Honors and Awards
December 2025
Professor Rhonda Franklin (electrical and computer engineering) was elected as an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellow, Class of 2026, the Institute’s highest grade of membership, as a member of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology (MTT) Society “for leadership in microwave engineering education and workforce development.”
Alumnus Mark Magney (B.S. civil engineering) received an award from the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota for his Skill, Responsibility, and Integrity.
Professor Randall Victora (electrical and computer engineering) was awarded the 2026 Distinguished Service Award by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Magnetics Society for his contributions to society leadership for over two decades.
Professors Nikolaos Papanikolopoulos (computer science and engineering) and Shashank Priya (chemical engineering and materials science) were selected as Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).
Lab Manager and Staff Scientist Brett Rosiejka (aerospace engineering and mechanics) was awarded the P&A Outstanding Service Award from the College of Science and Engineering.
Operations and Project Manager Ed Stash (student services) was awarded the Civil Service Outstanding Service Award from the College of Science and Engineering.
The Chemistry Teaching Lab Work Group: Kylie Adams, Josh Denzer, Aminata Dotson, Laura Kundel, Diana Mayweather, Arceus Pogany, and Patrick Schildt (chemistry) was awarded the Work Group Outstanding Service Award from the College of Science and Engineering.
November 2025
Professor Michel Janssen (physics and astronomy) won the American Physical Society (APS) 2026 Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics.
Professor Yong-Zhong Qian (physics and astronomy) was awarded the Humboldt Research Award in recognition of his contributions to the field of physics throughout the course of his academic career.
Professor Vladimir Sverak (mathematics) was awarded the 2025 Heinz Hopf Laureate Prize for being a leader in the mathematical theory of fluids.
Professor Cari Dutcher (chemical engineering and materials science) was elected Vice-President Elect of the American Association for Aerosol Research (AAAR).
Professors R. Lawrence Edwards (earth and environmental sciences) and Dan Knights (computer science and engineering) were named among the most “Highly Cited Researchers” in the world for 2025.
A start-up co-founded by Professor Paul Dauenhauer (chemical engineering and materials science) has been named one of C&EN’s 10 Start-Ups to Watch for 2025.
Alumnus Paridhi Agrawal (Ph.D. chemical engineering) received the Lilly Research Labs President’s Award, the highest technical distinction at Eli Lilly. The award spotlights the bold innovation, deep collaboration, and relentless dedication that define Lilly’s culture and drive the company’s mission to make life better for people around the world.
October 2025
Professors Lian Shen (mechanical engineering) and Kevin Dorfman (chemical engineering and materials science) have been named 2025 American Physical Society (APS) Fellows.
Professor Kimberley Chaffin (chemical engineering and materials science) received the 2026 Industrial Polymer Scientist Award. The award is presented biennially by the ACS Division of Polymer Chemistry and recognizes outstanding corporate impact and success in the field of industrial polymer science.
Professor Gang Qiu (electrical and computer engineering) was the recipient of the highly competitive Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award. The award recognizes rising stars in academia whose research shows exceptional promise for advancing Department of Defense science and technology priorities.
Professor Bharat Jalan (chemical engineering and materials science) was appointed as Deputy Editor of Science Advances, an open-access, multidisciplinary journal published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Professor Chris Macosko (chemical engineering and materials science) received the Legacy Award from the Polymer Processing Society.
Professor Shashi Shekhar (computer science and engineering) earned the inaugural Service Award from the Foundation managing the biennial International Symposiums on Spatial and Temporal Data.
Professor Miki Hondzo (civil, environmental, and geo- engineering) was named ASCE MN 2025 Outstanding Engineer of the Year, recognizing his work related to environmental and water resource issues.
Associate Professor Michael Levin (civil, environmental, and geo- engineering) received the ASCE 2025 Alfred Nobel Prize for a paper, "Max-Pressure Traffic Signal Timing: A Summary of Methodological and Experimental Results,” he published in 2023.
September 2025
Professor Paul Strykowski (mechanical engineering) received the Award for Innovative International Initiatives from the University of Minnesota Global Programs and Strategy Alliance for the faculty-led study abroad program, Design for Life: Water in Tanzania.
Professor Mingyi Hong (electrical and computer engineering) was awarded the 2025 Egon Balas Prize awarded by the INFORMS Optimization Society for his contributions to optimization that have deeply impacted modern applications in machine learning, signal processing, and AI alignment.
Professor Aditya Bhan (chemical engineering and materials science) was named one of the two recipients of the 2025 University of Minnesota Faculty Award for Excellence in Postdoctoral Advising.
Professor Tianhong Cui (mechanical engineering) was elected a Fellow of the International Association of Advanced Materials (IAAM) in recognition of his contributions to the field of nano self-assembled nanomaterials for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).
Mass Spectrometry Laboratory Director Joe Dalluge (chemistry) was awarded the 2025 Research Technical Staff Award from University of Minnesota's Research & Innovation Office.
August 2025
Professor George Karypis (computer science and engineering) received the 2025 Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) SIGKDD Innovation Award, the most prestigious honor in the field of data mining and knowledge discovery.
Professor Matthew Tirrell (chemical engineering and material science) was named the 2025 recipient of the College of Natural Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award from his alma mater, the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Undergraduate students Ethan Chung, Alexander Wan, Kevin Vo, Raymond Zha and Levi Krogh (electrical engineering and mechanical engineering) won the first round of the 2025 Bright Manufacturing Student Challenge.
Professor Stefano Gonella (civil, environmental, and geo- engineering) was elected Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
July 2025
Assistant Professor Yulong Lu (mathematics) earned a NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Award.
The University of Minnesota Rocket Team received 2nd place in the 30k Student Researched and Developed (SRAD) Solids category at the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC).
Assistant Professor Boya Xiong (civil, environmental, and geo- engineering) received the prestigious NSF CAREER Award.
Professor Svitlana Mayboroda (mathematics) was awarded the Blaise Pascal Medal in Mathematics for her contributions in the theory of elliptic partial differential equations, regularity of harmonic measures in rough domains, and the landscape approach to understand the phenomena of Anderson localization
June 2025
Professor Joseph Zasadzinski (chemical engineering and materials science) was awarded the 2025 Langmuir Lecture at the American Chemical Society’s Fall Meeting in Washington, D.C. This is one of the highest honors of the ACS Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry, the award is presented annually to two leading researchers in recognition of outstanding contributions to the field.
Professor Natasha Wright (mechanical engineering) is leading one of 12 new projects funded by the Institute on the Environment’s (IonE) 2025 Impact Goal Grants.
Ph.D. students Yusra Farhat Ullah and Zak Kujala (mechanical engineering) were selected as the 2024–2025 recipients of the Goldstein Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award.
Graduate students Joe Gehrke (physics and astronomy), Tara Gomes (mathematics), and Nishanth Somashekara Murthy (electrical and computer engineering) were awarded the John Bowers Excellence in Teaching Assistance Award.
Professor Don Truhlar (chemistry) was honored with Caltech's 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award.
Professor Marc Hillmyer (chemistry) was recognized with the 2025 European Polymer Federation Prize.
May 2025
Professor William Northrop (mechanical engineering) was named an SAE Fellow, recognizing his contributions to automotive engineering and education.
Professor Bill Arnold (civil, environmental, and geo- engineering) was selected as a 2025 recipient of The Ralph and Joe Bales Graber Science Award from American Academy of Environmental Engineering and Scientists. The award honors two individuals who contributed to the formation of what is now known as the environmental engineering and science profession.
Professor Xiaojia Wang (mechanical engineering) was elevated to ASME Fellow for her groundbreaking research in mechanical engineering, including heat transfer and energy efficiency.
Professor Ognjen Ilic (mechanical engineering) was the recipient of a NASA Early Career Faculty Award for his research on nanostructured photonic lightsails.
Professor Jeffrey Derby (chemical engineering and material science) received the prestigious Frank Prize from the International Organization for Crystal Growth.
Professor Steve Koester (electrical and computer engineering) was named a National Academy of Inventors Fellow.
Industrial Professor of Design Joseph Mueller (aerospace engineering and mechanics) was selected as Associate Technical Fellow at Millennium Space Systems, a Boeing Company.
Assistant Professor Ali Sulaiman (physics and astronomy) was recognized by NASA with the 2024 Planetary Science Early Career Award (ECA).
Assistant Professors Daniel Escobar and Jeff Tithof (mechanical engineering) were recipients of the 2025 Nugent Family Faculty Teaching Award.
Professor Shaul Hanany (physics and astronomy) received a Fulbright Specialist Program award from the U.S. State Department and the Fulbright Foreign Specialist Board.
Professor Mihai Marasteanu (civil, environmental, and geo- engineering) was awarded the CTS 2025 Richard P. Braun Distinguished Service Award for his outstanding leadership in research and innovation.
Professor Theresa Reineke (chemistry) was recognized by the Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance with their 2025 MOCA Research Award.
Assistant Professor Courtney Roberts (chemistry) was elected as one of only 19 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholars for 2025.
Senior Academic Advisor Kyle Kunzmann (student services) was recognized by NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising with the 2025 Region 6 Excellence in Advising Award for Primary Role Advisor, honoring his exceptional service, advocacy, and impact in academic advising.
Graduate Program Coordinator Michelle May (chemical engineering and materials science) received the NACADA Region 6 Excellence in Advising: New Advisor award.
April 2025
Professors Erin E. Carlson (chemistry) and Lian Shen (mechanical engineering) were named Distinguished McKnight University Professor for the University of Minnesota.
Assistant Professors Jessica Lamb (chemistry), Ju Sun (computer science and engineering), Honghong Tinn (electrical and computer engineering), Natasha Wright (mechanical engineering) and Boya Xiong (civil, environmental, and geo- engineering) were named University of Minnesota McKnight Land Grant Professors.
Professor Aaron Massari (chemistry) and Lecturer Eman Ramadan (computer science & engineering) were awarded the Provost’s Unit Service Award. These awards are given in recognition of exceptional service that has strengthened the functioning and climate of the recipient’s unit at the University of Minnesota.
Associate Professor Sebastian Behrens (civil, environmental, and geo- engineering), Science and Outreach Coordinator Kat Cantner (earth & environmental sciences), Teaching Professor Michael Manno (chemical engineering and materials science), Professor Jean-Philippe Richard (industrial and systems engineering), Teaching Professor Aaron Wynveen (physics and astronomy) and Assistant Professor Kyoko Yoshida (biomedical engineering) were recognized with the Award for Excellence in Academic Unit Service. These awards are given in recognition of exceptional service that has strengthened the functioning and climate of the recipient’s unit at the University of Minnesota.
Assistant Professor Raphael Stern (civil, environmental, and geo- engineering) was awarded a Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Assistant Professor Nadja Strobbe (physics and astronomy) was awarded the Guillermo E. Borja Career Development Award.
Assistant Professors Ryan Caverly (aerospace engineering and mechanics) and Courtney Roberts (chemistry) were awarded the George W. Taylor Career Development Award.
Professor Bharat Jalan (chemical engineering and materials science) was awarded the George W. Taylor Award for Distinguished Research.
Professor Donna Whitney (earth and environmental sciences) received the George W. Taylor Award for Distinguished Service.
Professor David Fox (earth and environmental sciences) received the George W. Taylor Award for Distinguished Teaching.
Professor Cari Dutcher (mechanical engineering) and Associate Professor Kia Bazargan (electrical and computer engineering) received the Charles E. Bowers Faculty Teaching Award.
Professor Joe Labuz (civil, environmental, and geo- engineering) received the College of Science and Engineering Distinguished Professor Award.
Associate Professor Matt Anderson (mechanical engineering) received the College of Science and Engineering Instructional Faculty Teaching Award.
Professor Matthew Neurock (chemical engineering and materials science) was named the recipient of the 2025 Herman Pines Award, presented by the Catalysis Club of Chicago. This award recognizes researchers who have made significant advances and achievements in catalysis.
Assistant Professor Nick Arnosti (industrial and systems engineering) received the 2025 Russell J. Penrose Excellence in Teaching Award.
Undergraduate students Akshara Molleti (biomedical engineering and computer science and engineering), Olivia Peche (chemical engineering and materials science), Shivangi Pandey (mechanical engineering) and graduate students Zaid Dameh (industrial and systems engineering) , Ayaka Moriyama (chemical engineering and materials science), MaKenna Koble (chemistry), Marcella Manivel (mathematics), Nithya Murikinati (computer science and engineering), and Tonushree Dutta (electrical and computer engineering) received President’s Student Leadership & Service Awards.
Professor Pavlo Pylyavskyy (mathematics) was awarded the 2025 Simons Fellows in Mathematics from The Simons Foundation.
