Honors and Awards
May 2026
Undergraduate student Kanav Gupta (computer science and engineering) won the 2026 University of Minnesota BizPitch Competition.
Professor Paul Dauenhauer (chemical engineering and materials science) was honored with the “Faculty Innovator of the Year” award at the 2026 University of Minnesota Founder’s Day.
Professor Katsumi Matsumoto (earth and environmental sciences) was named a Fulbright U.S. Scholar and will spend part of the 2026-27 academic year in Germany advancing research on the global ocean carbon cycle.
Professor Matthew Neurock (chemical engineering and materials science) received the Red Cedar Circle Distinguished Chemical Engineering and Material Science Alumni Award from his alma mater, Michigan State University.
Professor Matt Anderson (mechanical engineering) was selected as the 2026 Nugent Family Faculty Teaching Award recipient. The award recognizes faculty members who demonstrate an exceptional interest in and commitment to teaching undergraduate students.
Professor Archis Ghate (industrial and systems engineering) has been elected chair of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers’ (IISE) Council of Industrial Engineering Academic Department Heads (CIEADH).
Undergraduate students Aletta Bartok (chemistry and earth sciences), Henry Kopp (mechanical engineering) and Ahmed Sharara (biomedical engineering) were awarded 2026-27 Astronaut Scholarships.
Assistant Professor Stevie Chancellor (computer science and engineering) has been named a recipient of the Novus Faculty Impact Fellowship for her groundbreaking work in human-centered AI to improve mental health outcomes online.
Professor Jessica Lamb (chemistry) was awarded the Early Investigator Award from the American Chemical Society Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (ACS PMSE) and the 2026 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award.
Undergraduate student Henry Karpovas Lisak (mechanical engineering) was awarded the 2026 Donald R. Zander Alumni Award for Outstanding Student Leadership.
Graduate students Vasisht Natamai (electrical and computer engineering) and Ryne Juidici (mechanical engineering) were honored by the College of Science and Engineering with the 2026 John Bowers Excellence in Teaching Assistance Award.
Professor Mehmet Akçakaya (electrical and computer engineering) was honored as a Fellow of The International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM), Class of 2026.
Graduate Abraham (Abe) Jaeger Mountain (computer science and engineering) earned the John T. Riedl Memorial Graduate Teaching Assistant Award.
Professor William Durfee (mechanical engineering) was selected as the recipient of the 2026 ASME Ruth and Joel Spira Outstanding Design Educator Award.
April 2026
Undergraduate students Ahmed Sharara (biomedical engineering) and Jack Tavakley (physics/mathematics) have been recognized as Goldwater Scholars by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.
Professor Prodromos Daoutidis (chemical engineering and materials science) was awarded the Sargent Medal from the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) in recognition of his significant research contributions to computer-aided product and process engineering.
Professor Vlad Pribiag (physics and astronomy) was named a Dean’s Fellow for the 2026-2027 Academic Year. In this role, he will help develop a Quantum Information Science and Engineering Strategy for the College of Science and Engineering.
Assistant Professor Judy Yang (civil, environmental, geo- engineering) was named a McKnight Presidential Fellow by the University of Minnesota.
Professor David Odde (biomedical engineering) joined the Board of Directors as Director At-Large for the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).
CSE Dean and Professor Andrew G. Alleyne (mechanical engineering) and Professor Marc Hillmyer (chemistry) were elected as members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Emeritus Professor Theodore V. Galambos (civil, environmental, geo- engineering) was elected in the inaugural Class of AISC Fellows from the American Institute of Steel Construction.
Student organization Joint Safety Team - University of Minnesota (chemical engineering and materials science) was awarded the Safety Champion Award from the Health, Safety, and Risk Management - University of Minnesota (HSRM) department. The Safety Champion Award is presented by HSRM to a safety committee or individual that has demonstrated excellence in research or workplace safety.
Professors Matthew Johnson and David Wood (biomedical engineering) were named into the College of Fellows for the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).
Assistant Professor Benjamin Worsfold (civil, environmental, and geo- engineering) was awarded the ACI Walter P. Moore, Jr, Faculty Achievement Award. This honor was bestowed by the American Concrete Institute Board of Direction “in recognition of his innovative and meritorious teaching endeavors.”
Assistant Professor Pedram Mortazavi (civil, environmental, and geo- engineering) was recognized by the Structural Stability Research Council for his significant contributions to the field of structural stability, with particular recognition of his impactful research on enhancing the seismic stability and performance of steel eccentrically braced frames.
Assistant Professor Ju Sun (computer science and engineering) was awarded the Guillermo E. Borja Career Development Award.
Professor Christine Berkesch (mathematics) and Associate Professor John Sartori (electrical and computer engineering) were awarded the Charles E. Bowers Faculty Teaching Award
Professors Victoria Interrante (computer science and engineering) and Christian Teyssier (earth and environmental sciences) were selected for the CSE Distinguished Professorship.
Teaching Professor Kent Kirkby (earth and environmental sciences) was awarded the CSE Instructional Faculty Teaching Award.
Associate Professor Aleksey Cherman (physics and astronomy) and Assistant Professor Honghong Tinn (electrical and computer engineering) were awarded the George W. Taylor Career Development Award
Associate Department Head Ian Tonks (chemistry) was awarded the George W. Taylor Award for Distinguished Research.
