Faculty and staff awards and honors
Awards and honors earned by faculty and staff of the College of Engineering and Knowlton School from September 2021 to February 2022.
Lisa Abrams, associate chair and professor of practice in engineering education, received an Ohio State Student Academic Success Research grant to examine whether an inclusive leadership course results in measurable change in mindsets and behavior among enrolled students and how those behaviors propagate through those students into other engineering courses.
Gunjan Agarwal, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, received an Ohio State Student Academic Success Research grant to employ tools of social psychology to assess the sense of belonging among underrepresented minority students in engineering and to examine if interventions designed to improve climate and belonging have a positive impact on academic performance and retention.
Biomedical Engineering Associate Professor Rizwan Ahmad leads a team of collaborators who received a $3.3 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to complete a comprehensive valvular heart disease assessment with stress cardiac MRI. Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Lee Potter is a co-investigator.
Qadeer Ahmed, research associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, received the SAE Forest R. McFarland Award.
Anish Arora, chair and professor of computer science and engineering, leads Ohio State’s efforts to design curriculum for Ohio’s Broadband and 5G Sector Partnership, for which the university received $3 million. Co-investigators are Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Eylem Ekici and Computer Science and Engineering Professor of Practice Rajiv Ramnath.
Lisa Barclay has been named the assistant dean for diversity, equity and inclusion and chief diversity officer for the College of Engineering.
Tanya Berger-Wolfe, director of the Translational Data Analytics Institute and professor of computer science and engineering, is principal investigator of the Ohio State Imageomics Institute, which received a $15 million grant from the National Science Foundation.
Mike Bond, associate professor of computer science and engineering, has been awarded a $499,998 grant from the National Science Foundation to rethink high-performance persistent transactions to improve their efficiency.
Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture Jacob Boswell earned $50,000 in funding from the Ohio State Energy Partners for his "Sustainable Ohio Urban Landscape Lab" project.
Nick Brunelli, H.C. 'Slip' Slider associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, was named a 2021 Energy & Fuels Rising Star.
Raymond Cao, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, received a $400,000 award from the Department of Energy’s Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research program to develop a novel total salt mass determination method for safeguarding molten salt reactors. Praneeth Kandlakunta, research associate in mechanical and aerospace engineering, is a co-principal investigator.
Carlos Castro, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, received an Ohio State Accelerator Award to develop a molecular COVID-19 diagnostic test that generates results in 30 minutes or less using a DNA-based dynamic nanobiosensor.
Jeffrey Chalmers, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, has been elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).
City and Regional Planning Assistant Professor Zhenhua Chen received a $80,102 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service to conduct a study of the Mississippi River.
Stuart Cooper, distinguished professor of chemical engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Inventors 2021 class of fellows.
David Dean, associate professor of materials science and engineering, leads a team who received a President’s Research Excellence program catalyst grant to establish a center of excellence at Ohio State in the field of Point of Care Manufacturing. Co-investigators include Materials Science and Engineering Associate Professors Michael Groeber and Steve Niezgoda.
Materials Science and Engineering Assistant Professor Vicky Doan-Nguyen was awarded a $450,000 grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) through its Young Investigator Research Program to design new anisotropic nanostructures and polymer-derived ceramic composite materials for aerospace applications.
Lian Duan, associate professor and Honda Chair in Transportation in mechanical and aerospace engineering, was elected an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
David Emerling, director of development for the Center of Automotive Research, received the university’s Dan L. Heinlen Award for outstanding achievements in advancing the university through advocacy.
Computer Science and Engineering Professor Eric Fosler-Lussier was elevated to IEEE Fellow for contributions to spoken language technology by integrating linguistic models with machine learning.
Biomedical Engineering Associate Professor Daniel Gallego-Perez earned a $250,000 grant from the Lisa Dean Moseley Foundation to continue development of novel therapies for Alzheimer’s disease by converting adult skin cells into stem-like cells.
Joshua Goldberger, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and materials science and engineering, was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS).
Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska, vice president for knowledge enterprise and professor of civil, environmental and geodetic engineering, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Deborah Grzybowski, professor of practice of engineering education, was appointed assistant dean of teaching and learning in the College of Engineering.
