IACMI-The Composites Institute Welcomes New CEO, Bryan Dods

Knoxville, TN, October 31, 2016… The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation— IACMI-The Composites Institute, a national institute driven by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and U.S. Department of Energy, welcomes Bryan Dods as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective November 1, 2016. Outgoing CEO Dr. Craig Blue will return to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to serve as ORNL’s Director of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Programs.  In his new capacity at ORNL he will serve on the IACMI Board of Directors.

Bryan joins IACMI from GE Power, as former Chief Engineer of Manufacturing where he was responsible for overall product manufacturability, manufacturing technology, strategic planning and the focal point for the advanced manufacturing initiative and as the prior Executive- Manufacturing, Engineering and Technology at GE Power & Water where he initiated model based enterprise and smart manufacturing implementations and established GE Power’s Advanced Manufacturing Works technology facility. Dods brings industry composite leadership having guided GE’s Wind Turbine Advanced Manufacturing team as blades grew from 34 meters to over 50 meters. Dods previously worked with Boeing as Sr. Manager of Assembly Technologies where he led composite automated assembly efforts for aircraft such as the 787 and F/A-18.

“Bryan Dods’ work and research in manufacturing perfectly aligns with our mission to partner with industry, universities and national laboratories to drive the future of composites manufacturing on a commercial level,” said Dr. Taylor Eighmy, IACMI Board of Directors Chair and University of Tennessee, Knoxville Vice Chancellor of Research and Engagement.

Bryan is the recipient of the 2013 M. Eugene Merchant Manufacturing Medal of ASME/SME, established in 1986 by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Society of Manufacturing Engineers, where he was honored for technical contributions and leadership in increasing assembly efficiency, improving superalloy machining productivity, and increasing the impact of process modeling and simulation in the areas of preventive maintenance and manufacturing in general.

“It’s an honor to represent IACMI as the new CEO,” said Dods. “Expanding on the successes of Craig Blue’s vision, I plan to bring my years of training, leadership and partnership to the institute to further develop and deploy advanced composites.”

“On behalf of the Board of Directors and senior leadership team at IACMI, I want to thank Dr. Blue for his leadership over the last 18 months.  Craig’s vision and guidance has provided invaluable strength in partnerships, innovations and momentum that will continue to serve the institute for many years,” said Eighmy.  “We are very thankful for his willingness to continue to serve the institute as a board member.”

“As a respected leader and researcher in the manufacturing industry, and former Chief Engineer of GE Power, Bryan Dods is an excellent new addition to our team.  I am very pleased to welcome him to the role of IACMI CEO,” said Craig Blue, outgoing IACMI CEO. “I look forward to continued collaboration with the team in an advisory capacity and am pleased to take on new challenges at ORNL as Director of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy programs.”

IACMI-The Composites Institute has quickly established a positive reputation as the industry’s institute. The appointment of Bryan Dods, a former GE executive leader, reinforces the commitment to understand and address industry challenges associated with advanced composites in clean energy manufacturing.  The IACMI executive leadership team, 100+ members and Board of Directors are very optimistic about the future of IACMI-The Composites Institute.

About IACMI-The Composites Institute: The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), managed by the Collaborative Composite Solutions Corporation (CCS), is a partnership of industry, universities, national laboratories, and federal, state and local governments working together to benefit the nation’s energy and economic security by sharing existing resources and co-investing to accelerate development and commercial deployment of advanced composites. CCS is a not-for-profit organization established by The University of Tennessee Research Foundation. The national institute is supported by a $70 million commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office, and over $180 million committed from IACMI’s partners. Find out more at IACMI.org.