Chair

Robert X. Gao, PhD, FSME
Professor and Department Chair, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland

Robert X. Gao, PhD, FSME, is the Cady Staley professor of engineering and department chair of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. His research is in the areas of multiphysics sensing, multiresolution signal processing, machine learning and wireless communication for improving the observability of dynamical systems such as manufacturing equipment and processes. Gao has authored or co-authored more than 170 peer-reviewed journal articles, two books, several book chapters and holds 12 patents. Currently, he serves as a senior editor for the “IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics.” Gao is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, SME, CIRP (International Academy for Production Engineering) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He is a recipient of several professional honors, including the Eli Whitney Productivity Award from SME, the Blackall Machine Tool and Gage Award from ASME, the Technical Award and Best Application Award from the Instrumentation and Measurement Society of IEEE and several best paper awards. Gao has been named one of the 20 most influential professors in smart manufacturing. SME Member Since 2005

Chair-Elect

Xun Xu, PhD, FASME
Professor, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering
The University of Auckland
Auckland, New Zealand

Xun W. Xu, PhD, FASME, is a professor of Manufacturing at the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, The University of Auckland. He has been working in the field of intelligent manufacturing solutions for some 30 years. Dr. Xu is an internationally recognized expert in smart manufacturing systems, STEP-NC, cloud-based manufacturing and IoT-enabled manufacturing. He serves as an Associate Editor and member of the Editorial Board of a number of international journals and has published over 350 research papers. Dr. Xu is the Director of Laboratory for Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing Systems (LISMS), the only Laboratory for Industry 4.0 in New Zealand. His current research focus is on Industry 4.0 technologies, e.g. smart factories, digital twins, cloud manufacturing, model-based manufacturing, big industrial data and data analytics. Dr. Xu is a Fellow of the American Society for Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and Engineering New Zealand (EngNZ). In 2020, he is named among of the “20 most Influential Professors in Smart Manufacturing” by SME. He was also recognized by Web of Science as a Clarivate™ Highly Cited Researcher in 2020.

Past Chair

Ihab Ragai, PhD, PE, CMfgE 
Associate Professor of Engineering
The Pennsylvania State University
The Behrend College
Erie, Pennsylvania

Ihab Ragai, PhD, PE, is an Associate Professor of Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University, Erie. He is also a Visiting Professor at Rosenheim Technical University of Applied Sciences, Germany. His research interests include advanced manufacturing processes, cloud manufacturing, machine and tool monitoring, design optimization, and materials constitutive modelling. For over 20 years, he has held several positions in aerospace and heavy equipment industries. Prior to joining academia in 2013, he was a Senior Engineering Manager at Hitachi Canada, overseeing projects related to product development, truck dynamics and fatigue analysis, structural and drive systems design, and manufacturing processes. He served as the Chair and Host of NAMRC 47-MSEC 2019, a Director on the NAMRI Board, and the 2014 MESEC Technical Program Chair. Additionally, he is an associate editor for the “International Journal of Manufacturing Research” and a guest editor of both SME’s “Journal of Manufacturing Systems” and “Journal of Manufacturing Processes.” He is a registered Professional Engineer, a fellow of ASME, a research fellow of DAAD, and a recipient of several national and international awards. SME Member Since 1998.