America Makes Honors Award Recipients at MMX Event
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – America Makes on Wednesday announced the recipients of its 2024 Ambassador Awards and Distinguished Collaborator Award.
The awards were announced during the two-day Members Meeting and Exchange (MMX) event at America Makes’ downtown location.
The Ambassador Award program, launched in 2017, recognizes individuals who have continually demonstrated outstanding dedication to advancing America Makes and its mission. The 2024 class represents a cross-section of the industry whose work helped further advance additive technology and demonstrated the resilience of the additive manufacturing community, a news release states. The recipients also represent the progress made in additive manufacturing technology, ecosystem expansion and workforce development.
This year’s recipients are:
- Rachael Andrulonis, director of advanced materials research, National Institute for Aviation Research.
- Cheryl Bowman, chief of the High Temperature and Smart Alloys Branch at NASA Glenn Research Center.
- Robert Carter, deputy chief of the Materials and Structures Division at NASA Glenn Research Center.
- Sarah Jordan, CEO of Skuld LLC.
- Mark LaViolette, managing director of Deloitte Consulting.
- Thierry Marchione, laser engineering specialist at Caterpillar.
- Kay Matin, president of AlphaSTAR Corp.
- Travis Mayberry, additive manufacturing lead at RTX Corp.
- Frank Medina, associate professor/director of technology and engagement at the University of Texas at El Paso.
- Marlee Rust, business development manager at General Electric Global Research.
Mark D. Benedict, senior scientist at the Air Force Research Laboratory, received the 2024 Distinguished Collaborator Award, which celebrates individuals for cultivating effective collaborative relationships with academia, government and industry.
Benedict has served as the chief technology advisor at America Makes for nearly six years and has played a pivotal role in its strategic planning, defining project requirements and the selection and execution of its technical portfolio, the release states.
Benedict was recognized for his leadership and dedication to advancing the technologies, practices and innovation in the additive manufacturing industry and his contributions to America Makes.
“[America Makes] has been pivotal in forming a Joint Services community focused on additive manufacturing and connecting that community with the companies and universities looking for problems to solve,” Benedict said. “There has always been such positive energy in this ecosystem. I am fortunate to have played a small part in connecting Department of Defense stakeholders with enthusiastic technical teams working to mature this technology. It is an honor to be recognized by the institute for helping to make progress in this important technology.”
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
