Dr. Ramy Harik, a Fulbright Alumni, is the incoming Director of the Clemson Composites Center at Clemson University, starting August 2024. Currently a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of South Carolina and a researcher at the McNAIR Center, he holds degrees in mechanical engineering (BS/MS), automated manufacturing (MS), and industrial/mechanical engineering (PhD). His teaching focuses on manufacturing, smart manufacturing, and composite manufacturing. Dr. Harik serves as an Associate Editor for SME Manufacturing Letters and authored the “Introduction to Advanced Manufacturing” textbook published by SAE. He has secured more than USD 15 million in funding from NASA, Boeing, and other organization. Recognized as one of the top 20 most influential professors in smart manufacturing by SME’s Smart Manufacturing Magazine in 2020, he has extensive teaching experience globally and has supervised over 20 graduate students and founded research initiatives. His book, “Manufacturing vs Corruption: Who Wins?”, won the 2023 Independent Press Award Distinguished Favorite for Social/Political Change books. In June 2024, Dr. Harik received the SC Governor's Award for Excellence in Scientific Awareness, South Carolina's highest honor for promoting science education and supporting the future workforce.
Amit Sheth is an educator, researcher, and entrepreneur. He is the NSC Chair and professor of computer science and engineering at the University of South Carolina, where he founded the university-wide AI Institute in 2019. He was previously the LexisNexis Ohio Eminent Scholar and the executive
director of Kno.e.sis—the Ohio Center of Excellence in Knowledge-enabled Computing. He is a fellow of the IEEE, AAAI, AAAS, ACM, and AAIA. His major awards include the the IEEE CS Wallace McDowell Award and the IEEE TCSVC Research Innovation Award. He has (co-)founded four companies based on his university research. He received his B.E. (Hons) from BITS-Pilani, India, and his MS and PhD from Ohio State University, USA.
