Engineering at Illinois honors Distinguished Alumni, outstanding students

The University of Illinois College of Engineering honored six Distinguished Alumni and the recipients of its top undergraduate students awards on Saturday April 16 at the I-Hotel and Conference Center as part of the Student and Alumni Awards Ceremony.

2016 Distinguished Alumni

Kenneth A. Hansen (BS 1974, MS 1977, Electrical and Computer Engineering)

President and CEO, Semiconductor Research Corporation

At the forefront of cellular wireless development, Ken, who has had leadership roles at both Motorola and Freescale, is recognized as one of the most influential technical leaders in the wireless and semiconductor industry.

Arvind Krishna (MS 1987, PhD 1991, Electrical and Computer Engineering)

Senior Vice President and Director, IBM Research

For more than 25 years, Arvind has had a guiding influence for IBM through roles in product management, technical research and executive leadership capacities.

 

William H. Payne (BS 1963, MS 1964, Materials Science and Engineering)

Angel Investor, Board Member, Lead Instructor, Angel Resource Institute; Founder, Solid State Dielectrics, Inc.

Bill is often introduced as the “grandfather of angel investing,” having served as a counselor and resource to budding entrepreneurs for four decades. He has collaborated in the development of seven seminars for angels and entrepreneurs and taught over 125 workshops and seminars on angel investing in 35 states, four Canadian provinces, and nine countries.

Chao Kee Young Ronald (MS 1964, Mechanical Science and Engineering),

Vice Chairman & Director of Novel Enterprises Limited

Under Chao’s leadership, Novel has helped build well-known brands Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors, LLC. Through his private foundation, he has supported major educational initiatives like the Asian Youth Center dormitory project and the Asian Future Leaders Scholarship Program.

 

Karen A. Thole (BS 1982, MS 1984, Mechanical Science and Engineering)

Head, Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Pennsylvania State University

Karen is a leading voice in heat transfer while serving as a role model and advocate for women in STEM. The director of the Steady Thermal Aero Research Turbine Laboratory, she was honored as a U.S. White House Champion of Change in Science, Technology, and Engineering in 2011 for her recruitment efforts in STEM.

David W. Yen (MS 1977, PhD 1980, Electrical and Computer Engineering)

Retired SVP and GM for Data Center Business Group, Cisco

David has had key leadership roles for Sun Microelectronics, Junior Networks and Cisco, raising Cisco United Computer Systems annual revenues from about $700 million to more than $2.7 billion annually.

 

2016 Engineering at Illinois Student Award Winners

Harvey H. Jordan Award recognizes the scholastic achievement and character of an outstanding senior.

Hannah Lohman, senior, Civil & Environment Engineering
As this year's Jordan Award recipient Hannah Lohman delivered the feature address at the Student and Alumni Awards Ceremony on April 16. Click here for the text of her speech.

 

William R. Schowalter Award acknowledges a student who exemplifies outstanding character, creativity, and enthusiasm through leadership, encouragement of others, and dedication to the College.

Katie Mummah, Junior, Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering

 

 

 

Andrea J. Culumber Award honors an individual with strong leadership skills as well as personal qualities such as enthusiasm, creativity, and kindness.

Emily Chao, Senior, Computer Science

 

 

 

H.L. Wakeland Undergraduate Leadership Award recognizes a junior or senior who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and who has maintained a minimum 3.0 grade point average. Leadership activities can include university, campus, College, departmental, local, and community involvement.

Catherine McCarthy, Senior, Aerospace Engineering

 

 

C.S. Larson Transfer Student Awards

Colin Heshmat, Senior, Mechanical Science & Engineering

 

 

 

 

Laura Licari, Senior, Computer Science

 

 

 

Henry Ford II Scholar Award is supported by an endowment from the Ford Motor Company and given to an undergraduate student of highest academic achievement who intends to pursue graduate studies. Preference is given to candidates whose field contribute most to areas related to the automotive industry.

Isaac Carrasquillo, Senior, Physics