Associate Professor Jonathan Rogness (mathematics) was awarded the George W. Taylor Award for Distinguished Service.
Associate Professor Lauren Linderman (civil, environmental, and geo- engineering) was awarded the George W. Taylor and CSE Alumni Society Award for Distinguished Teaching.
Alumnus Kai Wu (electrical and computer engineering), who is currently a tenure-track faculty at Texas Tech University, received the National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award.
March 2026
Associate Professor Michelle Calabrese (chemical engineering and materials science) was awarded a U.S. Department of Energy Early Career Research Program Award to support her proposal, “Examining Field-Altered Solvation for Contaminant Capture and Critical Element Recovery.”
Associate Professor Ryan Caverly (aerospace engineering and mechanics) were awarded the Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award for their outstanding contributions to undergraduate education.
Professors Bill Arnold (civil, environmental, and geo- engineering) and C. Daniel Frisbie (chemical engineering and materials science) were awarded Graduate & Professional Teaching Awards.
Finance Professional III Lisa Jahr (chemistry) was named the 2026 recipient of the Chemistry Recognizing Outstanding Staff Award (ROSA).
Alumnus Kira Balentine (computer science and engineering) received the 2026 University of Minnesota Excellence in Teaching Award.
Assistant Professor Marien Simeni (mechanical engineering) was selected as a 2026 Frontiers of Science Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).
Professor Lynn Walker (chemical engineering and materials science) was elected as Vice Chair of the Division of Polymer Physics (DPOLY) of the American Physical Society (APS)
Undergraduate student Greta Brown (computer science and engineering) received an honorable mention in the CRA Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award.
Professors Renee R. Frontiera (chemistry), Jiarong Hong (mechanical engineering), Andre Mkhoyan (chemical engineering and materials science) and Tom Schwartzentruber (aerospace engineering and mechanics) were named Distinguished McKnight University Professor for the University of Minnesota.
Assistant Professors Chris Bartel (chemical engineering and materials science), Stevie Chancellor (computer science and engineering), Dongyeop Kang (computer science and engineering) and Kyoko Yoshida (biomedical engineering) were named University of Minnesota McKnight Land Grant Professors.
Alumnus Benjamin Magruder (Ph.D., Chemical Engineering) was named a recipient of the 2026 Schmidt Science Fellows award.
Student group Material Advantage (chemical engineering and materials science), the student bladesmithing team, won first place at the 2026 TMS Bladesmithing Competition.
Professors Erin E. Carlson (chemistry) and Maria Gini (computer science and engineering) were named 2025 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellows, one of the most distinct honors in the scientific community.
Professor Marien Simeni (mechanical engineering) was selected as a 2026 Frontiers of Science Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).
Associate Professor Suo Yang (mechanical engineering) was selected as the inaugural Early Career Award recipient by the Central States Section of the Combustion Institute (CSSCI).
Faculty members Jeff Calder, Tsao-Hsien Chen, Hao Jia, Arnd Scheel and Craig Westerland (mathematics) received 2026 Simons Fellowships in Mathematics.
February 2026
Professor Bethanie Stadler (electrical and computer engineering) received the 2025 MRS Woody White Service Award. The award is presented by the Materials Research Society (MRS), the award is in recognition of her service to the Society and her profession.
Assistant Professor Aryan Deshwal (computer science and engineering) won the Innovative Deployed Application Award at Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence (IAAI) Conference in January 2026.
Professor Rhonda Franklin (electrical and computer engineering) was named the 2026 recipient of the Rudolf Henning Distinguished Mentoring Award from IEEE.
Professor and Associate Dean for Research Joseph Konstan (computer science and engineering) received the ACM SIGCHI Lifetime Research Award. The awards identify and honor leaders and shapers of the field of human-computer interaction.
Professor Uwe Kortshagen (mechanical engineering) was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, along with alumni Stacey Yuxin Ma and Yu Sun.
Professor Vipin Kumar (computer science and engineering) was named to Inaugural United Nations Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence.
January 2026
Professor Timothy Lodge (chemical engineering and materials science) was awarded the 2026 Chemistry of Thermoplastic Elastomers Award from the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society.
Professor Mohamed Mokbel (computer science and engineering) who has been named a 2025 Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Fellow.
Professor William C.K. Pomerantz recently (chemistry) won a Bridge Award from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA). RCSA's Bridge Award program aims to help provide financial stabilization for critical projects led by Cottrell Scholars.
Assistant Professor Benjamin Worsfold (civil, environmental, and geo- engineering) was awarded the American Concrete Institute Walter P. Moore, Jr, Faculty Achievement Award.
Professor Bharat Jalan (chemical engineering and materials science) was elected as Secretary/Treasurer of the American Physical Society's Division of Materials Physics.
Associate Professor Michael Coughlin (physics and astronomy) was part of a team that won an award from the second year of the Scialog: Early Science from the LSST from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA).
Professor Vladimir Šverák (mathematics) has recently received the Heinz Hopf Prize from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich).
Professor Chris Ellison (chemical engineering and materials science) received the 2025 POLY Fellow Award by The Division of Polymer Chemistry, Inc. (POLY), a division of the American Chemical Society (ACS).