Warrendale, Pennsylvania - Printing Industries of America (PIA) proudly announces Steven J. Simske, Director and Chief Technologist, Hewlett-Packard Labs, Fort Collins, Colorado, as the recipient of the 2015 Robert F. Reed Technology Medal. This honor recognizes outstanding engineers, scientists, inventors, and researchers in the graphic communications industry. Simske has an outstanding record of research activities and scientific accomplishments covering many disciplines.

Established in 1974, the Reed Technology Medal perpetuates the memory of Robert F. Reed (1905–1973), “Dean of Lithography,” whose contributions to the understanding of lithographic processes and materials were perhaps the most significant of his time. Nominations were judged by a committee of past Reed Medal recipients and representatives of Printing Industries of America’s Ben Franklin Honor Society.

Simske holds a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Marquette University, a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado. After beginning his research career in the early 1990s, Simske turned his research focus to digital and 3D printing, hybrid manufacturing, and surface manufacturing technologies. He has also provided input to WEF Global Agenda Council white papers in the future of electronics and climate change around the same areas. In total, Simske has more than 125 granted U.S. patents and another 75 in the making.

More areas of recognition include his role in creating a team to provide hybrid solutions that deliver customized printed and electronic content to improve learning in high schools and universities. Simske also helped create a program to provide security printed labels largely focused on inexpensive but secure variable-data printing. He’s also credited with the development of the “meta-algorithmics” science, which is used to improve accuracy, robustness, speed, cost, and other parameters of intelligent systems. He wrote the intelligent scanner analysis software for scanners, MFPs, digital senders, and all-in-ones and helped create the high-resolution forensic imaging hardware system.

“The judges were impressed with the diversity of Steven’s research into digital printing and imaging and the growth of his work,” said Jim Workman, Vice President, Technology and Research, Printing Industries of America. “They all agreed that Steven is on the leading edge of where our industry needs to go as a whole.”

This year’s Reed Award will be presented at the 2016 TAGA Annual Technical Conference on March 20–23, 2016 in Memphis, Tennessee. For more information about the Reed Medal or other awards programs at Printing Industries of America, visit www.printing.org/printingindustryawards.