News

America Makes Membership Community Elects Ford’s Ellen Lee to Executive Committee

July 02, 2018 | Categories: America Makes News

Special Election Held to Fill Vacancy

Youngstown, Ohio —July 2, 2018.  America Makes proudly announces the election of Ellen C. Lee, Ph.D., Technical Leader – Additive Manufacturing, Research, and Advanced Engineering for Ford Motor Company, to its Executive Committee. The America Makes Executive Committee serves as the main strategic advisory committee for America Makes with a focus on strategy, policy, and advocacy. Elected members to the Executive Committee include individuals of sufficient stature and understanding of the additive manufacturing industry and who are committed to the vision and mission of America Makes.

A special election of the Executive Committee was held in June to fill the vacancy recently left by the departure of Susan Smyth, Ph.D., FSME, upon her retirement from General Motors (GM). Dr. Lee will hold the position through the remainder of the 2018 calendar year wherein the regular election schedule for the Executive Committee will resume.

“It is with great pleasure that I announce Ellen’s election to the Executive Committee,” said Rob Gorham, America Makes Executive Director. “Her expertise leading the development and implementation of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies in the automotive sector will certainly be beneficial for driving the adoption and acceleration of AM technologies through the other sectors.”

Dr. Lee joins the following industry leaders and current members of the Executive Committee:

• Jesse Boyer, Fellow – Additive Manufacturing, United Technologies Corporation
• Joe Sendra, VP of Manufacturing Engineering & Technology, Johnson & Johnson
• Leo Christodoulou, Director of Structures and Materials, Enterprise Operations and Technology, Boeing Company
• Mike Hripko, Assistant VP of Research, Youngstown State University
• Rick Billo, Associate VP for Research, Professor of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Notre Dame
• John Koehr, Managing Director of Technology Advancement and Business Development, ASME
• Jeannine Kunz, VP of Tooling U-SME and VP, Director of Training & Development, SME
• Corky Clinton, Deputy Manager – S&MS, NASA
• Ben Bouffard, Additive Manufacturing Lead, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation), Department of Navy
• Valri Lightner, Acting Deputy Director, Department of Energy

Dr. Lee is a recognized thought leader for her ability to identify new emerging technologies with high impact for Ford.  Since 2009, Dr. Lee has served as a spokesperson for Ford’s research and development of technology advances in areas from nanocomposites to sustainable materials to additive manufacturing.

Prior to her current role, she served as the Plastics Research Leader, developing a vast knowledge of automotive materials and their durability and performance requirements. Her deep knowledge of conventional mass production processes allows her to identify benefits and gaps of AM technologies for volume production.

She also serves on the board of directors for SPE’s AM/3D Printing Special Interest Group, and has a history participating and advising organizations including SME, SWE, NSF, and others.

Visit https://americamakes.us for more information about America Makes or on how to become a member. Follow us on Twitter @AmericaMakes.

###

About America Makes

America Makes is the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute. As the national accelerator for additive manufacturing (AM), America Makes is the nation’s leading and collaborative partner in AM and 3DP technology research, discovery, creation, and innovation. Structured as a public-private partnership with member organizations from industry, academia, government, non-government agencies, and workforce and economic development resources, we are working together to innovate and accelerate AM to increase our nation’s global manufacturing competitiveness. Based in Youngstown, Ohio, America Makes is the first Institute within the Manufacturing USA infrastructure and is driven by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM). For more information about America Makes, visit https://americamakes.us.

About NCDMM

NCDMM delivers innovative and collaborative manufacturing solutions that enhance our nation’s workforce and economic competitiveness. NCDMM has extensive knowledge and depth in manufacturing areas—both commercial and defense—to continually innovate, improve, and advance manufacturing technologies and methodologies. Our experienced team specializes in identifying the needs, the players, the technologies, and processes to attain optimal solutions for our customers. We connect the dots. That’s the NCDMM methodology. NCDMM also manages the national accelerator for additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing (3DP), America Makes—the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute. For additional information, visit the NCDMM at http://ncdmm.org/.