NEW YORK, June 18, 2009 – Jayaraman Raja, Ph.D., a resident of Cornelius, N.C., and senior associate provost at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, was recently honored by ASME. He was recognized for outstanding leadership and dedicated service on numerous committees, which led to the enhancement of standardization in the fields of surface metrology and surface quality. He received ASME’s Patrick J. Higgins Award.
The award, established in 2007, recognizes an individual who has contributed to the enhancement of standardization through contributions to the development and promotion of ASME codes and standards or conformity assessment programs. The award was presented to Dr. Raja during the proceedings of the ASME B46 Committee Meeting in Palm Desert, Calif., on June 16.
Raja joined the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Charlotte as an associate professor of mechanical engineering in 1989. He was promoted to the rank of professor in 1996 and served as chair of the department of mechanical engineering and engineering science from 2000 to 2008. Currently, as a senior associate provost in the division of academic affairs, he works closely with the provost on academic programs, space and budget.
Raja teaches courses in the areas of metrology and manufacturing. His research is in the area of surface and form metrology with applications to manufacturing process control and functional performance evaluation of engineering components. Government agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology; and companies such as Cummins, Caterpillar, Ford, Kodak, Wyko and Mhar-Federal have funded his research programs.
Raja played a significant role in the development of the precision metrology academic and research programs at UNC Charlotte. As the graduate coordinator of the department, he also played an important role in the implementation of the Ph.D. program in mechanical engineering within the mechanical engineering and engineering science department. He has directed the work of 25 master’s students and nine Ph.D. students in the areas of manufacturing, surface and form metrology.
Prior to joining UNC Charlotte, he served as a research fellow in surface metrology at the University of Warwick, UK (1980-83); a research associate in manufacturing systems at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1984-84); and an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Michigan Technological University, Houghton (1985-89).
Raja has authored/co-authored over 50 papers. He is currently a member of the editorial board of Precision Engineering—Journal of the International Societies for Precision Engineering and Nano Technology and the journal Measurement.
An ASME member, Raja served as chair of the Standards Committee on Roughness and is currently chair of the Committee on Roundness and a member of the Board on Standardization and Testing. He is also a subject matter expert for the U.S. on the International Organization for Standardization’s Technical Committee 213 dealing with surface and form metrology standards.
Raja is also a member of the American Society for Precision Engineering and served on its board of directors.
Raja earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and his master’s degree in production engineering at Madras University, India, in 1974 and 1978, respectively. He earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (Madras, India) in 1980.
About ASME
ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges. Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world.
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