Credit: Penn State.
Electrical engineering, mechanical engineering faculty recognized by University
Apr 25, 2025
Editor's note: Previous versions of these articles originally appeared on Penn State News.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Faculty from the Penn State College of Engineering in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science were recognized by a number of University-level awards this spring.
Penn State Global’s Early Career Faculty Award was given to Tamy Guimarães, assistant professor of mechanical engineering. The award recognizes innovative international research projects, excellence in global scholarship, or curricular and experiential leadership surrounding global learning for a tenure-earning faculty member at Penn State. Read more.
Allison Beese, professor of materials science and engineering in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) and mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering, received 2025 Faculty Scholar Medals for Outstanding Achievement.
Nominators said Beese’s pioneering research has led to a fundamental understanding of how microstructures and defects dictate the deformation and failure in additively manufactured metals and alloys. She also designs experiments for functionally graded metals in which properties change throughout, which leads to more purposeful components with tailored multifunctionality. She received the Faculty Scholar Medal for Engineering. Read more.
Griselda Conejo-Lopez, assistant teaching professor of electrical engineering and computer science in the College of Engineering received the 2025 George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award, named after Penn State’s seventh president, honors excellence in teaching at the undergraduate level.
Conejo-Lopez said teaching is one of her greatest joys. She loves the field of computer science and said students are always helping her find ways to better understand and break down complex concepts. It’s the two-way learning process that she finds the most rewarding. Read more.
Jacqueline O’Connor, professor of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering, received the 2025 Milton S. Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching. The award recognizes excellence in teaching and student support among tenured faculty who have been employed full time for at least five years with undergraduate teaching as a major portion of their duties. Milton S. Eisenhower, brother of former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, served as president of Penn State from 1950 to 1956.
O’Connor said her teaching philosophy centers around two goals: creating a learning environment that encourages a diverse spectrum of students to become skillful scholars and providing students with meaningful educational experiences that train them to be high-impact engineers. Read more.
Swaroop Ghosh, professor of electrical engineering and computer science in the College of Engineering, has received the 2025 Graduate Faculty Teaching Award.
The award, established in 1992 by the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School, is presented to faculty members in recognition of outstanding teaching performance and advising of graduate students.
Nominators called Ghosh a leader in the field of hardware design and security. They said he invites his graduate students to solve some of the top global challenges such as sustainability, healthcare and cybersecurity through novel approaches such as quantum computing. Read more.
Ram Narayanan, professor of electrical engineering in the College of Engineering, is the recipient of the 2025 Howard B. Palmer Faculty Mentoring Award. The award honors and recognizes outstanding achievement by a faculty member with at least five years of service who effectively guides junior faculty.
Nominators called Narayanan “a driving force behind the success of many junior and mid-career faculty in his department.” They said his selfless dedication to fostering the academic, professional and personal growth of those around him is exemplary, making him an exceptional case for the mentoring award. Read more.
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