MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University associate professor Vishwas Bedekar is the recipient of the same national honor for the second time in three years.

Bedekar, coordinator for the mechanical engineering technology concentration in the Department of Engineering Technology’s bachelor’s degree program, is one of eight Society of Manufacturing Engineers Distinguished Faculty Advisor Award winners for 2024.

Society of Manufacturing Engineers, or SME, made the announcement in early February, saying the individuals have demonstrated outstanding dedication to mentoring students and advancing the manufacturing industry through education and research.

Bedekar, who earned the distinction in 2022, received a certificate and $250 toward professional development and chapter activities.

“I am honored and humbled to be awarded again,” Bedekar said. “This is a great honor to get recognized nationally by Society of Manufacturing Engineers for 2024.”

Bedekar said he was not sure if someone nominated him, though SME sends an email invitation to apply for the award.

“We have to submit all required documents and accomplishments for the past three to five years,” he added. “I believe the local chapter of SME (Nashville chapter 43) needs to support such application.”

Bedekar’s research focuses on energy-harvesting materials and manufacturing processes. An author of more than 30 publications, he holds a U.S. patent and is faculty advisor for SME Student Chapter S239 and mentored award-winning robotics teams.

Bedekar, who joined MTSU in 2013, earned the MTSU Outstanding Teaching Award in August 2019 for the 2018-19 academic year. He holds bachelor’s (University of Mumbai), master’s and doctorate (University of Texas-Arlington) degrees.

Along with Bedekar, the other SME 2024 honorees included Rustin Webster of Purdue Polytechnic Institute at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana; P.S. Dhanasekaran of State University of New York-Canton; Hantang Qin of the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Sharan Chandran of Vellore Institute of Technology in India; Kapil Gangwar of Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, Massachusetts; Edna Orozco-Leonhardt of University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley; and Kamyar Khashayar of East Los Angeles (California) College.

SME features more about all eight recipients on its website.

Engineering Technology is one of 11 College of Basic and Applied Sciences departments.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)