Alexa Aulicino Virtual Commencement Address

Irene Elizabeth Tracey Award for Excellence in Engineering - Alexa Aulicino

Alexa Aulicino is graduating in May 2021 with a BS in Mechanical Engineering, and a minor in Spanish. She is in the Thomas N. Bantivoglio Honors Concentration, and has a current GPA of 3.88. Alexa has served as the President of the NJ Epsilon Chapter of Tau Beta Pi since 2019. Tau Beta Pi is the national engineering honor society. Tau Beta Pi membership is based on excellent scholarship and exemplary character, of which Alexa has been a role model. She has been actively involved in the Rowan Environmental Action League since her first-year, and served as president during her senior year. She is passionate about sustainability, with a keen interest in interacting with students in other majors. She has been active with the Office of Volunteerism and has worked on projects at the Carolina Tiger Rescue involving on-site beautification and animal conservation. She also has coordinated restoration projects with the American Hiking Society at Natural Bridge State Park. Alexa is especially proud of having completed the Leadership Rowan path (bronze, silver, and gold levels), and served as a mentor for the "First-Year Connection Leadership" Trip. This has enabled incoming first-year and transfer students to better acclimate to Rowan, and make the most of their college experience.

DaVinci Medallion for Excellence in Biomedical Engineering - Roshni Gandhi

Roshni Gandhi is graduating in May 2021 with a BS in Biomedical Engineering and is in the 3+4 program. She is in Thomas N. Bantivoglio Honors Concentration with a 3.918 cumulative GPA, receiving Summa Cum Laude honors. Roshni will be heading to medical school at the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. The DaVinci award recognizes the most outstanding graduating senior in the department demonstrating academic excellence, excellence in creative scholarship and research, leadership, and exceptional character and outreach. Roshni has been involved in Dr. Vega’s research lab where she has developed a novel injectable hydrogel to locally regenerate bone as a treatment for osteoporosis. In the Vega Lab, she also created an injectable hydrogel dosimeter that serves as a spacer in cancer radiation therapy. She is an author on three peer-reviewed publications and has presented her work at four international/national conferences and numerous regional venues. In collaboration with Dr. Vega, Roshni has also helped start the BEAM (Biomedical Engineering and Me) Outreach program, getting high school students interested in biomedical engineering and mentoring them as they prepare for college. As a biomedical engineer, Roshni is an innovator who is twice patent-pending, and helped co-found her startup company, Reachable Solutions, that aims to create a suite of assistive devices to help those with limited mobility. Having served on the e-board of the Society of Women Engineers since her first-year, Roshni served as President during her junior year. As President of this professional development organization, she helped develop relationships with industry and academic institutions, including establishing a long-term mentorship program with PSEG. She also helped found and lead the SWEET outreach program, a summer program that allows middle school girls to learn more about STEM and engineering through interactive events and experiments. Roshni also served as the only student representative in Dr. Houshmand’s Core Centennial Celebration Committee, preparing for Rowan’s 100-year Anniversary. During her time at Rowan, she also founded a non-profit dedicated to stroke wellness and rehabilitation. Roshni has won the ACC Inventure Prize, the Randall Family Big Idea Competition, and numerous grants including a VentureWell grant.

DaVinci Medallion for Excellence in Biomedical Engineering - Augustino "Augie" Scorzo

Augustino Scorzo is graduating in May 2021 with a BS in Biomedical Engineering, a minor in Physics and is in the Thomas N. Bantivoglio Honors Concentration. He will also graduate with an Certificate of Undergraduate Studies in Health Physics with a 3.947 cumulative GPA and will receive Summa Cum Laude honors. The DaVinci award recognizes the most outstanding graduating senior in the department demonstrating academic excellence, excellence in creative scholarship and research, leadership, and exceptional character and outreach. Augie has been actively involved within Dr. Nucci’s lab in the physics department researching quantum dot synthesis using reverse micelles and their applications in diagnostic imaging. He has two peer-reviewed manuscripts and has presented his research work at six national and regional conferences/ symposiums. Augie also co-founded a startup company, ChronoCare, which is focused on improving national compliance to the SEP-1 standard for sepsis. The company, founded by a multidisciplinary group of undergraduates, is currently testing their application through an active clinical trial at Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. Additionally, Augie served as the Industrial Liaison and Vice President of Rowan’s Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) chapter. Within BMES, Augie invited speakers to share unique perspectives within research and industry to inspire undergraduates to discover their own passion in biomedical engineering. Augie has also been very involved within the BME department and volunteered to speak at various open houses. He has served as a Rowan Biomedical Engineering Ambassador and is currently involved within Biomedical Engineering and Me, a collection of undergraduate engineers who introduce the ideas of Bioengineering to high school students. He has also been a part of the Rowan Men’s Club Lacrosse team since his first-year. Augie won first place in Rowan’s New Venture Competition, and he was runner-up in Rowan’s Idea Challenge. A Rowan Goldwater nominee and a Prof SGA Scholar, Augie will be attending the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College in Fall 2021 to pursue his PhD in Medical Physics.

