Hitesh Vora

Hitesh Vora is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering Technology at Oklahoma State University (OSU), serving as Director of the Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) and the Smart Manufacturing Advanced Research & Technology (SMART) Lab. He holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of North Texas (2013) and has extensive postdoctoral and research experience including a Summer Fellowship at the Office of Naval Research (2016). His research focuses on additive manufacturing, laser processing of advanced materials, and energy-efficient manufacturing technologies.

Professional Background: Postdoctoral Research Associate (University of North Texas/Rochester Institute of Technology, 2014), Adjunct Assistant Professor (OSU Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 2016–2019), and Full Graduate Faculty member since 2015. He leads initiatives in smart manufacturing, industrial energy efficiency, and materials characterization.

Research Interests: Additive manufacturing innovations, laser-assisted surface engineering, finite element modeling of manufacturing processes, and advanced materials development for biomedical and aerospace applications. He emphasizes real-time metrology in 3D printing and energy-efficient production methods for SMEs.

Awards: Recognized as a Summer Fellow in the ONR Faculty Research Program (2016), listed in Marquis’s Who’s Who in America (2015), and organized symposia on additive manufacturing at the MS&T’16 conference.

Labs/Teams: Directs the SMART Lab and the IAC, collaborating on projects like adaptive multi-process additive manufacturing systems and energy economics management for industrial equipment.