2 BME Graduate Students Honored in College of Engineering Awards

The College of Engineering is pleased to announce the graduate students selected for the 2023-24 Fitch H. Beach Award and as the 2023-24 Outstanding PhD Students in each program. These students will be honored at a ceremony later today and receive stipends, certificates, and medals to be worn at graduation.

Fitch H. Beach Award for Outstanding Doctoral Research

The Fitch Beach Award is the most prestigious research competition in the College of Engineering. Established by Janet M. Beatty in honor of her uncle, Fitch H. Beach, this award recognizes the most outstanding PhD student researchers within the College of Engineering. The faculty within each department selects one nominee, and the award is judged based on nominees’ records and presentations. Winners receive stipends, a certificate, and a medal to be worn at graduation.

First Place: Liang Zhao, Civil & Environmental Engineering (Advisor: Irene Xagoraraki); receives a $2,000 stipend, plus a certificate and medal to wear at graduation

Second Place: Sharmila Samaroo, Chemical Engineering & Materials Science (Advisor: David Hickey); receives a $1,750 stipend, plus a certificate and medal to wear at graduation

Third Place: Logan Soule, Biomedical Engineering (Advisor: Dana Spence); receives a $1,500 stipend, plus a certificate and medal to wear at graduation

Honorable Mention Awards (listed alphabetically by program; each student receives a $1,000 stipend, plus a certificate and medal to wear at graduation)

Babak Dialameh, Biosystems Engineering (Advisor: Ehsan Ghane)
David Butts, Computational Mathematics, Science & Engineering (Advisor: Michael Murillo)
Steven Grosz, Computer Science & Engineering (Advisor: Anil Jain)
Xinda Qi, Electrical & Computer Engineering (Advisor: Xiaobo Tan)
Michael Hayes, Mechanical Engineering (Advisor: Andre Benard)

Outstanding Graduate Student Awards

This annual award recognizes the most outstanding graduate student from each doctoral program in the College of Engineering. These outstanding PhD students were selected by the faculty within their program, and each receive a $1,000 stipend, certificate, and a medal to be worn at graduation. They are listed here alphabetically by program.

Meghan Hill, Biomedical Engineering (Advisor: Taeho Kim)
Josué Kpodo, Biosystems Engineering (Advisor: Pouyan Nejadhashemi)
Shalin Patil, Chemical Engineering (Advisor: Shiwang Chang)
Farhad Abdollahi, Civil Engineering (Advisor: Emin Kutay)
Xitong Zhang, Computational Mathematics, Science & Engineering (Advisor: Rongrong Wang)
Han Xu, Computer Science & Engineering (Advisor: Jiliang Tang)
Xinda Qi, Electrical & Computer Engineering (Advisor: Xiaobo Tan)
Zheng Li, Environmental Engineering (Advisor: Alison Cupples)
Sabrina Curley, Materials Science (Advisor: Caroline Szczepanski)
Mohammad Hajidavalloo, Mechanical Engineering (Advisor: Andre Benard)