Hangbo Zhao Receives 2023 Delcie R. Durham Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award

Hangbo Zhao, Assistant Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, has been awarded a 2023 Delcie R. Durham Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). This is in outstanding recognition of Dr. Zhao’s research contributions to the manufacturing of micro/nano composite surfaces, three-dimensional (3D) multifunctional structures, and functional devices.

Hangbo Zhao is an assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Southern California, with a joint appointment in the Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Zhao joined the AME department in 2020 and has since received the Charles Lee Powell Faculty Research Award and ASME Haythornthwaite Foundation Research Initiation Award. He is also a core faculty member of the Center for Advanced Manufacturing at USC.

Dr. Zhao received his MS and PhD in mechanical engineering at MIT, and was a postdoctoral researcher at Northwestern University. Currently, Dr. Zhao's research explores innovative micro/nano manufacturing processes for 3D multiscale soft electronics, as well as flexible and stretchable materials, structures, and devices. His work is currently funded by the Office of Naval Research, National Institute of Health, and the Haythornthwaite Foundation.

Established in 1980, the SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award recognizes young manufacturing engineers who have had exceptional accomplishments and contributions to the manufacturing industry. SME Executive Director and CEO Robert “Bob” Willig said, “This group of young engineers is one of the most educated, accomplished groups we’ve honored in recent years. Watch with me as they gain momentum over their careers, as I’m sure we’ll see some remarkable achievements in manufacturing technology, processes and materials come forth.”