On April 10, the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) held its 18th annual Roger P. Webb Awards Program, which honors the students, staff, and faculty who have shown exceptional dedication to their professions and studies.

Event hosts were Gina DeSimone (MSEE ’82), vice president of Division Operations (retired) for The Boeing Company, and Aleksander Szlam (BSEE ’74, MSEE ’80), chairman and CEO of Szlam Enterprises and former founder, chairman, and CEO of Melita International, Inc.

Students and faculty receiving awards and recognitions at the Georgia Tech Faculty/Staff Honors Luncheon, Women in Engineering Awards Banquet, Faculty & Staff Service Recognition Luncheon, Sigma Xi Awards Banquet, and Georgia Tech Student Honors Celebration were also recognized.

Two ECE staff members received college degrees in December 2018. Andrew Stargill graduated with a master in education degree from Georgia Southern University, and Teresa Watkins graduated with a bachelor of science degree in sociology from Columbus State University. They both work in the ECE Academic Affairs Office. 

Prior to the awards presentation, Magnus Egerstedt, the Steve W. Chaddick School Chair of ECE, recognized the contributions of the nine student founders of The Hive, the student organization that oversees the makerspace in the Van Leer Interdisciplinary Design Commons. These students are:

Latifah Almaghrabi, Yilun Chen, William Cuthbertson, Randy Deng, Marites Hendrix, Hiba Murali, Satwik Nandala, Jefferson Patz, Lukas Yoder

This facility opened last fall and would not have been possible without the monumental efforts of these students, said Egerstedt. “These volunteers have established the foundation for future leadership in this facility and have created something truly amazing,” he continued. “The IDC promotes interdisciplinary collaboration, project-based learning, professional leadership, and entrepreneurial skills. There is no better place for this facility, other than right here in ECE at the heart of the campus, where we collaborate with practically every school and department at Georgia Tech.”

Below are the recipients of the 2019 Roger P. Webb Awards. Congratulations to everyone on another fantastic year!

STUDENT AWARDS

Outstanding Electrical Engineering Sophomore Award                

Daniel de Matheu

Eta Kappa Nu, the honor society for ECE, recognizes the electrical engineering student who is in their second year and who has the highest scholastic average. 

Outstanding Computer Engineering Sophomore Award   

Andrew Gauker

Eta Kappa Nu, the honor society for ECE, recognizes the computer engineering student who is in their second year and who has the highest scholastic average.

Electrical Engineering Junior Scholar Award                                   

Subhachote (Shane) Pornprinya

This award is presented to the student who is in their third year and who has the highest GPA in the electrical engineering degree program. 

Computer Engineering Junior Scholar Award                                  

Nicholas Joaquin

This award is presented to the student who is in their third year and who has the highest GPA in the computer engineering degree program. 

ECE Undergraduate Research Award                                     

Sebastian Fernandez

This award recognizes an undergraduate student who has demonstrated an unusually strong aptitude for research. 

Most Outstanding ECE Senior Co-op Award                         

Justin Kyaw Htay

This award is presented to the ECE senior co-op student who is considered of the highest caliber by his/her co-op employer. 

ECE Outstanding Service and Outreach Award                                           

Lara Orlandic

Georgia Tech has a responsibility to serve its local, national, and international communities. This award reflects the importance of improving people’s lives in the surrounding Georgia community and beyond. Investing time in such activities can have significant rewards for Georgia Tech in the future, and recognizing students who participate in and organize such activities helps to motivate other students to do the same. 

ECE Faculty Award                                                                                               

Siddhant Garg

This award is given to the electrical or computer engineering student who, in the opinion of the ECE faculty, has done the most to improve the educational environment within ECE or Georgia Tech and has contributed significantly to both student welfare and student-faculty interactions. 

Outstanding Electrical Engineering Senior Award                                      

Lara Orlandic

Eta Kappa Nu, the honor society for ECE, recognizes the senior electrical engineering student who has a very high scholastic average and who plays an active role in extracurricular activities. 

Outstanding Computer Engineering Senior Award                                     

Victor Barr

Eta Kappa Nu, the honor society for ECE, recognizes the senior computer engineering student who has a very high scholastic average and who plays an active role in extracurricular activities. 

ECE Senior Scholar Awards                   

Sehej Ahluwalia, Brighton Ancelin,Arpan Bhavsar, Spencer Bongiovi, Daniel Bruce, Runfeng Chen, Daniel Dakev, Sebastian Fernandez, Christopher Fox, Soham Gadgil, Brian Kaplan, Sho Ko, Sharan Kumar, Mahetem Moges, Anina Mu, Seth Peden, Cameron Pepe, David Richardson, Noah Roberts, Kartik Sastry, Kristine Scott, Austin Terrell, Ethan Vargas,Robert Walsh, Matthew White, Yunfeng Xin,Phillip Yamin, Eric Yan, Bradley Zarek,Sheng Zhang

These awards consist of plaques and cash awards that are given to the electrical or computer engineering senior(s) with the highest academic average. 

ECE Graduate Teaching Assistant Excellence Awards      

Mahmoud Mehraban, Lakshmi Raju

Teaching undergraduates is one of ECE’s most important missions. Teaching assistants are necessary to ensure that every student has the opportunity for personal attention during their course of study. 

ECE Graduate Research Assistant Excellence Awards     

Mehrdad Tahmasbi, Hakki Mert Torun

Research is the cornerstone to ECE’s success. Nurturing bright and hardworking graduate research assistants (GRAs) are among the most important factors in ensuring that ECE remains a leader in the research community. These awards will be given to the GRAs who have demonstrated particular excellence in performing their duties. 

STAFF AWARDS

Hats Off Performance Award                 

Amber Burke, Linda Dillon, Cahara Murray

These awards recognize the classified staff members who have demonstrated exceptional job performance and/or service to ECE above and beyond the call of duty. 

Research Spotlight Award                                                                      

Sinan Hersek

This award is presented to a researcher who has made a significant contribution to the research efforts in ECE. 

Academic Spotlight Award                                                                     

Julie Sonnenberg-Klein

This award is presented to the researcher, classified employee, or general faculty member who has made a significant contribution to the ECE teaching or academic program. 

FACULTY AWARDS

Outstanding Junior Faculty Member Award                                      

Matthieu Bloch                                                                                                       

This award recognizes the most outstanding assistant professors and/or associate professors in ECE with less than 10 years since their initial faculty appointment.

ECE Outreach Award                                                                                

Benjamin Klein

This award is presented to a member of the academic faculty for leadership and/or participation in outreach activities to the broader community, for example, to interest and involve K-12 students in engineering. 

D. Scott Wills ECE Distinguished Mentor Award                                         

Deepak Divan

This award is presented to a faculty member whose mentoring of junior faculty–in connection with teaching or research activities over an extended period of time–is judged to be outstanding. 

Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award                                       

Gee-Kung Chang

This award is presented to the senior faculty member who has made significant contributions throughout his/her career.