MMAE Department Honors Faculty Emeriti and Holds Nagib-Kalpakjian Lecture

On November 17, 2023, the Department of Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology hosted its annual Nagib and Kalpakjian Annual Lecture featuring speaker Scott Smith, section head for precision manufacturing and machining and the group leader for intelligent machine tools at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Following the lecture, the department held a ceremony honoring its nine faculty emeriti. 

2023 Annual Nagib-Kalpakjian Lecture

Smith presented a lecture titled, “The Story of Thin,” which described the research activities and breakthroughs that led to the rise of the use of monolithic components as a replacement for sheet metal assemblies in the aerospace industry. 

Smith was previously a professor and the chair of mechanical engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the assistant director for technology at the United States Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office in Washington, D.C. His research areas include high-speed machining, process optimization, and machine dynamics. He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his work.

Reception Honoring MMAE Emeritus Faculty 

Directly following the lecture, the department hosted a ceremony to honor its faculty emeriti.

“We are so pleased to honor the service of our emeritus faculty,” says Louis N. Cattafesta III, John G. and Jane E. Olin Endowed Department Chair in Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering.

• Professor Emeritus Serope Kalpakjian (Faculty: 1963–2018) Expertise: Manufacturing science and engineering
• Professor Emeritus Rollin Dix (Faculty: 1964–2004) Expertise: Mechanical design, materials handling
• Research Professor Emeritus Cesar Sciammarella (Faculty: 1973–1996) Expertise: Experimental mechanics
• Associate Professor Emeritus of Materials Engineering Sheldon Mostovoy (Faculty: 1972–2011) Expertise: Mechanics, metallurgy
• Professor Emeritus Sudhakar Nair (Faculty: 1977–2022) Expertise: Solid mechanics
• Professor Emeritus of Materials Science and Engineering John Kallend (Faculty: 1978–2016) Expertise: Materials science
• Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering Kevin Meade (Faculty: 1982–2019) Expertise: Solid mechanics
• Professor Emerita of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Candace Wark (Faculty: 1989–2022) Expertise: Fluid mechanics
• Professor Emeritus of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Philip Nash (Faculty: 1981–2019) Expertise: Physical metallurgy

Image: Scott Smith, section head for precision manufacturing and machining and the group leader for intelligent machine tools at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, presenting the Nagib-Kalpakjian Lecture.