and financial resources. Julie A. Christodoulou, PhDIndependent Consultant/Principal, Materials and ManufacturingInnovation LLCAlexandria, Va. Julie A. Christodoulou, PhD is an independent consultant and volunteer for the National Materials & Manufacturing Board. She retired from the Office of Naval Research, where she served as director of the Naval Materials & Manufacturing Division. Christodoulou has played key roles in initiatives such as the Materials Genome Initiative and the Materials Manufacturing Institute and has held numerous leadership positions within the Department of Defense (DoD), interagency committees, and international defense science and technology coordination groups. She has received multiple DoD and professional society awards for her work integrating experiments, computation, and data to accelerate technology development. SME Frederick W. Taylor Research MedalHonors significant published research leading to a better understanding of materials, facilities, principles, operations and their application to improve manufacturing processes. Xiaochun Li, PhD, FSMERaytheon Chair in ManufacturingDepartment of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Department of Materials Science and EngineeringUniversity of CaliforniaLos Angeles (UCLA), Calif. Xiaochun Li, PhD is the Raytheon Chair in Manufacturing at UCLA and director of the UCLA Smart Manufacturing Innovation Center and Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and has made pioneering contributions to nanotechnology-enabled metals manufacturing and smart manufacturing systems with embedded micro/nano-sensors. Li has published 237 journal articles, 56 refereed conference papers, and five book chapters. He holds 22 issued patents and 10 pending patents for manufacturing applications. Li has received the NSF CAREER Award in 2002, the SME Jiri Tlusty Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award in 2003, the Howard F. Taylor Award from the American Foundry Society in 2008, and the ASME William T. Ennor Manufacturing Technology Award in 2022. He is also a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, SME, and the International Society for Nanomanufacturing. SME Member Since 2004 SME Albert M. Sargent Progress AwardRecognizes significant accomplishments in the field of manufacturing processes, methods or systems. Susan BearChief Technology OfficerGrede LLCSouthfield, Mich. As the chief technology officer of Grede, Susan Bear is responsible for leading engineering, quality program management, and IT functions across Grede’s operations. She has been instrumental in driving Industry 4.0 initiatives to optimize business and operational performance. Bear joined Grede in 2018, after 14 years at Stabilus GmbH, where she served as director of engineering and program management. She began her career as a design engineer at ZF Sachs. Bear holds a bachelor of science in Mechanical Engineering, with highest honors, from Lawrence Technological University and an MBA, with honors, from Wayne State University. SME Education AwardHonors the educator most respected for the development of manufacturing-related curricula, fostering sound training methods or inspiring students to enter the profession of manufacturing. Bruce M. Kramer, PhD, FSMESenior AdvisorCMMI DivisionAlexandria, Va. Bruce Kramer, PhD is the senior advisor in the Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation at the National Science Foundation. A graduate of MIT, Kramer has served on the faculties of MIT and George Washington University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. He co-led the preparation of the 2018 and 2022 National Strategic Plans for Advanced Manufacturing by the National Science and Technology Council. Kramer has received the F.W. Taylor Medal of CIRP, the ASME Blackall Award, and the R.F. Bunshah Medal of the ICMC for his contributions to manufacturing research. He is a fellow of SME and an international fellow of the School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo. SME Member Since 1984 SME Gold MedalRecognizes outstanding service to the manufacturing engineering profession in technical communications through published literature, technical writings or lectures. Robert X. Gao, PhD, FSMECady Staley Professor and Department ChairCase Western Reserve UniversityCleveland, Ohio Robert Gao, PhD is the Cady Staley Professor and Department Chair of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. He received his PhD from the Technical University of Berlin, Germany. His research focuses on sensing, mechatronics, multi-resolution signal processing, and AI/machine learning for manufacturing process monitoring and control. He is a fellow of SME, ASME, IEEE, CIRP, and a Distinguished Fellow of the International Institute of Acoustics and Vibration (IIAV). Gao has received the SME Gold Medal, SME Eli Whitney Productivity Award, ASME Milton C. Shaw Manufacturing Research Medal, ASME Blackall Machine Tool and Gage Award, IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society Technical Award, IEEE Best Application in Instrumental and Measurement Award, and IEEE Andrew P. Sage Best Transactions Paper Award. He is secretary of the Board of Directors of NAMRI/SME and was chair of the Scientific Committee. Gao was named a Web of Science “Highly Cited Researcher in the Field of Engineering” in 2023 and 2024. SME Member Since 2005