Clarence Slater Award for Excellence in Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Studies - Maya Desai

In her time at Rowan, Maya Desai has excelled in research. For the last two years she has been engaged in a project on Wastewater Treatment & Asset Management, directed by Dr. Kirti Yenkie and sponsored by Atlantic County Utilities Authority.  In this capacity she has served as a co-author on two conference presentations and an article submitted to the International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology. In the Fall of 2020, she earned two presentation awards at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Annual Meeting: Best Undergraduate Poster award from the CAST (Computing & Systems Technology) Division of AIChE, and first place in the Computing & Process Control category of the 2020 Annual Student Conference Poster Competition. In addition, Maya has a cumulative GPA above 3.9 and is in Thomas N. Bantivoglio Honors Concentration.

Elizabeth Slater Award for Excellence in Graduate Chemical Engineering Studies - Michael Vincent O. Laurio

Michael Vincent O. Laurio is a Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering, working under the direction of Dr. C. Stewart Slater. Michael has excelled as a graduate student in creativity, independent work, scholarly productivity, and mentorship of undergraduates. He is on study-leave from his faculty appointment at University of the Philippines, Los Baños, through a Foreign Scholarship Grant from the Philippine government.  At Rowan, he has worked on a project supported by U.S. EPA and Nestlé USA, evaluating a membrane-based water recovery route for the preconcentration of coffee extracts. He has developed new approaches to modeling mass transfer in a dynamic (shear-enhanced) nanofiltration membrane module, which advance the understanding in field of complex separations. This research is quite relevant to commercialization, and he has analyzed the techno-economic life cycle assessment of this technology deployed at a commercial scale.  Michael’s research on this project has resulted in three journal publications with a fourth under review, seven conference/seminar papers, and several “factsheets” distributed by U.S. EPA.  Mike has provided mentorship of nine undergraduate students in the research group. He always has a positive attitude, and works towards motivating everyone in the group.  After graduation, he will re-join University of the Philippines, Los Baños, as an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering.

Ralph Alan Dusseau Medallion Award for Civil and Environmental Engineering – Taylor Repko

The Ralph Alan Dusseau Medallion Award for Civil and Environmental Engineering is given annually to the senior who best demonstrates a record of hard work, dedication, ability to overcome obstacles, service, and scholarship. Taylor Repko has a current GPA of 3.82 at Rowan University and has an extensive record of service to her community and to the civil engineering profession.  She has also been an active contributor to the department, college, university, and greater community through recruiting, ASCE leadership, and more.

Jamilur Reza Choudhury Award for Civil and Environmental Engineering - Benjamin Chan

The JRC Medallion Award for Civil and Environmental Engineering is given annually to the senior who best demonstrates Excellence in Academics, Interest in Public Policy and Global Affairs and Outstanding Service to the Community. Benjamin Chan is graduating with a GPA of 3.96, will receive Summa Cum Laude honors and has a minor in Computer Science. He is a LEED Green Associate and has served as the Vice President and Rowan's Student Government Association's Club Senator for REAL (Rowan Environmental Action League). Benjamin is also a President of the United States Green Building Council Club and has been an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and Tau Beta Pi.

