DEPARTMENT HIGHLIGHTS
Williams is elected chair of SME manufacturing advisors
Chris Williams , the LS Randolph Professor in mechanical engineering , has been elected chair of the Additive Manufacturing Community Advisors within the Society of Manufacturing Engineers ( SME ).
SME was founded in 1969 , working closely with manufacturing professionals , companies , educators , schools and communities . The group shares knowledge and resources that generate solutions to manufacturing industry challenges . The Additive Manufacturing Advisory Community advises SME on initiatives , activities , policy , and strategy related to additive manufacturing .
Williams has been a member of the SME ’ s advisory community since 2015 , previously holding the office of Vice Chair .
Abdulsalam Shakhatreh receives American Nuclear Society scholarship
Abdulsalam I . Shakhatreh , a graduate student advised by Assistant Professor Juliana Pacheco Duarte , is the recipient of the Decommissioning & Environmental Sciences Division ( DESD ) Graduate Scholarship from the American Nuclear Society ( ANS ).
The scholarship is awarded to a candidate who best demonstrates an optimal combination of high standards in the areas of academic , leadership and personal values and who also assert a stated interest in the professional arena represented by the DESD charter .
Shakhatreh earned a bachelor ’ s in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech in 2014 . In 2015 , he started his nuclear career at Robatel Technologies in Roanoke , Virginia , as a mechanical design
Juliana Pacheo-Duarte , Abdulsalam Shakhatreh , and Alex DeJong in the Virginia Tech Heat Transfer and Safety Lab .
engineer for nuclear equipment . He is currently pursuing his M . Sc . and Ph . D . degrees in Nuclear Engineering with a research focus on the long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel in dry storage cask systems .
“ Abdulsalam is an outstanding student in our NE Program ,” said Duarte . “ The ANS Scholarship is a recognition of his work and important research .”
48 VIRGINIA TECH MECHANICAL ENGINEERING • ANNUAL REPORT 2020-2021