Lawson J. Brown Academic Award

Jessica Rodgers

Jessica Rodgers stands out as an exceptional scholar and athlete in her graduating class at Rowan University. Pursuing dual majors in Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science, she has consistently demonstrated her academic excellence and dedication to her studies. Alongside her rigorous academic schedule, she has spent five years competing as a javelin thrower on Rowan's Division III Track and Field team, showcasing her determination and athletic prowess. Committed to service and community engagement, Rodgers has volunteered her time to academic departments, on-campus athletic events, and various clubs as a member of the Honors Concentration. With an impeccable 4.0 GPA throughout her time at Rowan, Jessica's achievements serve as a shining example of hard work and resilience and shows how she has set herself up for success in her future!

DaVinci Medallion for Excellence in Biomedical Engineering

Arielle Gsell

Sponsored by the Department of Biomedical Engineering, this award is presented to the most outstanding graduating senior in the department. Endowed by Dr. Mark Byrne, Founding Biomedical Engineering Department Head, and his wife, Mrs. Susan Byrne.

Criteria:

Outstanding Cumulative GPA Demonstrating Academic Excellence
Demonstrated Excellence in Creative Scholarship and Research
Professional Leadership
Exceptional Character and Outreach Leadership

Bio:

Arielle Gsell will graduate with a degree in Biomedical Engineering and a Certificate of Undergraduate Study (CUGS) in Organ, Tissue, and Cell Engineering: Regenerative Medicine. She transferred to Rowan from a community college in Fall 2021, and shortly thereafter began working in Dr. Sebastián Vega’s lab with a research focus on engineering biomaterials for tissue regeneration. In the Vega Lab, she has developed innovative photopatterning methods for synthetic hydrogels and created osteogenic hydrogels for nonunion fractures. Gsell has presented her research at various conferences and was an NIH Fellow through the Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (U-RISE). She also garnered industry experience with internships at RegFluent and the Rowan Center for Responsible Leadership. Outside the lab, Gsell served as the BMES Outreach Chair and the SWE Events Chair. After graduation, she will pursue a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, with a focus on advancing regenerative medicine through impactful research.

Clarence Slater Award for Excellence in Chemical Engineering & the Thomas E. Robinson Leadership Award

David Theuma

Established by Dr. C. Stewart Slater, the founding Chair of the Chemical Engineering Department, this medallion is awarded to an outstanding graduating senior in the department. The award is named in memory of Dr. Slater’s father, Clarence, who was an eminent educator in Southern New Jersey, with 40 years of service as a teacher, department head and administrator at Atlantic City High School.

Criteria:

Student GPA (Chemical Engineering courses weigh heavily)
Undergraduate research (i.e., the student’s ability to excel in their junior/senior clinic project)
Activities in support of the Chemical Engineering Department

Bio:

David Theuma is a senior chemical engineering major from Hammonton, NJ. During his freshman year he was a member of the Engineering Learning Community has served as a new student mentor for the Honors college for three years. He has been active as secretary of the 3D Printing Club since the club’s founding in 2020 and is currently the College’s Special Projects Coordinator. Since the summer of 2022, Thuema has been highly involved in the Optimization of Transportation Processes in Multiproduct Petroleum Pipelines project and has made many large-scale developments in the petroleum industry thanks to the research that his team conducted, with cost savings of over $80,000. With this project, he authored and presented a conference paper, Procedural Enhancements to Industrial Pipeline Flushing Operations, which won 3rd place in the Fuels, Petrochemicals, and Energy division at the 2023 AIChE National Student Conference. Theuma also won the 2023 Marvin L. Harris Safety Award, 2023 Chemical Engineering Clinic Award, and the 2022 AIChE DVS Outstanding Sophomore in Chemical Engineering Award for his work on the project. After graduation, he hopes to find a job in either the petroleum or manufacturing industries, where he can use his many engineering skills and education to better the world by reducing waste and making industries more sustainable and efficient.

Elizabeth Slater Award for Excellence in Chemical Engineering Graduate Studies

Tristan W. Bacha

The Elizabeth Slater Award for Excellence in Chemical Engineering Graduate Studies is awarded to an outstanding Chemical Engineering graduating graduate student each year. The medal is named in memory of the mother of Dr. C. Stewart Slater, the Founding Chair of the Chemical Engineering Department. His mother worked as a Secretary for the Music Department at Atlantic City High School, where she met Dr. Slater’s father. She served the country as an American Red Cross “Gray Lady” during WW II, helping wounded servicemen at Thomas England General Hospital.

