MTConnect Institute board of trustee members Stephan Biller, Ph.D., and Tom Kurfess, Ph.D., were elected in February to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in recognition of professional excellence in engineering. Members of NAE are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research, practice, education, technology, advancing engineering, innovative approaches to engineering, and exhibiting outstanding leadership. Election to membership is one of the highest honors that can be accorded an engineer as there are only 2,309 U.S. members in NAE. 

Biller serves as the vice president of Watson IoT at IBM Corp. He was elected to NAE for leadership and advancement of manufacturing technologies and innovations based on the internet of things (IoT) and digital data.  

Kurfess serves as chief manufacturing officer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He was elected to NAE for development and implementation of innovative digital manufacturing technologies and system architectures.  

“The harmonization of standards is a critical step in the advancement of IoT in the manufacturing industry, and Dr. Biller has contributed significantly to our strategic vision of open, standards-based solutions. Dr. Biller has been instrumental in the development and advancement of a model-based MTConnect standard. Dr. Kurfess has contributed to the interoperability of the standard and leveraging digital technologies to advance manufacturing,” said Tim Shinbara, MTConnect Institute board officer. 

“The National Academy of Engineering sets the absolute highest standards for technical leadership in the U.S., and it is a great honor to be elected to this esteemed institution,” said Kurfess. “My election citation, ‘for development and implementation of innovative digital manufacturing technologies and system architectures,’ relates directly to work happening at the MTConnect Institute and highlights the importance and timeliness of all of our efforts in the digital manufacturing area.” 

Individuals in the newly elected class will be formally inducted during a ceremony at the NAE's annual meeting in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 4.