Novelis Innovation Hub selects executive director

Georgia Institute of Technology and Novelis Inc., an aluminum rolling and recycling company based in Atlanta, have announced that Shreyes Melkote will serve as the new executive director of the Novelis Innovation Hub at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Melkote will replace Surya Kalidindi, a regent’s professor at the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. Kalidindi served as the interim executive director during the Novelis Innovation Hub’s first two years.

According to a news release from Georgia Tech, Novelis hopes to further advance its position in the aluminum industry through innovation in new technology and application domains, including sustainable mobility, electronics, advanced manufacturing and supply chain. Novelis’s target is to reduce its carbon footprint by 30 percent by 2026, becoming net carbon neutral by 2050.

“Sustainability is an important element of what Novelis wants to accomplish,” says Melkote. “Georgia Tech is focused on a lot of basic science, technologies and business practices relevant to enabling a more sustainable enterprise.”

Georgia Tech says Melkote is uniquely qualified for the role, having led the Georgia Tech-Boeing Strategic University Partnership for the last eight years while serving as associate director of Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute. He facilitated the establishment of the Boeing Manufacturing Development Center, an on-campus lab where students and faculty regularly collaborate with a resident Boeing engineer.

“I see this as an opportunity to leverage my experience and knowledge from the Boeing partnership and to expand it,” Melkote says. “Novelis is engaged in the entire life cycle of innovation, from early stage basic research to applied research and commercialization that will impact society at large.” 

Melkote also holds the Morris M. Bryan Jr. Professorship in Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech. He will work closely withRaj Gopalaswamy, Novelis’ global technology director for new domains, who will lead Novelis’ engagement with Georgia Tech.

“To keep advancing the aluminum industry toward the circular economy, we must increase the pace of innovation and develop new solutions that demonstrate aluminum’s superior sustainability benefits,” Gopalaswamy says. “Through research partnerships with world-leading institutions like Georgia Tech, we can fulfill the growing needs for aluminum applications that help our customers meet their sustainability goals faster and more efficiently.”

Julia Kubanek, vice president for interdisciplinary research at Georgia Tech, says Melkote is well-positioned to help Novelis broaden its relationship with Georgia Tech faculty and students while engaging in key research areas to accelerate Novelis’s product innovation. The Innovation Hub also intends to establish a Scholars Program to fund research fellowships for Georgia Tech graduates and undergraduate students. 

“We’re thrilled to have Professor Melkote take on this leadership position in our growing collaboration with Novelis,” Kubanek says. “He brings substantial experience to this new role, having built Georgia Tech’s partnership with Boeing and served as associate director of the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute for several years.”