Criteria:

Must be graduating in May of the year of the award, or have had degree conferred earlier in the given academic year
Leadership / independent work on graduate project(s)
Creativity in research pursuits
Quantifiable scholarly outputs (examples: co-authorship of journal papers, conference presentations, corporate seminars, invited talks, assistance with corporate or federal agency reports, interactions with grant sponsor, assistance with proposal preparation, etc)
Mentorship of undergraduate clinic and/ or summer students
Positive team dynamics in research group

Bio:

Tristan Bacha worked under Dr. Joseph Stanzione and Dr. Mac Haas during his time at Rowan as a Ph.D. student. His research revolved around the cold spray process, specifically relating to the application of polymer coatings. During his time as PhD student, he authored and co-authored numerous scientific works on the subject and presented at various conferences. His focus was on the fundamental properties of polymers that dictate their behavior in the cold spray process, and how that behavior deviates from their well-studied metal counterparts. Tristan spent a summer at the Army Research Laboratory in Aberdeen Proving Ground to perform various studies and remained as a Guest Researcher for the remainder of his career as a PhD student. Today, Tristan is working as a postdoctoral fellow at the Army Research Laboratory.

Ralph Alan Dusseau Award for Civil & Environmental Engineering

Agatha Julie Seretni Uchi

This medallion is presented to a student who has established an outstanding record of service, scholarship, leadership, hard work and dedication in the field and is donated by Dr. Ralph A. Dusseau, founding chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Criteria:

Hard work and dedication
Ability to overcome obstacles
Service and scholarship

Bio:

Agatha Julie Seretni Uchi is a native of Brazil and moved to the US in 2020 to pursue her passion for Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rowan University. Embracing the challenge of learning English and adapting to a new culture head-on, she has thrived academically and personally. Throughout her time at Rowan, she has contributed to two significant projects: one focusing on self-consolidating concrete and the other on the iFrost mapper for geotechnical analysis. Uchi’s commitment to practical experience led her to an internship with the South Jersey Transportation Authority and a REU program at the University of Delaware, enriching her academic journey. Beyond academics, she is involved in Latino communities, advocating for increased participation in STEM fields, especially among women. This award is a personal achievement and a testament to the power of perseverance, community, and embracing new challenges.

Jamilur Reza Choudhury Award for Civil & Environmental Engineering

Bridget McDevitt

The Choudhury medallion is presented to a student who has established an outstanding record of academic achievement, interest in public policy and international affairs, and exceptional service in the field and is donated by Dr. Kauser Jahan.

Criteria:

Excellence in Academics
Interest in Public Policy and Global Affairs
Outstanding Service

Bio:

Bridget McDevitt is a senior graduating Summa Cum Laude in Civil and Environmental Engineering and with a minor in Geography. After graduation, she will transition into working full time at a Land Development firm. At Rowan, McDevitt enjoyed being an executive board member of ASCE, where she had the opportunity to travel to North Carolina for a leadership seminar. She also enjoyed her undergraduate research position, where she conducted studies on thawing Arctic permafrost soils. Throughout her years at Rowan, McDevitt accumulated many happy memories amongst friends and staff, and she will miss the Rowan community dearly. 

Y. Mehta Excellence in Graduate Studies in Civil and Environmental Engineering

This medallion is presented to a student who has excelled in graduate studies in Civil Engineering and is awarded to a graduating graduate student each year. It was donated by Dr. Yusuf Mehta, director CREATES.

Criteria:

Leadership / independent work on graduate project(s)
Creativity in research pursuits
Quantifiable scholarly outputs (e.g. co-authorship of journal papers, conference presentations, corporate seminars)
Mentorship of undergraduate clinic and/ or summer students, and other graduate students.
Positive team dynamics in research group

Ali Raza Khan

Bio:

As a dedicated international Ph.D. student at CREATES, Rowan University, Ali Raza Khan is passionately immersed in the field of Civil Engineering, specializing in pavement engineering. His research encompasses a broad spectrum of asphalt-related studies, spanning from comprehensive binder testing and mixture analysis to full-scale evaluations. Currently, Khan’s doctoral work revolves around the intricate realm of fiber-reinforced asphalt, with a primary focus on assessing the cracking performance of asphalt concrete in cold regions. Additionally, he has participated in different prestigious conferences throughout my doctoral degree. Khan has successfully published articles in esteemed journals such as Transportation Research Record (TRR), the American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE), and Construction and Building Materials (CBM), covering diverse aspects of asphalt technology.

Deep Patel

Bio:

Deep Patel is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rowan University. Patel is working as a research fellow and teaching assistant at the department. He is currently working on several federally funded projects to enhance the mobility and safety of transportation systems. Additionally, he has several published papers in prestigious journals and conference proceedings. Furthermore, he has been selected as a recipient of several nationally recognized awards, including the Intelligent Transportation Society of New Jersey’s Outstanding Graduate Student Award, the future of ITSNJ award, and the Lifesavers traffics safety scholar award, and many more.

