Our Leadership Team

Dr. Richard Billo is the founding director of the Kummer Institute Center for Advanced Manufacturing and professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Missouri S&T. In this role, Billo’s intention is to co-locate S&T faculty with Missouri manufacturers for the purpose of advancing economic development and manufacturing research for the region. Previously, he served as associate vice president for research, associate dean for engineering research, and department head of industrial and manufacturing engineering at the University of Notre Dame, University of Texas at Arlington, and Oregon State University, respectively.

Billo has also held the position as head of the editorial board for the Journal of Manufacturing Processes and the Journal of Manufacturing Systems. He has been recognized by his peers through awarding of the Outstanding Faculty Award and Whiteford Faculty Fellowship.

He has five issued patents from which were issued four licenses to industry for his research in manufacturing and information systems, and has published over 100 research articles.

Dr. Douglas Bristow, Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology, was named the director of the Center for Aerospace Manufacturing Technologies (CAMT) at Missouri S&T in May 2016.

Dr. Bristow joined Missouri S&T’s faculty in 2008 as an assistant professor and was named associate professor in 2014 and Professor in 2020. Dr. Bristow is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Missouri S&T in 2001. He earned master of science and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2003 and 2007, respectively.

Dr. Bristow’s research interests include dynamic modeling and control with applications in laser metal deposition additive manufacturing, selective laser melting additive manufacturing, glass-wire laser additive manufacturing, atomic force microscopy, active vibration isolation, and precision motion systems. He is also interested in volumetric error compensation for machine tools and industrial robotics.

Dr. Ronald J. O’Malley, the F. Kenneth Iverson Endowed Chair of Steelmaking Technologies at Missouri University of Science and Technology, is a leading authority in steelmaking practices and research. Dr. O’Malley is also director of the Kent D. Peaslee Steel Manufacturing Research Center at Missouri S&T, with expertise in process metallurgy, continuous casting, high-temperature thermochemistry, metal-slag-gas systems and reaction kinetics in those systems.
Dr. O'Malley joined the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Missouri S&T in January, 2014. Prior to that, he worked for 25 years in the steel industry, working for Nucor Steel for 11 years as a Chief Metallurgist and for 14 years as a Principal Research Engineer at Armco / AK Steel. In both roles, he conducted process / product development and research in the areas of carbon and specialty steel production.
Dr. O’Malley earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in materials engineering from Drexel University in 1978 and a Ph.D. in metallurgy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1983. He is currently a member of the Executive Board of the Association for Iron and Steel Technology, serving as AIST's President from 2019-2021. Dr. O’Malley was awarded the AIST's Distinguished Member and Fellow status in 2012, was made an honorary member of AIME in 2021, received AIST Presidential Citations in 2010 and 2013, was the recipient of the AISE Benjiman Fairless award, the ISS Charles Herty Jr award, the Kent D. Peaslee award, and the Richard J. Fruehan award. He is currently a lecturer for several AIST short courses and the Brimacombe continuous casting course, is a mentor for the AIST Foundation Kent D. Peaslee Junior Faculty Award and serves on the selection committee for the Elliott Lectureship Award.

Greg Hilmas joined the Department of Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) at Missouri S&T in 1998 as an Assistant Professor. He was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor in 2004, promoted to Professor in 2007, and promoted to Curators' Distinguished Professor in 2012. He received his BS in MSE from the University of Minnesota in 1986, his MS in Ceramic Engineering from The Ohio State University in 1989, and his PhD in MSE from the University of Michigan in 1993. Prior to joining Missouri S&T in 1998, he worked at Advanced Ceramics Research, Inc., in Tucson, AZ. His research expertise lies in the area of processing-microstructure-property relationships in structural ceramics, and he has been awarded >$20M in research contracts from more than 20 different funding agencies/companies over the past 24 years. Greg is a member and Fellow of the American Ceramic Society (ACerS). He has served for ACerS as Chair of the sub-committee on the Orton Memorial Lecture and Award, Member of the Jeppson Award Committee, Past President of the Ceramic Educational Council, and Past President of the Keramos national Board of Directors. He is the author or co-author of more than 200 journal and proceedings papers, holds eleven U.S. patents, and has three patents pending for the development of novel ceramic and composite architectures. He received an R&D100 Award in 2002 for the development of diamond/metal co-extruded composites for the petroleum drilling industry. He has also received fourteen campus-wide Outstanding Teaching Awards from Missouri S&T, three Sustained Excellence in Teaching Awards from Missouri S&T, and ten consecutive Faculty Excellence Awards from Missouri S&T.

Dr. Victor Champagne was a senior scientist at the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and is a leading authority on Cold Spray technology. He has held various positions in both industry and academia. Dr. Champagne advises theses at numerous universities such as Pennsylvania State University, Florida International University, and Università del Salento in Italy. His 40 years of experience in materials research and development have significantly advanced emerging technologies for the Department of Defense, leading to their commercialization.

One of Dr. Champagne’s notable achievements is the establishment of the ARL Cold Spray Center, which he led for over twenty years. He continues to make strides in Additive Manufacturing and the transition of technology into commercial applications. Dr. Champagne was named an ASM Fellow in 2015 and edited the comprehensive reference book, “The Cold Spray Materials Deposition Process.” He has received commendations for his work, including the US Army R&D Achievement Award and recognition from President Clinton and the Pentagon.

Dr. Champagne has published over 100 research articles, contributing significantly to the field of materials science. His research has also helped reduce hazardous waste and pollutants in manufacturing processes. His contributions have earned him several awards, including the DMC Award for Cold Spray and the Industry Achievement Award at the North American Cold Spray Conference. He is known for his ability to transition emerging technologies throughout the defense industry and beyond.