S. Jack Hu, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost and UGA Foundation Distinguished Professor of Engineering, recently received the DeVor-Kapoor Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in recognition of his impact in the field of manufacturing. Left to right: Jarred Heigel, vice chair, Manufacturing Engineering Division, ASME; S. Jack Hu; Mihaela Banu, director of programs, Manufacturing Engineering Division, ASME; and Barbara Linke, chair, Manufacturing Engineering Division, ASME.
American Society of Mechanical Engineers awards Hu the 2024 DeVor-Kapoor Manufacturing Medal
Jack Hu, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Georgia and UGA Foundation Distinguished Professor of Engineering, has been awarded the 2024 DeVor-Kapoor Manufacturing Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
The DeVor/Kapoor Medal recognizes an individual or a team of researchers for a body of impactful achievements in the field of manufacturing. Recipients will have demonstrated long-term contributions to at least one of the following areas: pioneering research, innovative technology development/transfer, inspirational mentorship and ground-breaking scholarship/writings.
Hu was honored June 19 during the Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference, hosted by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The award recognizes Hu’s critical contributions toward the advancement of manufacturing systems, assembly, quality and productivity over the course of his distinguished career, including contributions to the quality control of materials joining and assembly systems, significant impacts to sustainable manufacturing, cultivation of leaders for academia and industry, and advocacy for manufacturing’s impact to society. Notably, his development of methods for predicting and diagnosing the root causes of quality variation in multistage assembly systems has made a fundamental impact on the automotive industry.
“I am deeply honored and humbled to receive this honor from my peers in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers,” said Hu. “Manufacturing systems and assembly are areas that continue to fascinate me, and I’m happy to know that my work has made a difference in this field.”
Hu’s research has been supported by more than $46 million in external funding from agencies such as the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation, as well as corporations such as General Motors. He holds ten patents and has worked closely with several industry partners to enhance manufacturing quality and productivity.
A UGA Foundation Distinguished Professor in the UGA College of Engineering, Hu has been a member of the National Academy of Engineering since 2015. Hu is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, the National Academy of Inventors, and the International Academy for Production Engineering.
Hu is the recipient of prestigious professional honors including the ASME William T. Ennor Manufacturing Technology Award, the SME Gold Medal and several best paper awards. In 2021, SME named him one of the 20 most influential academics in smart manufacturing.
Writer: Mike Wooten, mwooten@uga.edu
