Our Bureau
Urbana, IL
Shiv Kapoor, the Grayce Wicall Gauthier Chair Emeritus and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has been honored by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, SME by selecting Shiv Kapoor as the namesake of this year’s SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award.
The 10 recipients of the 2025 SME Shiv Kapoor Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award will be honored at official SME events throughout the year. The award is presented annually to manufacturing engineers, age 35 or younger, who have made exceptional contributions and accomplishments in the manufacturing industry throughout the early stages of their careers.
“I am truly overwhelmed by this incredible recognition by SME. It is a tremendous honor to be placed in such distinguished rank as that of the past honorees, who have made important contributions to manufacturing education, research and professional service. I am deeply appreciative of this honor and grateful to my colleagues, friends and, specially, to talented students who made my academic journey so fruitful,” said Shiv Kapoor.
Over the course of his career, Kapoor sustained a respected and well-supported research program in the areas of manufacturing process modeling and process automation. During the later part of his career, he helped establish the foundation of a new manufacturing paradigm related to micro/meso-scale mechanical manufacturing—to create miniaturized manufacturing equipment and processes that are integrated into autonomous “microfactories” and promote the concept of mass customization through distributed manufacturing (DM).
SME establishes a namesake for the award to honor an individual for their lifelong contributions to manufacturing, their commitment to serving as a role model and motivator for young engineers, and for their long-term active involvement in SME. “The SME Board of Directors and International Awards & Recognition Committee both feel that [Kapoor’s] accomplishments truly exemplify the meaning of this distinguished honor,” stated SME.
