The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) 2014 International Design and Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference (IDETC/CIE 2014) took place during August 17-20, 2014 in Buffalo, NY. In the conference, 2014 Leonardo Da Vinci Award was announced. Professor Gao Feng from School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University won the award and became the first person from Asia to receive this honor as well as the first winner from outside USA and Canada.

Professor Gao has made eminent achievement in the innovation of 6-DOF Parallel manipulator with 400t-m payload, which is widely recognized as a breakthrough in machine design for the forging industry.

Established in 1978, the Leonardo Da Vinci Award is aimed to be presented to experts making widely-recognized significant achievement in machine products design and invention. 36 experts have received the award up to now.

Addition: Introduction to the ASME Leonardo Da Vinci Award winners since 2004

1. 2004: Alexander Slocum, Neil and Jane Pappalardo Professor of Mechanical Engineering MacVicar Faculty Fellow, MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering.

2. 2005: Given to a team of 9 engineers from NASA for their invention of Mars Rover.

3. 2009: S.V. Sreenivasan, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Thornton Centennial Fellow in Engineering, UT Austin, Founder and CTO of Molecular Imprints Inc for his invention of Jet and FlashTM Imprint Lithography (J-FILTM) technology.

4. 2010: Shorya Awtar, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, U of Michigan, for his invention of FlexDex TM - a novel mechanical technology platform that, for the first time, offers enhanced dexterity, intuitive control, and natural force feedback in minimally invasive surgical procedures at an affordable price.

5. 2013: Mohan Bodduluri, co-founder and CTO of Restoration Robotics, for his invention of the revolutionary ARTAS(R) Robotic System, the first and only FDA-cleared, physician-controlled, computer-assisted technology for hair transplantation.

6. 2014: Feng Gao, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, for his invention of a 6-DOF parallel manipulator with 400t-m payload for manufacturing extra large forgings that is widely recognized as a breakthrough in machine design for the forging industry.