William Peter, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, has been named to the 2020 College of SME Fellows. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
The Society of Manufacturing Engineers, known as SME, has named William Peter, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility in the Energy and Environmental Sciences Directorate, among its 2020 College of SME Fellows.
SME is a professional association dedicated to advancing manufacturing technology and education. This honor recognizes Peter’s significant contributions to manufacturing and is reserved for those with more than 20 years of noteworthy work in the field.
Peter said he hopes to bring to attention to “the most pressing, fundamental challenges that the U.S. manufacturing sector is facing.”
“By being a fellow, I can help to shine a light on the wonderful research being performed at ORNL and our work with industry and academia in additive manufacturing, composites, machining, roll-to-roll processing, digital fabrication and automation,” he said.
A leading voice for advancement and opportunity in manufacturing, SME offers resources for manufacturers, promotes advanced manufacturing technology and works to develop a skilled workforce. Peter and the MDF team have a longstanding relationship with the organization and contribute to its educational events, conferences and demonstrations of developments to a range of manufacturing enterprises.
“SME is a vital platform for us to communicate breakthroughs in advanced manufacturing through their large membership,” Peter said.
Earlier this summer, SME and UT-Battelle formalized the collaboration through a memorandum of understanding, which expands ORNL’s contributions to setting research and development priorities for the industry through the association’s programs.
Stan Wullschleger, interim associate laboratory director for the Energy and Environmental Sciences Directorate, said, “Alongside the MOU, Bill’s fellowship furthers the alignment of the premier manufacturing association with the leading manufacturing research facility. Our relationship with SME has provided many opportunities to contribute to advancing manufacturing capabilities in the U.S.”
The 2020 fellows include leaders from industry, government, research and academia selected for their social, technological and educational impact on manufacturing.
This year’s seven fellows represent the National Science Foundation; the University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Boeing; and University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Their work has impacted a range of industries including aerospace and defense, energy, space and automotive.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.
