Ryan Dehoff, the director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, has been distinguished with the title of 2029 Fellow by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). This accolade is a nod to Dehoff's significant influence on manufacturing, with a commendable focus on materials, processing techniques, and the pursuit of energy efficiency. Recognized during the SME North American Manufacturing Research Conference in Knoxville, Dehoff stood among nine professionals nationwide who were elected as fellows—and he was the sole representative from a DOE national lab to earn this year's fellowship, according to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Dehoff's career took root at ORNL as a materials scientist, where his work foregrounded advances in metal additive manufacturing. His approaches to enhancing the properties, scalability, and overall performance of printed materials have carved a significant path in the field. Dehoff's research peels away at the relationship between advanced manufacturing process conditions, and the resulting materials, microstructure, and mechanical properties which are crucial for the industry's forward movement. Interestingly, his knowledge doesn't just hinge on one technology but spans across electron beam and laser powder bed fusion, large-scale directed energy deposition, and solid-state-based additive manufacturing (AM) processes.

Since 2022, Dehoff has been at the helm of the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility. The MDF, supported by the Department of Energy's Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office, operates as a hub for innovation. It seeks to catalyze the broader transformation of U.S. manufacturing through collaboration with partners across the nation.

The SME College of Fellows, established in 1986, is an exclusive cadre that extends honors to members who have made notable contributions to the manufacturing profession's social, technological, and educational spheres. Dehoff joined the ranks as the latest of ORNL figures to receive this prestigious designation, cementing his place among a select group who are shaping the future of manufacturing. The Department of Energy's Office of Science, the primary backer of ORNL, continues to be the largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences throughout the United States, in its ongoing efforts to confront the most compelling scientific challenges of our era.