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SAE International to Honor Top Contributors of the Year at 4th Annual Contributor of the Year Celebration

Posted: November 2, 2022

SAE recognizes those who made the greatest impact in 2022.

The SAE Contributor of the Year celebration is an annual event dedicated to recognizing our top volunteers for their contributions to the organization. SAE International understands the importance of recognizing our most engaged volunteers for their dedication to the success of our organization.

The 2022 celebration will take place November 6-8, 2022, at the Postcard Inn in Islamorada, Florida. At the celebration event, a Contributor of the Year will be announced from one of the 25 nominees in the 2022 Top Contributors Class.

“We are honored to recognize our most engaged individuals across the SAE community through the 2022 SAE Contributor of the Year Class as they are representative of the 100,000+ engaged contributors who dedicate their time, knowledge, and passion every year for the collective betterment of the mobility community,” said Chris Ciuca, Vice President of Programs at SAE International. “The contributions of this class have allowed SAE to develop world-class content, publish leading technical standards, inspire the minds of future engineers, and serve the needs of students and our members worldwide.”

Congratulations to the 2022 Top Contributors Class:

Dave Antaniatis – General Motors LLC

Dave offers his time in many ways, including authoring award-winning papers, giving award-winning presentations, organizing sessions, moderating panels, and recruiting more GM volunteers. In addition, serves as the Chair for the Brake Colloquium Technical Advisory Group allowing him to lead a team of experts to provide critical insight for new technology development. Dave also volunteers for a series of brake standard committees that set the direction for the entire industry to follow. Dave’s passion for knowledge and willingness to share with others are great qualities. He comes with enthusiasm to every meeting and helps set a positive tone.

Sue Bai – Honda Research Institute USA, Inc.

Sue is a valuable SAE Member who not only helps set the standards for the industry but acknowledges the importance of these standards and how they impact the community as a whole. She takes her role as a committee member very seriously and continues to share her knowledge and expertise with the community. Sue has been an involved SAE member for 10 years and continues to dedicate her time to our organization and the mobility community. She is determined to make a difference while leaving a lasting positive impact on the auto industry.

Christopher Bartholomew – Denso International America, Inc.

Chris is an excellent engineer and a dedicated member of SAE International. Christopher’s leadership and support for developing industry standards are impacting the advancement of vehicle safety technologies which will significantly reduce deaths and injuries, improve traffic flows, and reduce energy consumption.

Alba Colon – Hendrick Motorsports

Alba has been a long-standing member of SAE and cares deeply for those with whom she works. Her passion for the industry is impactful. Highly respected in her field, Alba works as a mentor, encouraging students to learn and get involved, growing their professional portfolio. In addition, she looks for ways to help pass on knowledge to others, especially our student members, staying engaged with the section and helping to ensure the students’ success.

Ray Corbin – AVL North America

Ray represents a group of executive volunteers who helped shape the direction of WCX in 2021. Through his work at the Leadership Summit, Ray demonstrated his understanding of the importance of creating content that meets the needs of the industry. Ray challenged both SAE and his peers to find experts from established and new markets that showcased the advanced thinking needed for vehicle design as we head into an electrified era of mobility. Ray is an inspiration and a natural leader. Ray is selfless and steadfast in his dedication to SAE, WCX, NAIPC, and doing the right thing. He inspires us to think outside the box. He challenges us to consider all viewpoints, which ultimately allows us to consistently deliver on our mission to advance mobility knowledge and solutions for the benefit of humanity.

David Craig – General Motors LLC

Not a single volunteer believes in our program’s mission and has done more to support the success of AutoDrive Challenge than David Craig. For over five years, David has served as a subject matter expert in HD mapping, project management, and dynamic challenge development for AutoDrive Challenge I & II. His support has enabled countless students to master challenging concepts and provided immeasurable support as a mentor and leader within our Rules Committee. AutoDrive Challenge I & II would not exist as we know them without the heavy burden he has carried on his shoulders with tremendous grit and the utmost respect for learning & success.

Gabriele Di Blasio – Stems-CNR

Gabriele serves as an Associate Editor to two SAE Journals, a Handling Editor for SAE Non-Event Technical Papers, and a reviewer across the range of our publications. Gabriele oversaw the review process for over fifty manuscripts in 2021 for our SAE International Journal of Electrified Vehicles and SAE International Journal of Engines while also serving as a peer reviewer for dozens of additional manuscripts. Gabriele has been very active over the past year; however, despite his heavy workload, Gabriele still successfully completes his tasks with speed, thoroughness, and professionalism.

