Forty-two graduate students have received University awards for their impact in areas of scholarship, teaching, outreach and mentoring at Penn State. Credit: Nichole Lupo / Penn State.
Six College of Engineering grad students recognized for impact across the University
Annual awards are sponsored by the Office of the President and administered by the Fox Graduate School
Apr 14, 2026
Editor’s note: A version of this article originally appeared on Penn State News.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State is recognizing 42 outstanding graduate students, six of whom are College of Engineering students, with awards that highlight their impact across the University, specifically in the areas of scholarship, teaching, outreach and mentoring. These students will be acknowledged at a special luncheon on April 15.
The annual recognition awards are sponsored by the Office of the President and administered by the Fox Graduate School. The awards include: Intercollege Graduate Student Outreach Achievement Award; the Graduate Student Service Award; the Ardeth and Norman Frisbey International Student Award; the Harold F. Martin Graduate Assistant Outstanding Teaching Awards; the AT&T Graduate Fellowship Award; the Harold K. Schilling Dean’s Graduate Scholarship; the Professional Master’s Excellence Award; the Graduate Student International Research Award; the Graduate Student Excellence in Mentoring Award; the Thomas and June Beaver Fund Award; the Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award; the Penn State Alumni Association Scholarship for Penn State Alumni in the Fox Graduate School; and the Alumni Association Dissertation Award.
AT&T Graduate Fellowship Award
Syed Md Mukit Rashid, doctoral candidate in Computer Science and Engineering. Credit: Nichole Lupo / Penn State.
Syed Md Mukit Rashid
Syed Md Mukit Rashid, a doctoral candidate in computer science and engineering, is being recognized for research that improves the security of everyday wireless technologies. His scholarship focuses on building automated testing frameworks that identify and help repair vulnerabilities in real-world implementations of 4G and 5G cellular networks, Bluetooth, Wi‑Fi and Internet of Things systems. Rather than relying on manual testing, Rashid integrates program analysis, model checking and machine learning to generate realistic communication sequences, learn device behavior from traces and detect when implementations violate critical security or privacy rules.
Using these methods, he and his collaborators have analyzed dozens of commercial devices and uncovered numerous previously unknown vulnerabilities — including flaws enabling tracking, denial‑of‑service attacks, privilege escalation and interception of communications. His research has resulted in multiple the industry-recognized common vulnerabilities and exposures, or CVEs, and substantial bug‑bounty recognition from industry partners.
Through the support of this fellowship, Rashid said he aims to advance AI‑driven vulnerability discovery and automated repair, helping ensure that future wireless systems are more trustworthy, resilient and secure.
Thomas and June Beaver Fund Award
Mohammadreza Shariatmadari, doctoral candidate in mechanical engineering. Credit: Nicole Lupo/Penn State.
Mohammadreza Shariatmadari
Mohammadreza Shariatmadari, a doctoral candidate in mechanical engineering, is being recognized for research that strengthens the sustainability and reliability of modern energy‑storage systems. While advanced battery‑management systems are standard in lithium‑ion technologies, they remain too costly for widely used but low‑cost chemistries, such as lead‑acid batteries. Shariatmadari addresses this gap by designing diagnostic algorithms capable of estimating battery health from minimal, low‑bandwidth data, which enables sophisticated monitoring on inexpensive hardware suitable for utility, micro‑mobility and backup‑power applications. His research extends to the development of intelligent, adaptive charging strategies that account for changing oxygen‑recombination efficiencies in aqueous chemistries, preventing under‑ and over‑charging, extending battery life and improving operational safety.
By enhancing the performance of more mature battery technologies with higher recycling rates, his research promotes a more circular and environmentally responsible energy ecosystem. These innovations reduce material demand, increase energy resilience and expand equitable access to clean, reliable storage solutions — supporting a fairer and more sustainable electrified future.
Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award
Anika Rahnuma, master's student in electrical engineering. Credit: Penn State.
