UNL's Rajurkar wins Society of Manufacturing Engineers' top award

K.P. Rajurkar, professor of industrial and management systems engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, received the Society of Manufacturing Engineers' top international award, the SME Gold Medal, last month at the society's annual conference in Philadelphia.

Rajurkar was selected for his contributions to technical communications through published literature, technical writings or lectures.

His research helped pave the way for the establishment of UNL's Center for Nontraditional Manufacturing Research. As the center's founder and director, he works closely with colleagues to develop hardware and software for existing and new nontraditional and hybrid processes for industrial applications. Additionally his research has been supported by the state of Nebraska, the National Science Foundation and many companies including GEAE, Timken, Cummins Engines and Mitsubishi Electric Corp.

Rajurkar is also an inventor and is the author of more than 240 publications. Beyond scholarly publications, his dedication to advancing manufacturing technology also extends to teaching both undergraduate and graduate students. He has been a member of the UNL engineering faculty since 1983.