Jody N. Hall

Vice President, Automotive Market Steel Market Development Institute

Dr. Jody N. Hall is the vice president of the automotive market for the Steel Market Development Institute, where she is responsible for leadership of the Automotive Applications Council, a group of member steel producers, in automotive research, education and technology transfer activities. She also coordinates the steel input to the Auto/Steel Partnership (which has car company members including FCA, Ford and General Motors), and other steel-related consortia.

 Prior to joining SMDI, Dr. Hall spent more than 30 years with General Motors, with responsibilities ranging from research and development of new materials and manufacturing processes to solving current production problems. Most recently, she served as technical integration engineer for steel applications where she was responsible for new steel applications and specifications for stamped steel body components.

 Dr. Hall has received numerous professional awards including: the University Of Michigan College Of Engineering Alumni Merit Award; the Auto/Steel Partnership Instrumental Change Award; the GM Die Engineering Services Award for Leadership; the USCAR Special Recognition Award for Outstanding Contributions and the GM Chairman’s Honors Award.

She holds a Doctorate of Philosophy and Master of Science in materials science and engineering as well as a Bachelor of Science in materials & metallurgical engineering from the University of Michigan.

Jerry Hoffman

Former Howmet Turbine, Meritor Automotive

Jerry Hoffman, an Ann Arbor resident since 1972, was born in Indiana, and has spent almost all of his life in Michigan. He grew up on a farm in southwestern Michigan, attended a community college for two years, served in the U.S. Army Special Forces for six years, and moved to Ann Arbor to attend the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. He received a BSE in Engineering Science, a BSE in Materials and Metallurgy, and an MSE in Engineering Materials.

After graduating in 1976, he joined an aerospace company, Howmet Turbine Components Corporation. In his 16 years there, he managed various production and process engineering departments. He then joined an automotive supplier, Varity Kelsey Hayes, moving from managing assembly manufacturing departments to managing a plant that he saved from closure, which greatly helped the local economy. He moved on to corporate, managing plants in North America and Europe. Before retirement in 2009, he managed the heavy vehicle industrialization group of Meritor Automotive. Since retirement, he coached for the Huron High School Crew team and is currently coaching for U-M Men’s Crew and the Ann Arbor Rowing Club. He has a U.S. Rowing Level 2 coaching certificate and is an active sculler with the Ann Arbor Rowing Club. Jerry is a lifetime member of the U-M Alumni Association as well as a member of the U-M Alumni Club of Ann Arbor and the U-M President’s Club. He is an active supporter of U-M athletics. He and his wife worked with the volleyball coach and a team of volleyball supporters to develop a strong booster club.

Max Madden

BSE ’62; MSE ’63; Ph.D.’65

 EAB Member November 2016 - November 2021

Thesis Chairman: Prof. L.H. Van Vlack

Research Focused on Ceramic Materials; Steelmaking Refractrories and SiO2 Phase Transformations; Sponsors: AISI and ONR DuPont, Inc. Wilmington, DE; 1968 to 1993: Various research, development and business management assignments including the following materials topics:

1. Continuous filament Al2O3 fibers in 47 end yarn bundles. Composite development including work on early Kevlar yarn and chopped fiber hybrid composites with the alumina fibers.
2. Nickel boron electroless coatings based on boron chemistry; NaBH4 and DMAB. Reduction process produced Ni-B alloys that are hard and adherent to metal, ceramic and polymer surfaces.
3. Ceramic honeycomb produced from metallic aluminum precursor honeycomb. Mullite and alumina honeycomb products were used as catalyst substrate for controlling HC and CO exhausts from stationary sources and as filter components in metal casting applications.
4. Business management for unique fluoropolymers; liquids and low molecular weight solids with a broad range of applications.

Nye Lubricants, Inc., New Bedford, MA 1994 to 2000, President and CEO The company had roots that could be traced back 150 years in the year that I joined, 1994. The original products were based on refining special fluids found in the heads of toothed whales. The company transitioned to becoming the world leader in the supply of synthetic lubricants. During my time the company developed a strong growth period which included a significant export business network. Current Activities: Mold Release Products, Inc. The company supplies functional fluoropolymers, boron nitride and other specialty materials to formulators of release agents for the molding of polymers and dryfilm lubricants for use in metalworking and glassmaking.

Widener University, Chester, Pa., part-time faculty member in the University College Engineering Program; 1968 to 1993. Taught two courses in Materials Science in a BSE program for part-time students. The first course covered the Van Vlack text to develop fundamental materials building blocks and the second course focused on special topics in Materials. He also developed and taught a course in Composite Materials that was offered every second summer as an elective in the program and acted as the program liaison to the University Engineering School and as the academic advisor to the students in the University College program.

Jonathan D. Madison

Principal R&D Staff Scientist, Sandia National Laboratories

EAB Member November 2016 - November 2021 

Jonathan D. Madison, Ph.D., is a Principal R&D Staff Scientist at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico within the Material, Physical & Chemical Sciences Center. Madison received his B.S. degree from Clark Atlanta University in Engineering Science with a concentration in Mechanical in 2003, and received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from U-M in 2007 and 2010, respectively.

Professionally, Jonathan maintains active membership in ASM International (ASM), and The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS). Civically, Jonathan is a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. (ΑΦΑ), and holds life membership in each.

Accolades to Madison’s credit include; SAIC Award for Excellence in Research (2001), University of Michigan, Rackham Merit Fellow (2003), ONR HBEC Future Faculty Fellow (2006), NSBE Golden Torch Awards – Graduate Student of the Year (2008), SUPERALLOYS Best Interactive Paper Award (2008), Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society Inductee (2009), Sandia National Laboratories – Early Career LDRD Award (2010), Albuquerque Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 (2015), and the Black Engineer of the Year Awards - Most Promising Scientist in Industry (2015).

Jonathan’s research interests focus on the intersections of experimental and computational techniques for three-dimensional reconstructions of microstructure, their quantitative characterization and accompanying models of microstructural evolution.

Susan Hartfield-Wünsch

Technical Fellow, Body Manufacturing Engineering Organization, General Motors

EAB Member November 2016 - October 2019 

Susan Hartfield-Wünsch is a technical fellow in the Body Manufacturing Engineering Organization of General Motors Company. She has a B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University, an M.S. in Metallurgy from MIT, and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan. Susan is responsible for aluminum sheet applications, including specifications, supplier approvals, and new forming processes. She is a Fellow of American Society of Metals (ASM), International (class of 2016).