Associate Dean of Facilities Michael Hagenberger, Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering Assistant Professor Jordan Clark and ENGIE Technology Architect Mark Brown lead an interdisciplinary Ohio State team that received a $4.2 million Department of Energy grant to conceive, optimize build and refine a Connected Community at Ohio State.
Nicholas G. Hall, professor of integrated systems engineering, was named a Fellow of INFORMS, the largest professional association for decision and data sciences.
Marcela Hernandez has been appointed to the new position of assistant dean for faculty affairs and recruitment in the College of Engineering.
John M. Horack, the Neil Armstrong Chair in Aerospace Policy, is the lead researcher for Ohio State’s multimillion dollar NASA-funded effort to develop a new generation of commercially based, human-occupied space stations. He was also elected an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
Ayanna Howard, dean of the College of Engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Inventors 2021 class of fellows and was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Joel Johnson, the Burn and Sue Lin endowed professor of electrical and computer engineering, received the ElectroScience Laboratory’s 2021 George Sinclair Award.
Asimina Kiourti, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, received a five-year, $527,695 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation for her research on wearable sensors that operate in complex and dynamic environments and can be seamlessly embedded in fabrics. She and College of Nursing Assistant Professor Lisa K. Militello received an Ohio State Accelerator Award to develop a patented solution to detect and monitor a baby's position during sleep.
Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Sanjay Krishna, leads an interdisciplinary university team who received a President’s Research Excellence program catalyst grant to develop a non-invasive therapeutic tool that can treat brain disorders including Parkinson’s Disease and major depressive disorder.
Mrinal Kumar, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and his team received a $1.4 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to develop autonomous unmanned aerial systems (UAS) technology for conducting robotic missions during prescribed burns used for wildfire prevention and mitigation. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Associate Professor Amit Sanyal is a co-investigator.
Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Yingbin Liang was elevated to IEEE Fellow for contributions to information theoretic methods for wireless systems.
Li-Chiang Lin, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, received a 2021 Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching from Ohio State. He was also named to the 2021 Class of Influential Researchers – The Americas by Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.
Alan Luo, professor of materials science and engineering, received an Ohio State Accelerator Award to develop manufacturing strategies—including additive manufacturing processes—for a patent-pending bioresorbable magnesium alloy. Associate Professor David Dean and Director of Additive Manufacturing Ed Herderick are co-investigators.
City and Regional Planning Associate Professor Tijs Van Maasakkers and Assistant Professor Yasuyuki (Yas) Motoyama received an $80,000 research grant from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation to identify and analyze the strategies, growth patterns and local systems of high-growth firms in several counties in northeast Ohio.
Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture Paula Meijerink has received an Affordable Learning Exchange grant to support her Trees for All People course.
Shawn Midlam-Mohler, SIMCenter director and professor-clinical of mechanical and aerospace engineering, leads a multidisciplinary team awarded a $2.5 million grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) to develop and test low-emission, high-efficiency residential wood-fueled heaters.
Electrical and Computer Engineering Emeritus Professor Ümit Özgüner received the 2021 IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society Lifetime Achievement Award.
Umit Ozkan, chair and professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, and her laboratory was named to the 2021 Dean's List for Laboratory Safety by Ohio State’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety.
Andre Palmer, associate dean for research and professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, received a $2.6 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a protein complex therapeutic to detoxify hemolysis byproducts in cardiopulmonary bypass circuits. He is also a principal investigator for a $2.5 million NIH R01 grant to develop a protein cocktail aerosol therapeutic to detoxify hemolysis byproducts in genetic and acquired anemias. In addition, Palmer received the 2021 Gaden Award from Biotechnology & Bioengineering.
Dhabaleswar K. (DK) Panda, professor of computer science and engineering, received the IEEE Computer Society’s 2022 Charles Babbage Award for his contributions to high performance and scalable communication in parallel and high-end computing systems.
Boyd Panton, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, received an Ohio State Accelerator Award to develop a micro-impact welding technology for shape memory alloys that is stronger than the state-of-the-art and enables manufacturing of actuators with smaller and lighter joints.
