Dwane and Velma Wallace Excellence Awards for Faculty
Through the generosity of Dwane and Velma Wallace, the College of Engineering is able to honor excellent faculty members and doctoral students annually. We invite you to learn more about the various awards, as well as view current and past recipients. Please note that recipients may not be selected for each award each year.
Faculty Award Recipients
Lifetime Service Award
Recipients
2026
Dr. Janet Twomey
Professor
Industrial, Systems and Manufacturing Engineering
2025
Dr. John Watkins
Professor
Electrical and Computer Engineering
2024
Dr. Steven Skinner
Professor
Electrical and Computer Engineering
2023
Dr. Bayram Yildirim
Professor
Industrial, Systems and Manufacturing Engineering
2019
Dr. Roy Myose
Professor
Aerospace Engineering
Excellence in Research Award
The recipient has had experience as a principal investigator on an externally funded research contract or has has been the director of a research center. The recipient has been involved in continuous research over an extended period of time, or has made a significant one-time contribution. The recipient has had student involvement in the research programs.
2026 Recipient
Dr. Tim Shan
Associate Professor
School of Computing
Past Recipients
- 2025 – Dr. Bayram Yildirim and Dr. Shuang Gu
- 2024 – Dr. Eylem Asmatulu and Dr. Yongkuk Lee
- 2023 – Dr. Atri Dutta
- 2022 – Dr. Gisuk Hwang
- 2021 – Dr. Kaushik Sinha
- 2020 – Dr. James Steck
- 2019 – Dr. Anil Mahapatro and Dr. Shuang Gu
- 2018 – Dr. Suresh Keshavanarayana and Dr. Vinod Namboodiri
- 2017 – Dr. Kim Cluff
- 2016 – Dr. Esra Buyuktahtakin Toy
- 2015 – Dr. Animesh Chakravarthy
- 2014 – Dr. Pingfeng Wang
- 2013 – Dr. Bayram Yildirim
- 2011 – Dr. Hyuck Kwon
- 2010 – Dr. Ward Jewell
- 2009 – Dr. Krisha Krishnan
- 2008 – Dr. Bob Minaie
- 2007 – Dr. Hossein Cheraghi
- 2006 – Dr. Charles Yang
- 2004 – Dr. Vis Madhavan
- 2003 – Dr. Michael Papadakis
- 2002 – Dr. Hyuck Kwon
Excellence in Teaching Award
The recipient has competency in the subject matter and has had success in the ability to teach subject matter. The recipient has also had continuous improvement and development. The recipient has demonstrated pedagogical services to peers. In addition, the recipient has been keeping pace with advancements in technology by conducting research or having used state-of-the-art material in the classroom.
2026 Recipients
Dr. Lindsey Ott
Assistant Teaching Professor
Biomedical Engineering
Dr. Arun Manoharan
Assistant Teaching Professor
Computer and Electrical Engineering
Past Recipients
- 2025 – Dr. Ehsan Salari
- 2024 – Dr. Cindi Mason
- 2023 – Kara McCluskey
- 2022 – Manira Rani
- 2021 – Dr. Suresh Keshavanarayana
- 2020 – Dr. Wildredo Moscoso and Dr. Yimesker Yihun
- 2019 – Samantha Corcoran
- 2018 – Dr. Syed Raza
- 2017 – Dr. Murtuza Jadliwala
- 2016 – Dr. Kim Cluff
- 2015 – Dr. Anil Mahapatro
- 2014 – Dr. Animesh Chakravarthy
- 2013 – Dr. Vinod Namboodiri
- 2012 – Dr. Ramazan Asmatulu
- 2011 – Dr. Preethika Kumar
- 2008 – Dr. Gamal Weheba
- 2007 – Dr. John Watkins
- 2006 – Dr. Michael Jorgensen
- 2005 – Dr. Hamid Lankarani
- 2004 – Dr. Roy Myose
- 2003 – Dr. Gamal Weheba
- 2002 – Dr. Edwin Sawan
Experience-Based Learning Award
The recipient has created learning opportunities and created experience-based projects designed and utilized as part of the curriculum. The recipient has stimulated students' engagement and exposure. The recipient has also evaluated the learning effectiveness and assess outcomes.
2026 Recipient
Dr. Laila Cure
Associate Professor
Industrial, Systems, and Manufacturing Engineering
Past Recipients
- 2025 – Dr. Manira Rani and Dr. Vijay Matheswaran
- 2023 – Dr. Perlekar Tamtam
- 2021 – Dr. Jaydip Desai
- 2019 – Kara McCluskey
- 2015 – Dr. Ramazan Asmatulu
- 2014 – Dr. Steven Skinner
- 2013 – Dr. Roy Myose
- 2006 – Dr. Ward Jewell
- 2005 – Dr. Bert Smith
- 2004 – Dr. Lawrence Whitman
- 2003 – Dr. Ravi Pendse
- 2002 – Dr. Abu Masud
Excellence in Service Award
Past Recipients
- 2017 – Dr. Gary Brooking
- 2016 – Dr. Bayram Yildirim
Doctoral Student Award Recipients
Outstanding Graduate Research Award
2026 Recipient
Abdulhammed Hmazat
Ph.D. Student
Past Recipients
- 2025– Eric Luiz Pereira
- 2024– Sarangan Rejendarn
- 2023 – Pablo Delgado
- 2022 – Anoop Upendran Nair
- 2020 – Hooman Shahverdi Moghaddam
- 2019 – Md Nizam Uddin
- 2018 – Ryan Becker
- 2017 – Ibrahim Alarifi and Nita Yodo
- 2016 – Motahareh (Sara) Bahrami
Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award
The recipient has competency in the subject matter and have success in the ability to teach subject matter. The recipient has also participated in the CESP S521 Course (Learning Theory Instruction for Engineers).
2026 Recipients
Saurabh Singh
Ph.D. Student
Zaara Ali
Ph.D. Student
Past Recipients
- 2025 – Demy Alexander and Ahmad Bassaleh
- 2024 – Yrithu Thulaseedharan Pillay and Saurabh Sanjay Singh
- 2020 – Odai Nassar
- 2019 – Anton Chinthana Hettiarachchige Don
- 2018 – Ahmet Akgun
- 2014 – Rudrayya C. Garigipati
- 2013 – Jie Yang
- 2011 – Trevor Hardy
- 2010 – Vis Aravinthan
- 2009 – Linda Kliment
- 2007 – Linda Kliment
- 2006 – Chandan Nayak
- 2004 – Christian Widner
- 2003 – Shiego Hayashibara
- 2002 – Hendra Valiandi