S. Jack Hu
Dr. S. Jack Hu is Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Professor of Industrial and Operations Engineering, and the J. Reid and Polly Anderson Professor of Manufacturing in the College of Engineering. He also serves as the Vice President for Research at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Hu’s teaching and research interests include manufacturing systems design and operations, assembly modeling, and statistical quality methods. He is the recipient of various awards, including the Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the College of Engineering Research Excellence Award, the William T. Ennor Manufacturing Technology Award from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (ASME), SME and a fellow of the International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP). He was elected a member of the US National Academy of Engineering in 2015 and a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2017. Dr. Hu served as the Editor in Chief of Journal of Manufacturing Systems from 2008 to 2013, and is the founding editor for Procedia Manufacturing.
As the Vice President for Research, Dr. Hu has overall responsibility for nurturing the excellence and integrity of research across the entire university. The research expenditures in 2018 reached $1.55 billion, making the UM the top public research university in the country.
Email:
Research Insterests:
- Assembly systems
- Joining of dissimilar materials
- Smart manufacturing
Education:
- Ph.D. (1990), University of Michigan
- M.S. (1986), University of Michigan
- B.S. (1983), Tianjin University, China
Recent Publications:
- Link to Google Scholar profile
Mihaela Banu
Dr. Mihaela Banu is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Banu plays a key role in the American Lightweight Materials Manufacturing Innovation Institute (ALMMII). ALMMII is one of two national manufacturing innovation institutes announced by President Obama in early 2014. The institutes are part of the National network for Manufacturing Innovation and are expected to advance manufacturing technologies and help to boost U.S. competitiveness.
Email:
Research Insterests: Dr. Banu’s research focuses on lightweight materials, with emphasis on developing micro- and nanocellulose composites, natural fiber composites and associated manufacturing processes for automotive and aerospace applications, multi-scale modeling of materials and simulation of forming processes, manufacturing of personalized dental ligaplants.
Education:
- Ph.D. (2000), Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, Romania
- B.Sc. eq. M.S. (1993) Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, Romania (5 year program which leads to a Master in Engineering)
Recent Publications:
- Link to Google Scholar profile
Theodor Freiheit
Dr. Theodor Freiheit is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. His expertise is in both product and manufacturing system design, testing and micro engineering. Formerly, he was an Associate Professor at the University of Calgary and an instructor for the senior capstone design course for many years. Dr. Freiheit has a research program in the psychology of design innovation, design and analysis of manufacturing systems, micro engineering, biomechanical engineering and engineering management. He has over ten years of industrial experience in the design of diesel engine systems and has worked closely in manufacturing with automotive companies and machine tool suppliers. He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, and the Institute of Industrial & System Engineers. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Michigan.
Email:
Research Interests:
- Manufacturing Systems Design & Analysis – Determining manufacturing system layouts and parameters and estimating the system performance to optimize key system performance metrics
- Control of Manufacturing & Service Systems – Developing control schema for the operation of manufacturing systems that maximize system performance
- Personalized Product Design & Manufacture – The development of efficient means to deliver mass-customized and personalized products and their manufacturing systems
- Joining of Dissimilar Materials – The development of robust manufacturing processes to join non-tradition, dissimilar materials, with a current focus of joining aluminum and copper with ultrasonic vibration
- Welding Distortion – The development of robust processes for joining built structures with thermal welding techniques that minimizes thermal expansion distortion
Education:
- Ph.D. (2003), University of Michigan
- MBA (1995), University of Michigan
- MSE (1988), Purdue University
Recent Publications
- Link to Google Scholar Profile