(March 31, 2023) – Beginning tomorrow, April 1, Chad Duty officially steps into the role of IACMI Chief Executive Officer. As CEO, Chad becomes responsible for the full scale of day-to-day operations of the institute. He was named CEO Elect in October.
“It is an incredibly exciting time to become IACMI CEO,” says Chad. “IACMI has built a strong foundation and a strong 120+ member consortium that has and continues to advance composite design, manufacturing, technical innovation, and workforce solutions. I look forward to working with our members and partners to expand our impact.”
Chad has nothing but praise for the existing IACMI team, starting with Interim CEO Dale Brosius, IACMI’s Chief Commercialization Officer. Dale, who has served as interim CEO since April 2022, will become Executive Vice President effective April 1. He will continue in his roles as CCO and executive director of the IACMI Consortium.
“Chad is well positioned for IACMI,” says Maha Krishnamurthy, president of the University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF). UTRF is the sole corporate member of Collaborative Composite Solutions Corporation, the non-profit organization which operates IACMI. “He has a passion for partnerships and seeing people come together and make something happen. I am confident under his leadership that IACMI will continue to drive innovation, create economic value for our members and partners, and advance our composites community.”
Maha added, “I also want to express my gratitude to Dale for his leadership as Interim CEO. He has contributed significantly to IACMI’s operations since its launch in 2015. He is a great resource for our organization and champion for the composites’ community. I look forward to continuing working with Dale in his new role as Executive Vice President.”
An engineering professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT) and joint faculty member at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Chad has a strong background in advanced manufacturing research, technical management, strategic planning, industrial collaborations, navigating complex organizations, and working with a variety of stakeholders and funding agencies.
Chad, who will continue as a professor at UT, has more than 20 years of research experience in advanced manufacturing — spanning technologies in thin film processing, printed electronics, solar energy, and additive manufacturing of polymer composites. Before joining the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace & Biomedical Engineering at UT in 2015, he served as a research scientist and group leader at ORNL, beginning in 2004, and helped to establish the Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at ORNL. Chad began his career as a senior aeronautical engineer at Lockheed Martin. He has a PhD in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech and bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech.