Student accolades 2020

The Department of Mechanical Engineering is proud of all our students for their perseverance and remarkable resilience in the face of unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we recognize those students who have earned additional distinctions. 

Madelynne Long: Carnegie Mellon Women’s Association Scholarship

The Carnegie Mellon Women’s Association Scholarship is to “honor an outstanding girl at the university.” It is awarded to graduating seniors who demonstrate a commitment to the advancement of women in their academic pursuits. One woman from each college at CMU is given this award. This year, Madelynne Long has been named the College of Engineering’s awardee. She will be pursuing a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon beginning fall 2020.

Eli Workman: K&L Gates Award

The K&L Gates Award is awarded to a graduating undergraduate student who has inspired their fellow students to love learning through a combination of intellect, high scholarly achievement, engagement with others, and character. Eli Workman is this year’s K&L Gates Award winner. Workman is working for General Motors as an advanced trans and drive units project engineer, primarily working on future designs.

Alex Baikovitz: Forstall Award

Mechanical Engineering faculty members vote on an outstanding senior based on academics, leadership, and contributions to the department for this award. 

Aidan Honnold, Frank Andujar Lugo, Rosie Zhang: Undergraduate Service and Leadership Awards

This award recognizes and celebrates exemplary service and leadership during a student’s time in the department.

Cathy Fang, Rachel Sneeringer, Jessica Yin: Undergraduate excellence in research awards

This award goes to seniors who participated in College of Engineering Honors Research and were chosen by Mechanical engineering faculty based on the high quality of their research.

CMU Energy Week Student Research Poster Contest: Dhroovaa Khanna and Linden Runels were part of the team winning second place during the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation's Energy Week 2020 Student Research Poster Competition for investigating electrification of Port Authority buses. 

Yutian Cai, Mikey Fernandez, Jacob Gobbo, Michelle Karabin: Bennett Awards

Bennett Awards recognize academic excellence in Mechanical Engineering, honoring students with the highest QPA.

Master’s Graduate Research Symposium Awards

These awards recognize Master of Science research excellence based on presentations at the MechE Graduate Research Symposium.

• Yibo Cao - Robotics and Controls
• Yu-Chun Chen - Robotics and Controls
• Angelos Mavrogiannis - Robotics and Controls
• Walter Parker - Energy, Manufacturing, Bioengineering, Micro/Nano
• Eric Rapp - Robotics and Controls
• Xin Shen - Computational Engineering & Product Design
• Rohit Subramaniam - Computational Engineering & Product Design
• Muhamad Suhail Saleem - Robotics and Controls

Best Ph.D. Teaching Assistant Award

Presented to the best graduate students (Ph.D.) teaching assistant in a core class Fall and Spring semester, as evaluated by students in the class.

Fall 2019: Nathan Kong; 24-452, Mechanical Systems Experimentation

Spring 2020: Emma Benjaminson; 24-352, Dynamic Systems and Controls

Jeremiah Mpagazehe Graduate Student Service Award

This award recognizes service and contributions to the graduate student community by both a master’s and a Ph.D. student.

• Masters: Uche Agwu
• Ph.D.: Arman Ghaffari-Zadeh 

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program

• Award Honorees: Susana Beltrán, Kevin Dai, Varun Shankar, Jessica Yin 
• Honorable Mentions: Alexander Bills, Jacob Brenneman, Nolen Keeys Ryan Yeh

Nathan Nakamura: NIST NRC Postdoctoral Research Associateship Program

This program brings research scientists and engineers of unusual promise and ability to perform advanced research related to the National Institute of Standards and Technology mission. 

Laura M Ochsner: Ford Motor Co Alan Mulally Leadership in Engineering Scholarship

This worldwide scholarship is awarded to ten students who show leadership at their university. Ochsner plans to work for Rivian as a controls engineer.

Vikram Pande: Doctoral Research Award

The Doctoral Research Awards honors a top Ph.D. student for outstanding achievements in research over the course of graduate study. Pande’s thesis title was “Design Principles for Enabling High Energy Density Li metal Batteries” and his advisor was Venkat Viswanathan.

Spring 2020 Design Expo Awards

Engineering Design II: Conceptualization and Realization Winners

This course guides students through the design process of a practical mechanical system. The design project, typically completed in teams, requires a working model based on a level of engineering knowledge expected of seniors. At the end of the semester, teams present their designs at the MechE Spring Design Expo, where awards are given to outstanding designs.

• Most Innovative: The Proletariat – Portable Steam Charger
  Aidan Honnold, Hunter Hartshorne, Liam Walsh, Shuming Teoh, Tim Violino
• Best Prototype: DDD (Double Dynamic Duo) – Umbrella Sharing System
  Emily Wu, Josh Andah, Kristie Lord, Joseph “Scott” Phillips
• Best Overall Project: Grinders – Expandable Auditorium Desk
  Jae-Seok Oh, Melina Katsiroumba, Nicole Samba, Emille “Nothani” Bryant, Thomas Wang

Thermal Design Winners

• Most Innovative: Day Trip Cooler
  Hao-Yuan Cheng, Gordon Robertson, Yiran Li, Nathan Hedin
• Best Prototype: Adventure Bike Cooling Unit
  Nick Calzolano, Carolyn Goodman, Ryan Janczak, Robert Levin
• Best Overall Project: Bag-Stored Medicine Unit
  Frank Andújar Lugo, Linden Runels, Nina Prakash, Noah Alexandroff 

Electromechanical Systems Design Winners

• Most Innovative: Smartball – An Autonomous Foosball Experience
  Ian Allen, Nalini Jain, Tanvi Shah, Vimalesh Vasu, Mickey Velado
• Best Prototype: Automatic Card Dealer
  Jocelyn Chan, Victoria Feng, Shuhan He, Sydney Howard
• Best Overall Project: Salt Bae – Robotic De-Icer
  Ruchit Doshi, Lalit Ghule, Rachit Mishra, Akanksh Shetty, Sumedh Vaidya

Student Athlete Recognition

• Michelle Karabin earned the Elite 90 award for the 2020 NCAA Division III Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships and is a recipient of the Dr. William Brown Academic Athletic Achievement Award.
• Matt Karee ;and Liam Walsh have been honored by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) as Men's Cross Country/Track and Field Academic All-District selections.
• Anthony Kennon received an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship for excelling academically and athletically while showing leadership and commitment to the community.
• Anthony Kennon, Willie Richter, and Long Tran were named to the 2020 National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) Hampshire Honor Society.
• Liam Walsh was named an All-American athlete honors for the 2020 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field season by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

We congratulate our students and look forward to their future accomplishments. We wish them continued success.

Media contact:
Lisa Kulick
lkulick@andrew.cmu.edu