Karen Ohland Begins Term as ASME’s 141st President
Karen Ohland (Image source: ASME)
Ohland is the associate director for finance and operations at the Princeton University Art Museum, where she provides strategic leadership, strengthening and sustaining the process for planning and management across the Art Museum while serving in an advisory role for the museum’s operations and other priorities. She also served as finance and senior administrator in New York Metropolitan Museum of Art’s department of education and concerts and lectures. Prior to her career in museum administration, Ohland worked as a biomedical engineer in industry, academia, and government, most recently as research manager for Howmedica Inc., an orthopedic implant manufacturer, and Howmedica Osteonics Inc., acquired by Stryker Orthopaedics in 1998.
Ohland served on the ASME Board of Governors from 2016 to 2019, and in 2020 was selected by the Board to return to complete a vacated Governor position. Since joining ASME, she has held several leadership positions including as a student leader, section chair, regional secretary, district leader, vice president, and senior vice president. She served on several presidential task forces as well as the committees on finance, organization and rules, and the board on professional development. She has mentored and contributed to the professional growth of many ASME members as a lead trainer, member of the ASME Leadership Training Conference (LTC) planning committee, chair of the Advanced Leadership track for the 2010 LTC, and as a member of the ASME Volunteer Orientation & Leadership Training (VOLT) Academy executive committee.
Ohland is a recipient of the ASME Dedicated Service Award. She is also a member of the engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi, the American Society of Engineering Education, the Orthopedic Research Society, and the American Society of Biomechanics. She received Bachelor’s degrees in engineering and biology from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and a Master’s degree in anatomy from the University of Chicago.
“Remember the African proverb: ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’ Let’s go together and invite others to join us to advance engineering for the benefit of humanity,” said Ohland during her inaugural remarks.
Outgoing president, Mahantesh Hiremath, Ph.D., P.E., FASME, an ASME Fellow, expressed his thanks to the Board of Governors and ASME Executive Director/CEO Tom Costabile, staff, and volunteers for their support throughout the past year.
“For a kid from a middle-class family in India, to have the opportunity to lead one of the premier engineering societies in the world has been a humbling experience and a journey of providence and privilege,” said Hiremath.
In addition to Ohland, three new members of the ASME Board of Governors also have begun their 2022-2025 terms:
Newly appointed ASME Governor and ASME Fellow Susan Ipri Brown is the director of ExploreHope Academic Outreach and assistant professor of engineering instruction at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, where she manages policy development, fundraising, grant writing, and staff and volunteer leadership. Previously, she was associate director of the Office of STEM Education Partnerships at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she directed teacher professional development programs, grant writing, and new program development for outreach with other area organizations. Ipri Brown has also held positions with several North Carolina school districts, Delphi Automotive, and the Michigan Legislative Service Bureau. As an ASME Federal Fellow, she worked at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Ipri Brown’s ASME service includes at-large membership on the public affairs and outreach council and prior council on education, along with terms as the vice president for government relations and vice president of global outreach. Throughout her membership, she has been selected as a regional winner of the Old Guard Oral Competition, a Leadership Development Intern, a Federal Fellow, and a recipient of ASME’s Dedicated Service Award. She actively engages in encouraging the next generation of engineers through the creation of STEM programs for area Scout councils along with time as a coach and judge for the FIRST robotics programs. She is a long-time advocate of programs that enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the engineering profession.
Ipri Brown earned a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton University in New Jersey, a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a secondary teaching certification from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.
Jared Oehring, an ASME Fellow and newly appointed Governor, is the chief technology officer and co-founder of VoltaGrid LLC, a clean, intelligent, mobile, microgrid power generation company. As a senior executive engineer, he pioneered electric hydraulic fracturing and mobile power generation operations in the oilfield. Prior to working at VoltaGrid, he served as CTO at U.S. Well Services (USWS) where he led the development and manufacturing of electric powered hydraulic fracturing equipment. His engineering work has earned numerous patents and garnered multiple accolades within the oil and gas industry. He helped take USWS public in 2018. Prior to USWS, he designed heavy off-highway equipment at Stewart & Stevenson headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Oehring has served in numerous leadership positions with ASME. He was elected vice president of financial operations for the Knowledge and Community Sector and served on the reorganization committee for the Sector. He also served on the inaugural Technical & Engineering Communities (TEC) Sector Council and later as the chair of ASME’s nominating committee. He also worked on the Membership Development and Engagement Sector (MDE) formation.
