SME Selects 2024 ‘30 Under 30’ Honorees

A new generation of potential future leaders in manufacturing is recognized as the 2024 “30 Under 30” honorees by SME, a nonprofit focused on advancing adoption of manufacturing technologies and developing North America’s talent and capabilities. 

Honorees were selected based on their impact professionally as well as their engagement with the manufacturing industry and their communities.

“This year’s honorees are an incredibly diverse and dedicated group of individuals who have already created change in the industry, and we’re excited to be able to recognize them this way,” says Jake Volcsko, SME’s vice president of integrated media. “It’s worth it to take the time to read their profiles to learn where manufacturing is headed in the future.”

Each honoree receives a 1-year SME membership, allowing them to connect with manufacturing professionals across the country and expand their professional networks, as well as participate in knowledge-sharing activities.

“I’m so excited when I see another group of 30 young manufacturing professionals join every year,” says Sheronda Carr, SME vice president of membership. “SME membership is a real bonus for these exceptional individuals because they can take advantage of our countless career development opportunities and make new connections within the industry across our existing membership base.”

This year’s 30 Under 30 honorees are:

• Iyanuoluwa Akojiyan, advanced manufacturing engineer, ABB, New Berlin, WI
• Ethan Baehrend, founder and CEO, Creative 3D Technologies, Austin, TX
• Jared Beck, senior additive manufacturing specialist, Rivian, Philadelphia
• Allie Bell, senior manufacturing engineer, Lockheed Martin Corp., Fort Worth, TX
• Kenna Biddle, program manager, Textron Aviation, Wichita, KS
• Amit Deshpande, graduate research assistant, University of Delaware Center of Composite Materials, Newark, DE
• Steven Dohm, assistant director, educational programming and technology, Alliance for Working Together Foundation, Cleveland
• Joseph Erickson, graduate student, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
• Trent Esser, CEO and co-founder, Printerior, St. Louis
• Liam Fortier, advanced manufacturing engineer, Peterbilt Motors, Denton, TX
• Ben Fouch, vice president of strategy and operations, LDI Ltd., Walkerton, IN
• Maddie Frank, business development manager, Fortius Metals, Lafayette, CO
• Abhishek “Abhi” Hanchate, founder, AlignAI, College Station, TX
• Riley Horner, engineering project manager, NXP Semiconductors, San Marcos, TX
• Benjamin Obeng, additive manufacturing engineer, Siemens Healthineers, New York City
• Riddhi Padariya, Climatebase fellow
• Liam Page, additive manufacturing production lead, Lockheed Martin Corp., Orlando, FL
• Anne Pauley, technical program manager, early engagement, Pixel, Google Inc., Mountain View, CA
• Sariah Reed, designer 1, Paul Mueller Co., Springfield, MO
• Danielle Revering, manufacturing engineer II, Protolabs, Brooklyn Park, MN
• Kamal Rudra, research & development integration engineer, IBM, Albany, NY
• Jacalynn “Jackie” Sharp, mechatronics section supervisor, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD
• Nicole Sturgeon, engineer, early career leadership program, ATI Inc., Monroe, NC
• Mingjie Tu, senior researcher, General Motors, Warren, MI
• Hunter Turco, senior mechanical fabrication technician, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Sykesville, MD
• Ian Turowski, product engineer II, ATI Inc., Monroe, NC
• Erica Ugbo, manufacturing engineer, Pratt & Whitney, East Hartford, CT
• Chloe Vollaro, applications engineer, Protolabs, Morrisville, NC
• Justin West, PhD, R&D associate staff, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN
• Steve White Jr., senior manager, engineering operations, Bernard M. Gordon Learning Factory, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA

To read full profiles of each of the honorees, click here.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.