ASPE College of Fellows
Award Description and Purpose
Election to the ASPE College of Fellows is a highly prestigious honor that is intended to recognize and honor those exceptional members of the Society who have made outstanding contributions to the art and practice of Precision Engineering through original research, significant innovations, education and outreach, or service to the profession. Eligibility criteria and guidelines on nominations are available here and new Fellows are announced each year at the Annual Meeting.
ASPE is proud to recognize the following individuals as members of the College of Fellows
Vivek G. Badami
2024
Dr. Vivek Badami is recognized for his sustained and continuing advancements in ultra-precision nanometrology systems and subsystems for stage positioning in the semiconductor photolithography industry. These include highly advanced laser displacement interferometers, high-end optical encoder systems, and various stage metrology calibration fixtures for the development of ultra-high precision absolute position measuring instruments. Vivek is a Zygo Technology Fellow and the Director of Engineering for leading-edge optical systems with over 25 years of experience in interferometry, metrology, and precision machine design. Vivek’s many contributions to ASPE, as President, Board Member, and Chair of the Education Committee have been recognized by the society with its Distinguished Service Award.
Dannis M. Brouwer
2021
Dannis M. Brouwer of the University of Twente is recognized for his original work in the development of novel precision elastic mechanisms, precision motion controls and flexure based robotic systems. His work is exemplified by the folded leaf spring and the infinity flexure, which have added fundamental flexure configurations to the flexure designer’s toolkit.
Benny Cheung
2024
Prof. Cheung Chi Fai, Benny is recognized for theoretical and applied advancements in machining dynamics and nanometer level surface finish generation. He is presently the Director of the State Key Laboratory of ultra-Precision Machining Technology at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University as well as the Chair Professor in Ultra-precision Machining Technology. Prof. Cheung earned his doctorate from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2000, and a consistent theme of his research since then has been to apply the precision engineering principle of determinism to an understanding of surface generation as new figures, new materials, new processes, and new machines are required. He is an active member of the ASPE, co-organized multiple conferences with ASPEN, and continues to work to build collaboration with our colleagues worldwide.
Dr. Michael Lowell Holmes
2023
Dr. Mike Holmes is recognized for sustained and continuing advancements in heterodyne laser displacement interferometry that have become an enabling technology for semiconductor lithography and high precision manufacturing and inspection systems. These include laser head stabilization, signal processing, evaluation and reduction of cyclic errors, and fundamental research into the effects of air turbulence. Mike is a senior member of the technical staff in the Precision Positioning Solutions group at Zygo Corporation, with over twenty five years of experience in interferometry, metrology, and precision machine design. He has taught multiple tutorials at ASPE meetings and has served as an Associate Editor for Precision Engineering.
Oscar M. Lechuga
2023
Mr. Oscar Lechuga is recognized for essential contributions to diamond machining and the precision molding of polymer optics. The millions of lenses produced through these techniques and by his work at Fresnel Technologies have become critical but often hidden parts of daily life. Oscar is a strong advocate for education in optics and optical manufacturing techniques through presentations at the professional, university, and K-12 communities.
Eric R. Marsh
2022
Eric Marsh is an expert in machine tool dynamics and spindle metrology. He is both a gifted teacher and a pioneer in the field of axis of rotation metrology who takes particular effort to see his work transferred to the industrial sector. Eric has taught multiple tutorials at ASPE and published the de facto standard text on axis of rotation metrology. He is perhaps best known by virtue of his many past students who as a result of his mentorship have gone on to highly-productive careers themselves within the precision engineering community. Following a long and distinguished career as a professor of mechanical engineering at the Pennsylvania State University, Eric has recently moved into industry full-time with a new position at KLA. Eric earned his doctorate in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Jon R. Pratt
2020
Jon R. Pratt of the National Institute of Standards and Technology is recognized for his leadership and technical achievements related to establishing new fundamental standards for the measurement of force and mass; including the electronic kilogram that redefined the fundamental realization of mass from an artifact-based definition to one based on the Planck constant.
Jeffrey W. Roblee
2022
Jeff Roblee is an accomplished technical leader with over forty years of experience in the design, development, and qualification of diamond turning, milling, and grinding machines used in the manufacturing of optical and high-precision surfaces. He is presently the Division Vice President of Technology at Ametek-Precitech where he is responsible for technology development and applications support for Precitech’s ultra-precision multi-axis diamond turning, grinding, grooving, and milling machines. Jeff began his career as a Systems Engineer in the Large Optics Diamond Turning Group at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and proceeded to technical and managerial positions at Carl Zeiss and Polaroid before ultimately joining Precitech in 2002. He holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley with a dissertation on the design of externally-pressurized gas bearings. Jeff continues to develop and share technical findings related to all aspects of ultraprecision optical fabrication.
Theo A. M. Ruijl
2020
Theo A. M. Ruijl of MI Partners is recognized for contributions to ultra-precision machine design. His work addresses numerous areas including thermal effects, high-precision metrology systems, control systems, damping techniques and system architecture in an industrial setting.
Tony L. Schmitz
2020
Tony L. Schmitz of the University of Tennessee – Knoxville is recognized for advancements in the scientific understanding of the effects of structural dynamics on precision machining processes, advancements in displacement measuring interferometry, and numerous other topics critical to precision engineering.
Alexander H. Slocum
2020
Alexander H. Slocum of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is recognized for developing, teaching, and applying precision engineering principles to machine design, medical devices, and energy systems. His work has resulted in several hundred patents and technical publications, textbooks, and several generations of engineers trained in the principles and practice of precision engineering.
Mark Stocker
2021
Mark Stocker of Fives’ Grinding is recognized for his outstanding accomplishments in the field of precision systems design that have resulted in over 150 patents from over 40 unique inventions. His application of the basic principles of precision engineering in novel ways has resulted in a wide range of unique high precision manufacturing equipment.