Computer Science and Engineering Professor Srinivasan Parthasarathy leads a multidisciplinary team that received a $750,000 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Convergence Accelerator to develop prototype artificial-intelligence-driven tools that help combat misinformation in times of crisis. Computer Science and Engineering Assistant Professor Yu Su and Assistant Professor Huan Sun are co-investigators.
Cindy Patton, fiscal associate, received the ElectroScience Laboratory’s 2021 Above and Beyond Award – Staff.
Shaurya Prakash, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace, received an Ohio State Accelerator Award to develop an innovative, easy to use, disposable electroceutical dressing for treatment of chronic wounds that are highly susceptible to bacterial biofilms.
Biomedical Engineering Assistant Professor Devina Purmessur received a five-year, $568,000 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation for her research on novel methods of mechanically regulated cellular communication in the spinal column.
Rongjun Qin, associate professor of geodetic engineering, was named associate editor of the ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing.
Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Professor Ronald Reano and his team earned more than $475,000 from the National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation Program to purchase and install a chemical mechanical polishing system for advanced research and education opportunities. ECE’s Betty Lise Anderson, Shamsul Arafin, Nima Ghalichechian and Hongping Zhao are co-investigators. Reano also leads an interdisciplinary university team who received a President’s Research Excellence program catalyst grant to create quantum bits based on the integration of erbium into transformative host systems in integrated photonics platforms quantum networking.
Brian Ritchie, assistant professor of practice of mechanical and aerospace engineering, has been recognized as an Engineering Unleashed 2021 Fellow by the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN).
Scott Shearer, chair of food, agricultural and biological engineering, leads a high clearance robotic irrigation system project that received a $1.2 million award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering Professor John Fulton is a collaborator.
Ramteen Sioshansi, professor of integrated systems engineering, received a $35,000 grant from Ohio State Energy Partners for the "Convergent Graduate Training and EmPOWERment for a Sustainable Energy Future" program.
Nuclear Engineering Professor Carol Smidts received an $800,000 award from the Department of Energy to develop a virtual reality environment for the collection of human performance data under various physical attack scenarios on nuclear power plants.
Research Scientist Shane Smith, received the ElectroScience Laboratory’s 2021 Above and Beyond Award – Researcher/Faculty.
Bobby Srivastava has been named chief administrative officer in the College of Engineering.
Halina Steiner, assistant professor of landscape architecture, led a team that received a 2021 Honor Award from the Ohio Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects in recognition of her project, Curbing Sediment.
Biomedical Engineering Associate Professor of Practice La’Tonia Stiner-Jones has been promoted to associate dean of graduate programs after having served as assistant dean since 2015.
Katelyn Swindle-Reilly, assistant professor of biomedical engineering and chemical and biomolecular engineering, received a two-year, $404,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health for her research using biomaterials approaches to understand how cataract surgery influences lens epithelial cell behaviors. Biomedical Engineering Associate Professor Derek Hansford is a co-investigator on the project. Swindle-Reilly was also elected communications chair for the Controlled Release Society’s Ocular Delivery Focus Group and is one of 15 women academic entrepreneurs selected for the Equalize 2022 cohort, a virtual mentor program and pitch competition for academic women entrepreneurs.
Derrick L. Tillman-Kelly has been named chief of staff in the College of Engineering.
Charles Toth, research professor of civil, environmental and geodetic engineering, was elected Fellow of the Institute of Navigation (ION).
Xiaoguang (William) Wang, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, was named an emerging investigator by the Journal of Materials Chemistry A.
Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Marvin White received an Technology & Engineering Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for his contributions to television imaging.
Jessica Winter, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and biomedical engineering, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).
Integrated Systems Engineering Professor Allen Yi, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Research Associate Professor Jeremy Seidt, Integrated Systems Engineering Assistant Professor Samantha Krening, Materials Science and Engineering Assistant Professor Jinghua Li, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Gunjan Agarwal, Biomedical Engineering Professor Daniel Gallego-Perez, Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering Professor Alper Yilmaz and their collaborators received $25,000 pilot grants from the Ohio State Center for Medical and Engineering Innovation (CMEI) for interdisciplinary research projects.
