SME Fellows are individuals from industry, research and academia who must have 20 plus years of experience in manufacturing.

DEARBORN, Mich., June 30, 2015 -- SME, a key resource for the manufacturing industry, has elected seven manufacturing practitioners, researchers and educators to its College of Fellows. They join the more than 370 SME members who have been elected as SME Fellows since the program's inception.

SME Fellows are individuals from industry, research and academia who must have 20 plus years of experience in manufacturing. In addition, they need to have demonstrated an overall impact to the social, technological and educational aspects of the manufacturing profession, and be a current member of SME.

During their longtime careers, the 2015 honorees have made widespread contributions to the areas of intelligent manufacturing systems, advanced materials processing, metalforming, robotics, batteries for electric vehicles, and intelligent welding process sensing and control technologies. In addition, through their innovative teachings, leadership and guidance, they have helped many students and young professionals with their pursuit of advanced manufacturing degrees and careers in manufacturing.

"The 2015 Class of Fellows are all influential leaders with careers that not only span the globe, but manufacturing's wide spectrum as well," said 2015 SME President Wayne F. Frost, CMfgE. "Their commitment to manufacturing and the manufacturing profession is exceptional."

2015 Class of SME Fellows:

Jeffrey A. Abell, PhD, FSME, General Motors, Warren, Michigan.
Paul D. Bradley, FSME, PE, Peterson Industries Pty Ltd., Adelaide, Australia.
XiaQi Chen, PhD, FSME, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Waguih ElMaraghy, PhD, FSME, PE, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
Shreyes N. Melkote, PhD, FSME, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta.
Jyhwen Wang, PhD, FSME, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.
YuMing Zhang, PhD, FSME, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.

The 2015 SME Fellows will be recognized during SME's Fall Awards & Installation Banquet Nov. 8 in Chicago. As part of their recognition, the 2015 Fellows will receive lifetime, dues-free membership and can utilize the credentials "FSME" ("Fellow of SME") after their names.

Nominations for the 2016 Class of SME Fellows are due on Dec. 1. Award information and nomination form can be found at sme.org/fellows.

About SME
SME connects all those who are passionate about making things that improve our world. As a nonprofit organization, SME has served practitioners, companies, educators, government and communities across the manufacturing spectrum for more than 80 years. Through its strategic areas of events, media, membership, training and development, and the SME Education Foundation, SME is uniquely dedicated to the advancement of manufacturing by addressing both knowledge and skills needed for the industry. Learn more at sme.org, follow @SME_MFG on Twitter or facebook.com/SMEmfg.