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PEOPLE OF ROBOTICS
by Tom Carroll
The end of this past June, I read
an interesting article in Control
Engineering’s Weekly News Internet
newspaper about the annual
Engelberger Robotics Awards given to
those who are the leaders and innovators in the field of robotics. Joseph F.
Engelberger — the awards namesake —
said of the 2007 award winners, “This
year’s award recipients have made
outstanding contributions that have
increased the use of robotics worldwide.
Their innovations and perseverance have
led to the use of robots in new ways, in
educational curriculum, and have made
it possible for companies to gain a
foothold and prosper in the global
economy they compete in. These leaders
exhibit the pioneering spirit I envisioned
for the Engelberger Robotics Awards
and I am pleased to recognize this
distinguished group of honorees on
behalf of RIA (Robotic Industries
Association) and the Industry.”
The winners this year were Ms.
Bala Krishnamurthy of Aeolean Inc.
(the first female to receive the award),
interesting to all of us. The applications
are numerous and there are so many
fields of science and engineering
involved to make ‘robotics’ a possibility.
The RIA looks at leadership in the
industry as a strong point for potential
nomination, but advancing the field
through innovative applications is also
a ‘flag’ for a good nominee. Advancing
robotics education and curriculum and
basic improvement of the technologies
involved makes a person stand out in
the field. They “have left their mark on
robotics and the industry” said Vincent.
“RIA is pleased to recognize these four
international leaders with the prestigious Engelberger Robotics Awards.”
Below are short bios of the four
award recipients. Look at the differences of each individual and how their
fields of expertise encompass such wide
areas of today’s science of robotics.
Harvey Castner
Joe Engelberger.
David Lavery of NASA, Harvey Castner
of Edison Welding Institute, and
Martin Hägele, a department head in
Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for
Manufacturing Engineering and
Automation. Each of the four recipients
was presented the award by RIA president Trevor Jones and RIA executive
vice president Donald Vincent.
The RIA’s Robots and Vision Show
again drew thousands of people in the
many robotics industries out to
suburban Chicago near O’Hare Airport
to see all the new products in robotics
displayed and attend the series of conferences. While the awards are typically
given to those in the field of industrial
robotics, the RIA and other organizations are taking serious notice of the
advances in service robots and allied
applications such as David Lavery’s work
in telerobotics for NASA. Three of the
four recipients of the award this year
are not involved in industrial robotics.
I have followed these awards for
many years and actually attended one
a dozen years or so ago. You’ve got to
be ‘cutting edge’ to even be
nominated. Each winner receives a
$4,000 honorarium and a medallion. Since the first Engelberger
Awards in 1977, the award has
been presented to 105 individuals
from 16 countries.
What does it take to be
recognized by the whole industry
as a ‘mover and shaker’ in the field
of robotics? Designing a great
robot isn’t the key anymore as this
field has grown to so many ‘sub’
fields and that is what makes it so
Harvey Castner is Vice President of
the Government Programs Office at the
Edison Welding Institute in Columbus,
OH and the winner in the application
category. In the early 1980s, Castner
helped develop arc welding task
applications for the first-generation
industrial robots that were used in the
manufacture of agricultural products
and heavy equipment. He joined the
Edison Welding Institute in1986 and
now directs the Government Programs
Office at the Institute. He presently
serves as Director of the Navy Joining
Center (NJC) and is responsible for the
development and administration of
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