Published by the MIT News Office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.

Nam P. Suh to Head Mechanical Engineering

SEMINAL CONTRIBUTIONS
Nam P. Suh to Head
Mechanical Engineering 

Professor Nam P. Suh, a mechanical engineer who has made important 
contributions to the science of manufacturing and mechanical 
engineering, has been named head of the Department of Mechanical 
Engineering where he has been a faculty member since 1970.

He succeeds Professor David N. Wormley, who was named associate dean of 
the School of Engineering in January. Professor Suh's appointment was 
announced by Dean Joel Moses of the School of Engineering.

"Professor Suh brings to the position of department head broad 
leadership experience in education, research and government service," 
Dean Moses said. "From discussions with the Department Search Committee, 
Dean Wormley and I know that he has the strong support of the department 
faculty. We have every expectation that the department's exceptional 
tradition of excellence in teaching and research will continue to 
flourish under Professor Suh's leadership."

Dr. Suh, the Ralph E. and Eloise F. Cross Professor of Manufacturing at 
MIT, is internationally respected for his seminal contributions to 
engineering. These include the development of a series of patented 
processes for the manufacture of metals and polymers, the formulation of 
the delamination theory of wear, and the development of a set of axioms 
for designing manufacturing processes. He has written more than 200 
papers and four books and has been awarded 30 patents for inventions in 
manufacturing and materials processing.

In addition, Professor Suh has been a pioneer in the development of 
university-industry research collaboration. In 1973 he founded the MIT-
Industry Polymer Processing Program, considered the prototype for 
university-industry collaboration through a research consortium.

Professor Suh also founded in 1977 the Laboratory for Manufacturing and 
Productivity, now an interdepartmental laboratory within the School of 
Engineering.

He directed the program and the laboratory until 1984, when he was 
appointed assistant director for engineering at the National Science 
Foundation by President Reagan. During his NSF tenure, he introduced a 
new organizational structure and new programs, including the Engineering 
Research Centers program, for supporting engineering research in order 
to strengthen engineering education and research. Professor Suh served 
in the NSF post while on leave from MIT until 1988.

Professor Suh's research interests have been broad. His contributions in 
tribology include the delamination theory of wear, a theory of the 
genesis of friction and better cutting tools. In the field of design, he 
has developed the Design Axioms and the associated design methodologies. 
In the field of polymer processing, he invented many commercially 
important processes. In metal processing, he invented the Mixalloy 
processing technique. His current research projects are in design, 
manufacturing, tribology and materials processing. Among his current 
activities in manufacturing is the preparation, with colleagues in the 
department, of a fundamental undergraduate text in manufacturing.

Professor Suh holds the SB (1959) and SM (1961) from MIT and the PhD 
(1964) from Carnegie Mellon University. He joined the faculty as 
associate professor and was promoted to professor in 1975. He holds 
honorary doctorates from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the 
University of Lowell, and received a Distinguished Service Award from 
the NSF. He is a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of 
Engineering Sciences. He has also received many awards from professional 
organizations, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineering, 
the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and the Society of Plastics 
Engineers.

Professor Suh and his wife, Mrs. Young J. Suh, have four daughters, 
among them an MIT graduate and a current student.