C. Ernest O’Neal Award for Electrical & Computer Engineering

Michelle Frolio

Presented to an electrical & computer engineering student with an outstanding academic record and who has demonstrated strong leadership in professional societies, this award is sponsored by Dr. John L. Schmalzel, founding chair of the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department.

Criteria:

Top 5% GPA of graduating seniors
Strong leadership
Active in Student Chapter of IEEE

Bio:

Michelle Frolio is graduating with a degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering. During her time at Rowan, she was heavily involved in supporting research, classes and outreach through the ECE Resource Center as the Technologist Assistant. She calibrated lab equipment, ran ECAD/PCB workshops, taught arduino tutorials for engineering summer camps, designed research apparatus, assembled hundreds of PCBs, and much more. Throughout her fourth year at Rowan, she interned as an Engineer at Impulse Dynamics. After graduation, she will be returning to Impulse Dynamics as an Electrical Engineer.

Tirupathi Reddy Chandrupatla Award for Excellence in Mechanical Engineering

Logan Klingler

Sponsored by the Department of Mechanical Engineering, this award is presented to the student who best demonstrates character, leadership achievements and potential, the attitude of a team player, and a strong GPA.

Criteria:

Student must be academically strong, as shown by his or her cumulative GPA
Student is of outstanding character, as noted by the faculty in the department
Student exemplifies the goals, aspirations and spirit of the department

Bio:

Logan Klingler has graduated with his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering as of December 2023 and will be receiving his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering by the Summer of 2024. He left high school with a 3D printer and founded a small manufacturing business, LSK Design and Manufacturing, fabricating parts for medical vacuum system suppliers. This business was the financial footing he needed to pursue a college education, and with it, he paid for most of his undergraduate degrees. During his bachelor's, he began working with Doctor Mac Haas of the ME department in performing experimentation and providing facilities for Rowan's Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Institute (AMMI) and external Department of Defense customers. From chemical kinetics simulation to real reacting flows, these past two years have shaped his passion for chemistry and combustion science. He has recently accepted an incredible offer from Princeton University to pursue a PhD with the Plasma Control Group of their Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, starting in the Fall of 2024. 

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

Emmanuel A. Aboagye

Sponsored by Anthony Lowman, Ph.D. in honor of Dr. Lowman’s Ph.D. mentor.

Criteria:

Excellence in doctoral studies

Bio:

Emmanuel Aboagye is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate under the mentorship of Professor Christos Maravelias, in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University, where he is working on the synthesis and analysis of novel biomass to biofuel and chemical strategies. Emmanuel received his Ph.D. from Rowan University (RU) in the Chemical Engineering department where he worked on EPA and industrially funded projects, with a focus on systems-level approaches to process sustainability under the supervision of Dr. Kirti Yenkie. Specifically, he worked in the areas of solvent recovery for reuse, wastewater treatment network synthesis, and machine learning approaches for predicting emissions. Emmanuel is the recipient of the 2008 presidential award for best BECE male student in eastern region in Ghana, the 2021 best chemical engineering research and the 2022 sustainability research award from the Chemical Engineering department at RU, and a 2023 AIChE Foundation Grant Award recipient. He has also served as a judge for undergraduate poster session at the 2022 and 2023 AIChE annual meetings. He is a member of several professional associations, including the American Chemical Society (ACS), American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE), among others. During his doctoral studies at RU, he interned at Cargill, and was a teaching assistant. He also mentored over 20 undergraduate students and interns at the Sustainable Design and Systems Medicine Lab, in optimization and sustainability-related projects. Some of his mentees are now employed at Pfizer, DuPont, NJ DEP, SPX Flow, while others are pursuing their PhDs in graduate school. He also participated actively in various K-12 outreach programs. His research interests lie in process and energy systems engineering and optimization, sustainability assessment, and machine learning.

Irene Elizabeth Tracey Award for Excellence in Engineering

Abigail Martin

Awarded to an engineering student who has demonstrated excellence in scholarship, leadership, service, and character. This award is presented by faculty in the College of Engineering in memory of Irene Tracey, mother of Dr. James Tracey, founding dean of the College of Engineering.

Criteria:

Academic excellence
Service to profession and institution
Exemplary character and strong leadership qualities

Bio:

Abby Martin is a Chemical Engineering major with a Chemistry minor. During her time at Rowan, she has been involved with the chemical engineering department in many different ways: as a lab technician student worker, undergraduate researcher, and an executive board member of the AIChE student chapter. As a lab technician, Martin worked under the direction of Rob McClernan to redesign several undergraduate academic labs to enhance the ChE curriculum. Her undergraduate research experiences consisted of USDA funded food decontamination research and Boehringer Ingelheim funded crystallization research. She presented her USDA research at the 2023 AIChE regional conference and became a published co-author for this research in the ACS Omega journal. After graduation she will be pursuing a career as a process engineer at Crane Currency in Massachusetts.