Recipients of the 2022 Penn State Engineering Alumni Society awards represent 14 departments and units and include 17 faculty members, nine staff employees and two alumni. Credit: Penn State. All Rights Reserved.
Engineering honorees to be recognized for outstanding contributions
October 4, 2022
By Mary Fetzer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Engineering Alumni Society will host its annual PSEAS Awards ceremony at 2 p.m. on Oct. 12 in the Hintz Family Alumni Center’s Robb Hall.
The awards recognize College of Engineering faculty, staff and alumni who’ve made exceptional contributions to teaching, research, advising and service. Award recipients were nominated by their respective departments and selected through secret ballot by committees composed of their peers, former award recipients and members of the PSEAS board of directors.
“The Penn State Engineering Alumni Society facilitates and recognizes excellent work across the college in support of our mission, and I am pleased to congratulate the winners of this year’s PSEAS Awards,” said Anthony Atchley, acting dean in the College of Engineering. “Alumni engagement is critical to providing the best engineering education to the next generation of engineers.”
The honorees for 2022 represent 14 departments and units and include 17 faculty members, nine staff employees and two alumni:
Distinguished Service Award — recognizes and honors alumni, friends or current or former faculty who have donated their time, expertise and/or energies to a department within the college.
- Tom Kapelewski, who earned his Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering in 1982 and is a member of the board of directors of the Penn State Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Society
Equity and Inclusion Award — recognizes a staff member who has demonstrated a commitment to the college’s goal of being a diverse and supportive community that provides a climate of sensitivity, open-mindedness and respect.
- Tracy Peterson, director of student transitions and pre-college programs, Center for Engineering Outreach and Inclusion
Outstanding Advising Award — recognizes and rewards outstanding advisers of engineering undergraduate and graduate students.
- Lauren Griggs, director of the Multicultural Engineering Program, Center for Engineering Outreach and Inclusion
- Elena Joshi, associate teaching professor and undergraduate program coordinator, Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Outstanding Research Award — recognizes and rewards outstanding engineering researchers for accomplishments in advancing the frontiers of knowledge.
- Saptarshi Das, associate professor, Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics
- Swaroop Ghosh, associate professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Trent Jaeger, professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Jingjing Li, professor, Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
- Stephen Lynch, associate professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Chaopeng Shen, associate professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Outstanding Staff Award — recognizes outstanding performance of a staff member.
- Alyshia Dann, administrative support coordinator, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Annie Royer, financial assistant, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Jaclyn Stimely, assistant director of the Additive Manufacturing and Design Graduate Program
Outstanding Teaching Award — recognizes and rewards outstanding engineering educators for excellence in teaching and for contributions to the art of teaching.
- Andrea Argüelles, assistant professor, Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics
- Meg Handley, associate teaching professor, School of Engineering Design, Technology, and Professional Programs
- Elia Merzari, associate professor, Ken and Mary Alice Lindquist Department of Nuclear Engineering
- Daniel Russell, teaching professor and distance education coordinator, Graduate Program in Acoustics
- Stephanie Butler Velegol, acting associate department head and teaching professor, Department of Chemical Engineering
Premier Research Award — recognizes and rewards an individual whose contributions to scientific knowledge through research are exemplary and internationally acclaimed.
- Vishal Monga, professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Premier Teaching Award — recognizes and rewards individuals whose contributions to engineering education or the art of teaching are of exceptional quality.
- Vikash Gayah, associate professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Larson Transport Institute
- Ryan Solnosky, associate teaching professor, Department of Architectural Engineering
Rising Star Award — recognizes an individual who shows great promise in their position and has demonstrated exceptional job performance.
- Taylor Doksa, department head administrative assistant, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Dakota Sinclair, electrical field engineer, Penn State Facilities Engineering Institute
Spirit Award — honors a staff member who displays a positive and enthusiastic attitude and who has promoted a spirit of cooperation and collegiality in their work unit and the college.
- Miki Wagner, administrative support assistant, Dean’s Office
Staff Innovation Award — recognizes a staff member who has used creativity appropriately to develop new and/or improved processes, methods, systems, products or services and encouraged others to do the same.
- Anand Swaminathan, research and development engineer, Department of Architectural Engineering
Staff Leadership Award — recognizes a staff member who has shown outstanding levels of leadership and teamwork in the workplace.
- LaTrisha Hough, administrative coordinator, Department of Architectural Engineering
Young Alumni Achievement Award — recognizes engineering alumni 35 years old and younger for their extraordinary professional accomplishments.
- Katie Tice, who earned her Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering in 2012
Lawrence J. Perez Memorial Student Advocate Award — recognizes a faculty member who contributes to the welfare of students and enriches the college by their willingness to devote significant time and effort to assist students with academic and/or personal problems.
- Sven Schmitz, professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering
Share this story:
