College of Engineering
2024 Outstanding Graduating Senior Award
Award Overview
The College of Engineering Outstanding Graduating Senior Award recognizes one undergraduate senior from the college who has garnered outstanding achievements as an undergraduate and has demonstrated leadership both within the college and across the university community. This award, established in 2018, is given each spring to a student who is graduating during the calendar year in which the award is being given. The recipient of the award receives a plaque and is honored at the WSU Senior Honor and College Awards Banquet in the spring.
RJ Kunde - 2024 Outstanding Senior
Hailing from DeKalb, Illinois, RJ transitioned from a business degree at Northern Illinois University to Aerospace Engineering at Wichita State University in 2021. At WSU, he holds leadership roles as the President of the Mortar Board Honor Society and team lead of his AE628 Senior Design team. He's recognized as a NASA Jump Start Scholar and an Aerospace Engineering Honors student. Professionally, RJ's experience as a Flight Test Engineer Co-op at Bombardier Aerospace on the Global 7500/8000 jet aircraft program showcases his dedication to the aerospace industry. Beyond his professional and academic achievements, RJ is a passionate private pilot and dedicated community volunteer through both Bombardier and Mortar Board service initiatives. In his free time, he enjoys WSU intramural sports, competitive video gaming, and exploring Wichita with his wife. Ambitiously aiming for a future in aerospace engineering, RJ aspires to graduate studies and a career as a test pilot and astronaut.
Recipents
2024: Richard (RJ) Kunde, Aerospace Engineering, Spring 2024 | Runner -Up: Annika Thomas, Product Design and Manufacturing, Spring 2024
2023: Julie Gonzalez-Morales, Biomedical Engineering, Spring 2023 & Kenna Biddle, Mechanical Engineering, Spring 2023
2022: Jennifer Alfaro, Mechanical Engineering, Spring 2022 | Runner Up: Skylar Russell, Biomedical Engineering, Spring 2022
2021: Lorraine Lowrey, Engineering Technology, Spring 2021
2020: Subash Bhandari, Biomedical Engineering, Fall 2020
2019: Mason Bivens, Aerospace Engineering, Spring 2019
2024 Harold and Melba Sullivan Award Winner
Award Overview
The Sullivan award is granted to a graduating senior at spring commencement, given in recognition of the highest cumulative GPA for work completed towards an Engineering degree at Wichita State. This year's winner is Logan Hutchens, Senior in Computer Science.
Logan Hutchens
Logan Hutchens grew up in Edmond, Oklahoma and graduated from Edmond North High School. At Wichita State University, he is a Computer Science major and a Psychology minor. He is both a National Merit Scholar and a Wallace Scholar and strives for academic excellence above all else. He is a member of the Wichita State Chapter of FarmHouse Fraternity and served as President, VP of Administration, VP of Finance, and Scholarship Chair. During his two-year presidency, he led his chapter to have the top GPA among all Greek life on campus as well as having the top GPA among all FarmHouse chapters internationally. He participated in cross-disciplinary research with Dr. Erin O’Bryan and Dr. Huabo Lu and was a paper grader for Discrete Structures 2 for various professors. He is interning at Textron Aviation as a developer on their IT/Web Development Team and has been there since November 2022. He has accepted a full-time offer with Textron Aviation which he will begin upon graduation.