Jamilur Reza Choudhury Award for Civil and Environmental Engineering - Liam Cutri-French

The JRC Medallion Award for Civil and Environmental Engineering is given annually to the senior who best demonstrates Excellence in Academics, Interest in Public Policy and Global Affairs and Outstanding Service to the Community. Liam Cutri-French is graduating with a GPA of 3.93, receiving Summa Cum Laude honors. He is a member of our prestigious Thomas N. Bantivoglio Honors Concentration and Tau Beta Pi. Liam has served as the Assistant Vice President of Facilities and Operations for Rowan’s Student Government Association and is an active member of Engineers Without Borders. He is serving as the co-founder and chief administrative officer of ChronoCare, a startup company to improve hospital compliance with national treatment standards. Liam will be pursuing graduate studies at the Carnegie Mellon University in Engineering and Public Policy.

C. Ernest O’Neal Award for Electrical and Computer Engineering – Christopher Contos

When Christopher Contos took his first ECE course, Introduction to Digital Systems, he was quite unsure of himself. In his own words, “I struggled to remain attentive while simultaneously quelling internal panic derived from imposter syndrome.” It is now four years after that beginning and Chris has a lot to show for himself. He is about to receive his BS in ECE, a Minor in Physics, and is in the Thomas N. Bantivoglio Honors Concentration. He currently has taken 130 student credit hours, and has a 4.000 Grade Point Average. With those credentials, he could successfully steer his career in any direction and has chosen the very challenging field of “contributing to the widespread equitable access to sustainable energy.“ Chris has been working on the Campus Microgrid project for two semesters, conducting research on the long-term Photovoltaic System planning in economics and emission reduction, as well as short-term grid integration power flow analysis. His critical thinking, independent problem solving, and leadership capabilities contributed to the very solid research outcomes of this project. Due to his outstanding academic performance and exceptional research experience in energy systems, Chris has been admitted by Georgia Institute of Technology as a Master of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Management (MSEEM) Fellow doing research and taking courses at the intersection of engineering, economics, and policy. After graduation, he will be contributing to our Nation’s renewable mission.

Tirupathi Reddy Chandrupatla Award for Excellence in Mechanical Engineering – Andrew Galloway

Andrew Galloway has been an active contributor to many endeavors in the Mechanical Engineering Department. He has been a student worker for the last three years for the ME department where he has been a tremendous asset in helping fellow students with projects, repairing equipment, and assisting researchers with the fabrication of research apparatuses. He has been involved in SAE Baja, single handedly leading the development of the vehicle’s data acquisition system. In his ME Lab course, he was very comfortable with Arduino programming, and would routinely help others in the class when he had completed his own work. He genuinely believes in collaborative learning and approaches challenges with interest. Andrew also contributed to the Formula Electric clinic as a co-leader, putting in countless hours of work on the project. Andrew is the type of student who is always willing to volunteer and help in any way he can. He goes above and beyond in his studies and in his efforts to serve. Andrew has made his mark on Rowan Engineering and we are excited to see what the future holds for him.

Nicholas A. Peppas Sc.D. Medallion for Excellence in Doctoral Studies - George Lecakes

The Nicholas A. Peppas Medallion for Excellence in Doctoral Studies, sponsored by Provost Tony Lowman, is awarded annually to recognize outstanding accomplishments of a student graduating in one of Rowan University’s Engineering PhD programs. George D. Lecakes, Jr. (M.S. Electrical & Computer Engineering 2009, B.S. Civil & Environmental Engineering 2007,  PhD Electrical & Computer Engineering, 2021) is the inaugural recipient of the Nicholas A. Peppas Medallion.  George had distinguished himself in the Rowan Virtual Reality Center (RVRC) for over 15 years by supporting research projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation, NASA, US NAVY, US Army and the FAA. He currently has 13 peer-reviewed publications including journal articles in the IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation & Measurement and conference proceedings in the IEEE Sensors Applications Symposia. George has advised graduate and undergraduate students in Engineering Clinic and taught Senior/Graduate-level courses in Android programming and Virtual Reality in the Electrical & Computer Engineering department. In addition to his technical excellence, George has demonstrated exemplary service to the University community by hosting demonstrations at the VR Center facilities to over a 1,000 visitors to date, ranging from K-12 students to US Senators and Congressmen.  In 2020, at the beginning of the global COVID-19 pandemic, George led over 50 students across Rowan University campuses in developing a 3-D printed mask for first responders. This mask design was made available for anyone in the world to download, and has been downloaded over 50,000 times from over 120 countries in the world. In 2021, George led the development of a virtual reality tool for managing COVID-19 vaccination sites.