Dr. David Harrington – Retired, General Motors LLC, R&D

Dr. Harrington is the long-serving chair of the Gasoline Fuel Injection Standards Committee. Under his leadership, the committee has been working on revising several documents, with one being a significant revision of SAE J1537 - Gasoline Low-Pressure Electric Fuel Pump Characterization. Dave strives to have a positive working relationship with committee members. He keeps the committee activities at the top of his priorities and supports the committee, its members, and its documents moving forward.

Leonard Kata – Retired, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Len is Chairman of the SAE Mobility History Committee. He leads with quiet confidence and has the unique ability to take all the opinions in the room and formulate a solid plan that somehow pleases everyone. In addition, Len works tirelessly on representing the SAE MHC at multiple industry events and plans the most prominent vehicle display at WCX. Len volunteers a large amount of his time to further SAE’s mission, and his work is exemplary.

Leadership and Key Contributors of Event Data Recorder Committee

James Bielenda – Retired, FCA US LLC; Donald Floyd – General Motors LLC; Lisa Fodale – FCA US LLC; Drew Kresmery – FCA US LLC; Dr. Daniel Mikat – Toyota Motor North America; Lisa Stacey – General Motors LLC

These six individuals are leaders and key contributors of the Event Data Recorder committee whose leadership exemplifies SAE International’s mission. This group of subject matter experts operates as if the SAE mission, to advance mobility knowledge and solutions for the benefit of humanity, was written to describe them. They work deliberately and collaboratively to provide ongoing technical support focused on increasing highway safety through consensus standard development and expanding the knowledge of vehicle data recording.

Bill Mazzara – Stellantis NV

Bill has dedicated his time to developing a Cybersecurity training program that ensures that engineers understand the ISO/SAE 21434 standard in way that is comprehensive and able to be deployed in industry. His contributions to working with our development partner, TUV SUD, have been above and beyond the call of duty. Bill not only serves on committees and volunteers his time, but he also makes time to help shape a critical cybersecurity engineering training program.

Matthew Meyer – General Motors LLC

Matt started as an SAE student member being involved in the FSAE program. Upon graduating, his involvement with SAE continued, and he is now a mentor for the younger members. Matt understands the dynamics of transitioning into professional membership and using that knowledge to foster relationships and help build future career paths for our student members. Matt is always ready to help in any way he can. Matt serves as a “house” moderator for various FSAE student events. He has a strong passion for getting students and younger members involved with SAE.

Donna Mosher – BASF

Donna has been working with committee and task force members to create SAE J3200 - Electric Drivetrain Fluids (EDF), an industry-first technical report. Donna will always put SAE interests first, continuously working with other committees and councils to coordinate and leverage expertise to create and improve SAE documents. In addition, she cooperates across SAE councils and helps bring subject matter experts together to better the mobility industry.

Jody Muelaner, PhD – Muelaner Engineering Ltd.

Jody has published nine SAE EDGE Research Reports with an additional three in 2022 on the way, including the series’ first Special Edition report, “The Challenges of Vehicle Decarbonization.” These reports will help inform transportation energy decisions and align with the Office of Energy’s emergent goal of steering mobility toward a greener future. He has also contributed significant industrial metrology content to the organization, from technical papers and articles to course instruction. Not only does he fit the textbook definition of a well-rounded engineer, but his passion for communication and advocacy for a greener future characterize his forward-thinking yet pragmatic approach to future mobility.

Mark Roboff – Skythread

Value-driven, fearless, passionate, strong-willed, practical, kind, inclusive, and thought leader. Adjectives that people come to understand to be true after only speaking to Mark for a short time. Mark’s first engagement with SAE was in 2017 as a guest speaker during an SAE-led industry event themed Human on the Loop. Since that day, Mark has leaned into SAE, using all the admiral qualities to further SAE’s mission. He seeks new and creative ways to engage via volunteerism and business partnerships. Mark currently leads the SAE G34 Committee and is a member of DDSG and G31.

Craig Rodine – Sandia National Laboratories

Craig is pivotal in SAE’s efforts in public acceptance of EV and hybrid technology, addressing what many deem the most significant hurdle in EV adoption - range anxiety. In addition, his leadership within SAE helps to address the infrastructure needs of EV charging availability that will aid in the public’s adoption of EV technology. Craig is a critical leader in addressing the primary consumer concern concerning the widespread adoption of EVs and where to charge.

Corina Sandu – Virginia Tech

Corina Sandu is an SAE Fellow who has given hours of her time supporting several cross-functional areas of SAE, including conferences, journals, and standards. She continues to dedicate her time to various committees, including the Women Engineers Committee and COMVEC. Corina also facilitates sessions, confirms speakers, and reviews papers. In her position as a professor at Virginia Tech, she also encourages students to participate in SAE for the organization’s benefit.