Anika Rahnuma
Anika Rahnuma, a master’s student in electrical engineering, is being recognized for her impactful research on acoustic resonators that underpin reliable signal filtering in smartphones, Wi‑Fi systems, GPS receivers, and emerging 5G and 6G technologies. Her research bridges experimental rigor and computational insight. She performs detailed device measurements, extracts key performance parameters, and develops simulation‑based models to explain trends and guide improved resonator designs. As experimental and simulated results converge, her research deepens our understanding of the electromechanical behavior that enables cleaner communication signals, lower power use, and more robust sensing platforms.
Beyond her technical achievements, Rahnuma has also received competitive engineering scholarships for both research excellence and her leadership in the Graduate Women in Engineering student organization.
Penn State Alumni Association Scholarship for Penn State Alumni in the Fox Graduate School
Scout Bucks, doctoral student in nuclear engineering. Credit: Penn State.
Scout Bucks
Scout Bucks, a doctoral student in nuclear engineering, is being recognized for innovative research that strengthens the safety and performance of advanced nuclear reactors. His research focuses on sodium heat pipes, which are sealed, high‑temperature devices that passively transfer heat and are central to the design of next‑generation microreactors. By developing new techniques to characterize heat‑pipe behavior and map out their safe operating regimes, Bucks provides critical data needed to ensure reliability under extreme thermal conditions.
His experiments focus on designing and building high‑temperature test sections, integrating fiber‑optic and infrared diagnostics, and validating system behavior across a wide range of temperatures. This research advances reactor concepts that can deliver clean, stable power to remote communities, industrial facilities and other settings poorly served by traditional energy infrastructure.
With a 4.0 academic record, industry experience at Idaho National Laboratory and multiple conference awards, Bucks demonstrates both exceptional technical capability and a commitment to safe, sustainable nuclear energy.
Samantha Splendido, doctoral candidate in mechanical engineering. Credit: Credit: Nichole Lupo / Penn State.
Samantha Splendido
Samantha Splendido, a doctoral candidate in mechanical engineering, is being recognized for research that illuminates how engineering students’ experiences shape their identity development, career preparedness and long‑term persistence. Drawing on psychological and sociological frameworks, her scholarship investigates the factors such as belonging, well‑being and engineering identity that meaningfully influence whether students remain in engineering after completing their degrees. She has conducted studies with multiple unique populations, including U.S. National Science Foundation‑funded undergraduate researchers, online master’s students and industry professionals, to better understand how distinct pathways and learning environments shape students’ goals and development as engineers.
Beyond her research, Splendido brings her insights directly into practice. She serves as an instructor of record for a technical writing course in mechanical engineering and holds competitive teaching fellowships, earning a reputation as a thoughtful and effective educator. As president of the Graduate Women in Engineering student organization, she advocates for supportive, inclusive graduate experiences. Her efforts advance both scholarship and practice in engineering education, helping prepare the next generation of engineers for impactful and fulfilling careers.
Alumni Association Dissertation Award
Satwik Kundu, doctoral candidate in computer science and engineering. Credit: Penn State.
Satwik Kundu
Satwik Kundu, a doctoral candidate in computer science and engineering, is advancing quantum computing toward resilient and efficient deployment. His dissertation addresses two foundational challenges: protecting quantum machine‑learning models on shared cloud platforms and reducing the prohibitive cost and time required to train quantum algorithms. Related to security, Kundu identified new attack surfaces that include data poisoning, model theft and compiler reverse‑engineering, and he developed defenses that prevent intellectual‑property loss on untrusted quantum clouds. His framework obfuscates model outputs while preserving fidelity for authorized users and has already influenced ongoing work at top institutions.
To improve efficiency, Kundu created a predictive optimization system that reduces the number of costly quantum‑hardware calls, enabling training speeds up to three times faster. His research has resulted in more than 10 publications, a provisional patent, a Best Paper Award at IEEE International Symposium on Hardware Oriented Security and Trust (HOST) 2025, a premier hardware security conference, more than 230 citations, and $70,000 in IBM Quantum credits. Adopted by researchers at MIT, IBM and others, his research significantly accelerates progress toward practical quantum advantage in fields ranging from drug discovery to materials science.
Read the full article from Penn State News here.
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