Rate My Professor Jeffrey Abell

Jeffrey Abell is Professor of Practice in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan, bringing over 40 years of industry experience to his academic role. He retired in August 2025 from General Motors as Director of Manufacturing Research and Chief Scientist for Global Manufacturing, where his team contributed to key implementations such as the Chevy Volt’s advanced high-power battery. Abell’s expertise lies in advanced manufacturing, focusing on innovating improved methods for producing existing products and enabling new products through advanced technologies. His work emphasizes strengthening global supply chains, reshoring manufacturing capabilities, and connecting advanced manufacturing efforts for greater impact. As Vice President of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, he leverages his field experience for education, service, and research at U-M.

Abell holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) in 1985, a Master of Science in Systems Engineering in 1987, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Systems Engineering in 1992 from Oakland University. Throughout his career at GM, Delphi, and DaimlerChrysler, he developed several industry-first technologies, secured 23 granted patents with seven in production and eight tool method-secret inventions, and authored over 40 technical papers. Notable publications include “Joining technologies for automotive lithium-ion battery manufacturing: A review” (2010), “Characterization of joint quality in ultrasonic welding of battery tabs” (2013), “Process robustness of single lap ultrasonic welding of thin, dissimilar materials” (2011), “Feature selection for manufacturing process monitoring using cross-validation” (2013), and “Characterization of ultrasonic metal welding by correlating online sensor signals with weld attributes” (2014). His contributions have earned three General Motors Boss Kettering Awards for outstanding technical innovation—GM’s highest technical award—election to the SME College of Fellows in 2015, Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 2024, and the S.M. Wu Research Implementation Award in 2025 from the North American Manufacturing Research Institute/SME. Abell is a licensed Professional Engineer and Certified Manufacturing Engineer.