NSBE Names Professor Ufodike 2025–2026 Professional Technologist of the Year

The Texas A&M professor pairs national recognition with leadership on a $1.2 million NASA-funded grant advancing sustainable sensing, advanced manufacturing, and future engineers.

Professor Chukwuzubelu Ufodike has been named the 2025–2026 Professional Technologist of the Year by the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) through its Golden Torch Awards, recognizing his technical achievement, professional impact, mentorship, and service.

A professor and Charlotte & Walter Buchanan Faculty Fellow at Texas A&M University, Professor Ufodike directs the Digital Manufacturing and Distribution Lab (DMD-Lab) at the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES). His research advances AI-enhanced additive manufacturing, digital and smart manufacturing, physics-informed process modeling, engineering education, and STEM talent development.

Professor Ufodike is also leading Texas A&M’s additive manufacturing and materials design work on VITAL, a three-year, $1.2 million NASA-funded grant connecting artificial intelligence, advanced 3D printing, biodegradable materials, and environmental sensing.

Through the DMD-Lab, his team will develop and validate biodegradable, 3D-printed sensor housings and structural components for vulnerable coastal and deltaic environments. The work aims to support critical environmental data collection while reducing the long-term footprint of conventional monitoring hardware and creating hands-on research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students.

Together, the NSBE recognition and $1.2 million NASA-funded research reflect Professor Ufodike’s broader approach to engineering leadership: advancing technology, preparing future engineers, and translating research into solutions with meaningful societal impact.

More on Professor Ufodike’s research, mentorship, and engineering leadership is available at ProfessorUfodike.comand on Instagram at @professorufodike.