Bill Shelmon – Toyota Motor North America, R&D

Bill exemplifies what it means to be a supportive and interactive SAE member. Bill supports the Detroit Section by initiating Technical Meetings on his own time. He participates in every quarterly meeting and continues to provide positive feedback and support. Bill is always providing the Detroit Section with opportunities, connections, and supporting the ambition to grow and provide opportunity for all SAE members and the mobility community to learn and grow.

Kevin T. Slattery, DSc – The Barnes Global Advisors

Kevin has published seven SAE EDGE Research Reports with SAE International--with at least one more report on the way in 2022. His dedication to informing manufacturing engineers supporting the mobility industry is visible in his tireless output of educational and informational content and his eagerness to share his collected expertise. Not only does Kevin support SAE in the EDGE reports, but he also is a member of the Additive Manufacturing Metals and Additive Manufacturing Non-Metallic Standards Committees and is the sponsor for 8 WIPS.

Daniel Carey Smith – Waymo LLC

Dan’s contributions are foundational regarding the future safety of highly automated vehicles in the US and internationally. As a representative of the SAE International delegation at the United Nations Working Party for the Harmonization of Motor Vehicle Regulations in automated driving, Dan has become recognized as a leading subject matter expert. He has helped to increase SAE International’s presence and contributions to several informal working groups at the UN. His efforts in representing SAE have resulted in increasing SAE’s visibility and prestige at this important global forum.

 

Kevin Stofflet – EnGenius LLC

Kevin serves as a member of many SAE Committees. He currently serves as the Chairman of the SAE J2534 Task Force, which he has been a member of since its inception in 2001. Kevin’s leadership on the J2534 taskforce allowed his team to complete 22 different publications. His experience with SAE standards and his ability to bring the cohesive conclusion of items for SAE standards.

Dr. Andrea Strzelec – University of Wisconsin-Madison

Dr. Strzelec is involved in so many areas of SAE that it is difficult to describe how deep the impact she has had, and will continue to have, on our volunteers, members, and staff. Andrea’s passion for SAE is rare and unique. Her dedication to paper quality assures that the highest level of content is always coming out of the Powertrain, Fuels & Lubricant Committees that she leads, which drives higher customer satisfaction scores. She is a true leader and a valuable, trusted member of our committees.

Dmitry Tananko – General Dynamics Corp

Dmitry is involved in the Aerospace, Ground Vehicle, and Systems Management Councils. He is always willing to assist in promoting and contributing to these various programs. He put together a team of experts to develop a new document (SAE1025) that will provide a high-level standard that resolves the gaps between SAEJ1739 and other FMEA standards to support companies that currently use the canceled MIL-STD-1629a FMECA Standard. The new Standard will address how and when to incorporate Model-Based systems engineering to support FMEA/FMECA.

James Tarchinski – Retired, General Motors, LLC

With the push for Electrification in mobility, Jim, his leadership, and his Hybrid-EV Committee are incredibly vital to this initiative. Not only at SAE but in our infrastructure, the future of mobility will be significantly tied to what this team is doing. Our volunteers and their work on documents will shape the future of Electrification and how we move around this country. In addition, education about the sustainability of the Hybrid and Electric vehicle market has never been more critical; with rising adoption rates, Jim’s effort in leading this group will come into play.

Kunjan Vyas – Detroit Public School Community District

Mrs. Vyas is a self-sustaining AWIM Champion for DPSCD students and teachers. For over 17 years, she has brought AWIM to life for K-8 students, helping shape the path of many future engineers and STEM professionals. Students remember the activities she leads and feel lucky to work with her over multiple years, often completing numerous AWIM challenges. She has brought student groups to SAE International events, including WCX and the Annual Celebration. As one of our strongest supporters, advocates, and volunteers, she remains eager to ensure AWIM is a significant part of the experience of as many students as possible. What separates Mrs. Vyas is her unwavering devotion to bringing high-quality STEM to the students.

Steve Woodard – Retired

Steve is an active and engaged SAE contributor with many years of dedication and volunteering his time. He is a true example of being a positive role model for the younger members. Steve enjoys helping younger members grow and encourages them to get involved with SAE by networking. He participates in networking events to help spread the value of SAE. He likes to share his professional and personal experiences of being an SAE member with younger members and students. Steve has been an asset to the scholarship process for the Detroit Section for many years. He is an essential piece of the process and its success. Steve is a perfect example of being a part of a section, getting involved, and sharing the value of engaging with SAE.

 

Thank you all for all that you do for SAE and the entire mobility community!

Stay tuned to see who wins the 2022 Contributor of the Year Award – the highest honor given to a volunteer for their contributions to SAE!

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