Engineering at Illinois to honor Distinguished Alumni, outstanding students

Engineering at Illinois will honor distinguished alumni and top students at the Student and Alumni Awards Ceremony on April 1 at Champaign Country Club. 

The Distinguished Alumni Award is presented to a select group of alumni each year. Recipients are selected for the award based on their outstanding leadership, creativity, entrepreneurship, and contributions to the field of engineering. These honorees have provided service to society, the professional community, and to their respective departments, the College, and the University. 

Thanks to the support of our alumni and friends, the College of Engineering is proud to grant a variety of awards to these deserving students. These awards are competitive and decided based on academic achievement, and outstanding participation in professional and service activities. A committee of faculty and staff select the recipients.

2017 Distinguished Alumni

(degrees earned from University of Illinois are listed below)

A.L. (Tad) Addy, PhD ’63 in Mechanical Engineering

Professor Emeritus, Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering at Illinois

For his distinguished research in fluid dynamics and outstanding leadership of an academic department that influenced thousands of mechanical engineers, as well as his advocacy for the quality and innovation in education. ​

Darren Guccione , BS ’91 in Industrial Engineering

CEO and Co-founder, Keeper Security, Inc.

For his expertise and leadership in the field of cyber-security and for his entrepreneurial accomplishments

CEO and Co-founder, Keeper Security, Inc.CITATION: For his expertise and leadership in the field of cyber-security and for his entrepreneurial

 

Barclay G. Jones , MS ’60, PhD ’66 in Nuclear Engineering

Professor Emeritus, Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering at the University of Illinois

For his leadership and commitment in guiding nuclear engineering education over the past 50 years at the University of Illinois

 

Melvin (Mickey) Kupperman, BS ’57, MS ’58 in Civil Engineering

Chief Operating Officer, Silverstein Properties, Inc.

For his remarkable leadership, strategic organizational skills, and management of mega-projects, including design and development

 

 

Der-Tsai (DT) Lee , MS ’76, PhD ’78 in Computer Science

Distinguished Research Fellow, Institute of Information Science, Academia Sinica, Taiwan

For contributions to computational geometry and design and analysis of algorithms.

 

Distinguished Research Fellow, Institute of Information Science, Academia Sinica, TaiwanCITATION: For contributions to computational geometry and design and analysis of algorithms.

Gerald T. Marcyk , BS ’73, MS ’76, PhD ’78 in Electrical Engineering

Retired Director of Components Research, Intel Corporation

For his contributions to microprocessor silicon technology research and development

 

 

Sandra L. Rankin, BS ’74 in Computer Science 

Retired Vice President, IBM

For her expertise and leadership in the areas of software and hardware development at IBM  

 

The recipients of the 2017 College of Engineering Student Awards are:

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

Nishad Phadke, Senior, Computer Science; Economics (dual-degree)

 

 

 

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.

Lucas LaHood, Senior, Bioengineering
 

 

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

Pierce Hadley, Junior, Bioengineering

 

 

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

Siddhant Chawla, Sophomore, Civil and Environmental Engineering

 

 

 

  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.

Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunbi, Mechanical Science & Engineering

 

 

C.S. Larson Transfer Student Award

Miranda Etchinson, Senior, Engineering Physics

 

 

 

 

 

Ian Sanders-Schneider, Senior, Mechanical Engineering