Alla Elwany, Ph.D., Named 2021-2022 ASME Foundation Swanson Fellow

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Oct. 14, 2021) – The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has named Alaa Elwany, Ph.D., as a 2021-2022 ASME Foundation Swanson Fellow – Advanced Manufacturing. He officially began his fellowship on Sept. 1 at the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office (AMNPO), an interagency team hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) with participation from federal agencies involved in advanced manufacturing, including the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Education, and Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science Foundation. Elwany will support a range of issues and projects including national policy for supply chain renewal and education and workforce development in advanced manufacturing.

Elwany is currently an associate professor in the Wm Michael Barnes ‘64 Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Texas A&M University. He is also a College of Engineering Faculty Fellow and holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. His research focuses on modeling, optimization, and control of metal additive manufacturing processes. The impacts of his research include enabling the fabrication of smart active metallic structures with spatially tailored properties, developing efficient printability assessment frameworks for newly designed additive manufacturing materials, and developing new data analytics tools for defect detection, part qualification, and additive manufacturing process monitoring control.

“ASME is pleased to welcome Alaa Elwany to the distinguished roster of engineers who have provided valuable service to our nation through the Federal Government Fellowship Program,” says ASME Executive Director/CEO Tom Costabile. “Through these prestigious year-long engagements, our fellows have a unique opportunity to participate directly in the policy-making process and gain an insider’s perspective on government decision-making – and, in turn, they can apply that learning to their professional roles and better contribute to the mission and vision of their own organizations.”

Before joining Texas A&M University, Elwany served as a research scientist at the Manufacturing Systems Research Laboratory, General Motors R&D. He also held overseas appointments including faculty member at Eindhoven University of Technology and Senior Fellow at the European Institute for Statistics, Probability, and Stochastic Operations Research (EURANDOM) in the Netherlands.

“We were thrilled that ASME provided us a pathway to recruit Alaa this year,” says AMNPO Director Mike Molnar.  “Already, Alaa has become an indispensable team member, developing actions that Manufacturing USA can take to support the Administration’s Build Back Better agenda by strengthening partnerships between industry and academia.”

“It is such an honor to be selected as an ASME Foundation Swanson Fellow,” says Elwany. “The opportunity to serve in the executive branch and contribute to maintaining the United States’ position as a global leader in advanced manufacturing is incredibly exciting. I am grateful to the ASME Foundation and ASME Government Relations for their support. I am also grateful to the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office at NIST where I will be serving.”

Elwany completed his Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology and received a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in production engineering from Alexandria University. He was recognized with multiple young investigator awards from leading organizations, including the ASME Chao and Trigger Young Manufacturing Engineer, SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer, NSF CAREER Award, and IBM Faculty Award.
 
About the ASME Federal Government Fellowship Program
ASME Federal Government Fellowships are sponsored by ASME Government Relations, the ASME Foundation, the ASME Petroleum Division, and the ASME Bioengineering Division. ASME Federal Government Fellows may serve as an ASME Foundation Swanson Fellow in the Executive Branch or an ASME Congressional Fellow in the Legislative.  For more information, including more about current fellows and 2022-23 fellowship opportunities, visit https://www.asme.org/government-relations/federal-fellows-program.
Those interested in making a contribution to the program can do so and learn more by visiting the ASME Foundation’s website at https://www.asmefoundation.org/.

About ASME
ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges.  Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing, and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education, and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world. In 2020, ASME formed the International Society of Interdisciplinary Engineers (ISIE) LLC, a new for-profit subsidiary to house business ventures that will bring new and innovative products, services, and technologies to the engineering community, and later established the holding company, Global Knowledge Solutions LLC. In 2021, ASME launched a second for-profit subsidiary, Metrix Connect LLC, an industry events and content platform to accelerate digital transformation in the engineering community and the exclusive agent for the Mechanical Engineering® brand of media products. For more information, visit www.asme.org.

      
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