Dr. Alok K. Verma is Professor, Powell Chair Professor, and Head of the Department of Marine Engineering Technology at Texas A&M University-Galveston. Dr. Verma received his B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the renowned institution, Indian Institute of Technology- Kanpur, MS in Engineering Mechanics, and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Old Dominion University. Prof. Verma is a licensed professional engineer in Virginia, a certified manufacturing engineer, and has certifications in Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma. He has organized several international conferences as General Chair, including ICAM-2006 and ICAM-1999, and serves as an associate editor for three International Journals. Dr. Verma’s scholarly publications include more than 100 journal articles and papers in conference proceedings and over 50 technical reports. He has served as a PI or Co-PI on several funded competitive grants exceeding $4.0 million from NSF, DOE, NSRP, etc. He is well-known internationally and has been invited to deliver keynote addresses and invited papers at more than 12 national and international conferences. Dr. Verma has received the Isadore T. Davis award from the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) for bringing industry and academia together, Regional Alumni Award for Excellence for contribution to Lean Manufacturing research, International Education Award at ODU, and Ben Sparks Medal by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He is active in ASME and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). Dr. Verma has served the Hampton Roads community as a board member of several non-profit organizations like Norfolk Sister City Association, World Affairs Council, and Asian Indians of Hampton Roads. He was awarded the Diversity Champion Award by ODU and the Humanitarian Award by the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (VCIC) for his work with under-represented groups. Dr. Verma is married to Rashmi, and they have two children – Shalini, a dentist and Shivesh, a physician.