Professor Chul B. Park (MIE) has been recognized by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) with the M. Eugene Merchant Manufacturing Medal.

The award is given to an individual who has had significant influence and responsibility for improving the productivity and efficiency, either by research or by implementation of research, of manufacturing operations. The award was established in 1986 in honour of M. Eugene Merchant, a pioneer in manufacturing research and development.

Professor Park is the Canada Research Chair in Microcellular Plastics and the founder and Director of the Microcellular Plastics Manufacturing Laboratory. A world leader in the development of innovative technologies for the manufacture of microcellular foamed plastics, he holds 20 patents and his research has been licensed by more than 200 companies.

“The Department is extremely delighted that Professor Park been recognized by his colleagues of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Society of Manufacturing Engineers,” said Professor Jean Zu, Chair of the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering. “Professor Park is a true innovator and an exceptional leader in his field. I congratulate him on this outstanding honour.”

Professor Park is a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineering (CSME), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) and the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC).

He will receive his award during the ASME Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition November 9 to 15 in Houston, Texas.