Oehring earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and a Master of Science degree in mechanical design from Kettering University in Flint, Michigan.
Patrick H. Vieth, an ASME Fellow and newly appointed Governor, is senior vice president of Dynamic Risk of The Woodlands, Texas, where he leads the technical consulting discipline focused on the energy pipeline infrastructure. Throughout his 30‑year career, he has been recognized for leading teams of technical experts that bring unique solutions to the challenges at hand.
Vieth has been actively engaged in ASME throughout his entire career. He has undertaken various leadership positions including the ASME local chapter (Central Ohio), and then in the ASME Pipeline Systems Division and Codes and Standards Committees (ASME B31.4). In addition, he has supported learning and development through the ASME-sponsored International Pipeline Conference (IPC), serving recently as its conference chair and as chair of the board for the IPC Foundation.
Recognizing the need, Vieth was instrumental in establishing Young Pipeline Professionals, USA (YPP USA), which provides learning and leadership opportunities and fosters networking for young professionals to establish their network for the advancement of the industry. He has also helped guide the further development of Young Pipeliners International (YPI) that has aligned YPP USA with similar organizations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Europe, India, Malaysia, Mexico, and Nigeria. He also serves on the board of the Qualification Panel for the Pipeline Industry (QPPI), a group of independent industry leaders developing ANSI-certified competency assessment for the pipeline industry.
Vieth earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from The Ohio State University.
In addition to the newly appointed Governors, ASME announced that Thomas Kurfess, Ph.D., P.E., an ASME Fellow, has been appointed for another term beginning June 2022 and ending June 2025. He previously has served as a member of the ASME Board of Governors from 2019 to 2022.
Kurfess is the HUSCO/Ramirez Distinguished Chair in Fluid Power and Motion Control and professor in mechanical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and past assistant director for advanced manufacturing at the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy. Previously, he served as professor and BMW Chair of Manufacturing at Clemson University in South Carolina, and on the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Kurfess has been an active member of ASME for more than 30 years, holding a variety of volunteer positions, including member at large for the ASME Council on Standards and Certification and the ASME Committee on Government Relations, and chair of the ASME Manufacturing Public Policy Task Force. He is the recipient of several ASME awards including the Pi Tau Sigma Award, the Blackall Machine Tool and Gage Award, and the Gustus L. Larson Award.
Kurfess earned Bachelor’s, Master’s, and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Four more individuals were selected by the Nominating Committee as ASME Governor-Nominees who, if elected by the ASME membership, will serve as Board of Governors members-at-large for a three-year term beginning June 2023. The Governor-Nominees are:
Kathryn Jablokow, Ph.D., an ASME Fellow, is a professor of engineering design and mechanical engineering at Penn State University and currently serves the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the civil, mechanical, and manufacturing innovation division as program director for the engineering design and systems engineering (EDSE) program. Jablokow has been actively involved in ASME for more than 30 years. She earned Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in electrical engineering from The Ohio State University.
Kelly McGrath, P.E., PMP, has more than 35 years of experience in the power industry including operations, construction, project management, safety, and environmental leadership. Currently, he is a partner expert with NucAdvisor, an independent nuclear energy consultancy in the U.S. McGrath has been actively involved in ASME since 2003. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in nuclear engineering from Missouri School of Science & Technology and a Master of Business Administration degree from Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Missouri.
Monica Moman-Saunders, P.E., has more than 20 years of progressively responsible experience in engineering management, and contract negotiations and management, most recently as manager of contract services for LG&E and KU Energy LLC in Louisville, Kentucky. Moman-Saunders has been actively involved in ASME since 1985. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from University of Alabama, a Master of Science degree in business and management from Webster University of St. Louis, Missouri, and completed the executive management program at IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Dave Schlesinger is the director of program excellence for Parsons Corporation, a leading disruptive technology provider in global security, intelligence, and critical infrastructure markets, with capabilities across cybersecurity, missile defense, space, connected infrastructure, and smart cities. Before joining Parsons, he was an instructor for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Transportation Safety Institute. Schlesinger has been actively involved in ASME since 2013. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in finance and entrepreneurship at University of Southern California and a Master’s degree in transportation management at the Mineta Transportation Institute of San Jose State University in California.
