Subir Chowdhury: Consultant, Leader, Learner

SAE International creates quality leadership award to honor the quality engineer.

Published: Monday, June 28, 2010 - 12:38

Andrew Brown Jr., Ph.D., president of SAE International, recently announced the establishment of the Subir Chowdhury Medal of Quality Leadership

Subir Chowdhury

Award. The award honors those in the mobility industry who promote innovation and quality in mobility engineering, design, and manufacture. In recognition of Subir Chowdhury’s contributions to the quality and engineering professions, the award bears his name.

Chowdhury, Ph.D., an SAE Fellow and CEO of ASI Consulting Group LLC, is also a prolific writer and founder of Global Quality Awareness, a Subir and Malini Chowdhury Foundation initiative.

“The new award will recognize those who have contributed to engineering and manufacturing solutions leading to world-class quality in transportation,” says Brown. “It’s fitting that Subir Chowdhury is associated with an award that recognizes quality in mobility engineering. He has helped to set the standard of excellence in quality for many years.”

Chowdhury’s work has provided many benefits and profoundly affected system design, time to market, cost reductions, quality improvements, manufacturing, and work-force knowledge in many U.S. industries and society at large. He’s the author of 12 books, including  Design for Six Sigma (Kaplan Business, 2005) and  The Ice Cream Maker (Doubleday Currency, 2005).

When acknowledging the award, Chowdhury noted that it will strengthen public awareness of SAE and promote excellence in many facets of the mobility industry. “I am very much honored to be recognized by a prestigious society like the SAE,” he says. “It touched me deeply that SAE is promoting quality worldwide through this international medal. Recognizing those who integrate quality disciplines into their processes will help the mobility industry to innovate better products and processes, and benefit society.”

SAE International is a global association of more than 128,000 engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive, and commercial-vehicle industries. The organization’s core competencies are lifelong learning and voluntary consensus standards development.

The Subir Chowdhury Medal of Quality Leadership Award is conferred upon an individual from academia or industry who has contributed substantial skills and talent to advance and promote the principles and application of quality in mobility engineering professions. The deadline for nominations is Dec. 1 each year. The first recipient will be honored at the SAE World Congress Awards Ceremony in April 2011. The award consists of a framed certificate, an honorarium of $500, and a medallion.

“This is an important new award for SAE International,” says Arnold W. Siegel, chair of SAE International’s awards committee. “It’s the first one that really focuses on the area of quality, a crucial part of all engineering, design and manufacturing components.”

When asked if he considers himself a quality consultant more than an engineer, Chowdhury downplays his accomplishments in either field. “I consider myself a learner,” he says. “My readers and clients see me in many different roles. To some I’m an author, to many a consultant, to others a thinker, an innovator, and a leader. I try my best to passionately promote quality each day, with each breath.”

How should a quality leader lead? “Through honesty and passion,” Chowdhury recommends.

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