Assistant Professors Nick Arnosti (industrial and systems engineering) and Michelle Calabrese (chemical engineering and materials science) received the McKnight Presidential Fellow Award from the University of Minnesota. The McKnight Presidential Fellows Program is targeted at the most promising faculty who have been newly granted tenure and promotion to associate professor, to recognize their accomplishments and support their ongoing research and scholarship.
Undergraduate student Simeon Shaffar (Aerospace engineering and mechanics) won the 2025 University of Minnesota BizPitch Competition.
Executive Assistant to the Dean Allison Bohn (Office of the Dean) and Professor Wayne L. Gladfelter (chemistry) received one of twelve of the President’s Awards for Outstanding Service.
Professor Steven Koester (electrical and computer engineering) was elected as Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).
Professor Qi Zhang (chemical engineering and materials science) was selected to be part of the ACS journal Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research's (I&ECR) 2024 Class of Influential Researchers.
Professor Marie Johnson (biomedical engineering) was elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows for the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).
Alumnus Dr. Wen-Han Kao, (Ph.D physics) was named one of only two recipients of the prestigious Dissertation Award from the American Physical Society's Group on Magnetism and its Applications (GMAG).
Assistant Professor Varun Gadkari (chemistry) was awarded a 2025 Research Award from the American Society for Mass Spectrometry.
March 2025
Director of Academic Advising Amy Gunter received the John Tate Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising.
Professor Christine Berkesch (mathematics) was honored with the 2025 Sara Evans Leadership Award in recognition of her outstanding mentorship efforts, research achievements, and leadership contributions at the University of Minnesota.
Associate Professors Julianna Abel (mechanical engineering) and Samira Azarin (chemical engineering and materials science) were awarded the Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award for their outstanding contributions to undergraduate education.
Professor Prodromos Daoutidis (chemical engineering and materials science) was awarded the Graduate & Professional Teaching Award.
The Physics Force received a 2025 Societal Impact Award from the University of Minnesota Office for Public Engagement. The award recognizes projects or programs for exemplary community-engaged service and outreach.
Professor Svitlana Mayboroda was honored with an election to the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.
Assistant Professor Ben Margalit (physics and astronomy) was part of a team that won an award from the first year of the Scialog: Early Science from the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA).
Professor Douglas Arnold (mathematics) and collaborator Kaibo Hu (Royal Society University) received the 2025 Frontiers of Science Award from the International Congress of Basic Science.
February 2025
Assistant Professors Rene Boiteau and Courtney Roberts (chemistry) received the prestigious 2025 Sloan Research Fellowship from Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Professors Arthur Erdman (mechanical engineering) and Roger Ruan (bioproducts and biosystems engineering) were elected to the National Academy of Engineering. Alumnus Marcelo H. García (M.S. civil engineering) was also elected to NAE this year.
Professor Douglas Arnold and collaborator Kaibo Hu (mathematics) won the 2025 Frontiers of Science Award, recognizing it as a major breakthrough in the field of numerical analysis.
Assistant Professor Michelle Chu (mathematics) was awarded a Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Senior Academic Advisor Alyssa Bergland (student services) received the University of Minnesota Academic Advising Network (AAN) Goldy Triumph Award, recognizing her outstanding contributions to academic advising and student success.
Academic Advisors Alyssa Bergland, Emily Pelke, Emily O’Connell, and Meghan Jack (student services) were honored with the University of Minnesota Academic Advising Network (AAN) Ski-U-Mah Award for their collaborative excellence, leadership, and commitment to supporting students through advising and programming.
January 2025
Professor Vipin Kumar (computer science and engineering) earned the 2025 IEEE Computer Society Taylor L. Booth Education Award. Kumar was selected for his contributions to computational science and engineering through his foundational textbooks, outstanding mentoring, and exceptional scientific leadership.
Professor Maria Gini (computer science and engineering) with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring from The White House.
Professors R. Lawrence "Larry" Edwards (earth and environmental sciences) and David Tilman (College of Biological Sciences) were honored with the National Medal of Science, the nation’s highest recognition for scientists and engineers.
ATP-Bio (mechanical and biomedical engineering) was awarded the prestigious ASME Edward Grood Interdisciplinary Team Science Medal in Bioengineering for 2025.
Assistant Professor Alexander Watson (mathematics) won the 2023 Journal of Mathematical Physics (JMP) Young Researcher Award.
Assistant Professor Natalie Boehnke (chemical engineering and materials science) was awarded a Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF).