Faculty receive 2016 dean’s awards for excellence

At the nineteenth annual Virginia Tech College of Engineering faculty reception, awards were presented to engineering professors for teaching innovation, research, service, and outreach for 2016. Six outstanding new assistant professors were recognized and four certificates of teaching excellence were also awarded.

The Dean’s Awards for Teaching Excellence were presented to: Francine Battaglia of mechanical engineering, Kacie Hodges of engineering education, and Pradeep Raj of aerospace and ocean engineering.

The Dean’s Awards for Research Excellence were awarded to: Rafael Davalos of biomedical engineering and mechanics, Muhammad Hajj also of biomedical engineering and mechanics, Lin Ma of aerospace and ocean engineering, T.M. Murali of computer science, and Yi-Heng Percival Zhang of biological systems engineering.

Receiving the Dean’s Awards for Service Excellence were: Monika Lawless of biomedical engineering and mechanics, Stephen Martin of chemical engineering, and Gary Seidel of aerospace and ocean engineering.

Receiving the Outstanding New Assistant Professor Awards were: Navid Ghaffarzadegan of industrial and systems engineering, David Knight of engineering education, Qiang Li of electrical and computer engineering, Steve Rowson of biomedical engineering and mechanics, Walid Saad, electrical and computer engineering, and Denise Simmons of Myers-Lawson School of Construction.

The College of Engineering Faculty Fellows, an award that carries an annual $5000 account for the next three fiscal years to support his or her research, were presented to: Matt Eatherton of civil and environmental engineering, Kimberly Ellis of industrial and systems engineering, Chang-Tien Lu of computer science, Jake Socha of biomedical engineering and mechanics, Cornel Sultan of aerospace and ocean engineering, and Yaling Yang of electrical and computer engineering.

The W. S. ”Pete” White Award in Engineering Education was awarded to Kevin Kochersberger of mechanical engineering.

The College Awards for Outreach Excellence went to Marc Edwards and Bev Watford.

The four Certificates of Teaching Excellence were presented to: Bryan Katz of civil and environmental engineering, Tom Martin of electrical and computer engineering, John Taylor of civil and environmental engineering, and Yong Lee of biomedical engineering and mechanics.