Awards and Honors

2023 Graduate Student Excellence Awards

The College of Engineering is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023 Graduate Student Excellence Awards: Isabella Loureiro Muller Costa, Peifen Lyu, Patrick Cunningham and Tanner Finney.  

Scott Mauger, M.S. ’10, Ph.D. ’13 Honored for Contributions to Coating Science and Technology

Scott Mauger, M.S. ’10, Ph.D. ’13 was one of two NREL scientists recognized at this year’s International Society of Coating Science and Technology (ISCST) Symposium for their contributions to coating science and technology.

Mauger—a scientist in the Thin Film and Manufacturing Science Group within the Materials Science Center at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL)—received the L.E. Scriven Young Investigator Award, a prestigious recognition awarded to early-career researchers for outstanding achievements in continuous liquid film coating science and technology.

Thwarting Viruses, Restoring Speech

Chemical engineer and microbiologist Priya Shah has been awarded $40,000 for her project that unravels the essential aspects of arbovirus replication, and aims to thwart a major source of emerging disease by identifying novel therapeutic targets.

Dr. Jovana Veselinović Receives the 2022 Zuhair A. Munir Award

Dr. Jovana Veselinović is the 2022 recipient of the College of Engineering's Zuhair A. Munir Award for best doctoral dissertation. She conducted groundbreaking interdisciplinary work on using nanoporous gold to detect biomarkers of disease while falling in love with Davis. She is the third straight chemical engineer to receive the honor.

Karen McDonald Honored for Excellence in Biochemical Engineering

Chemical Engineering Distinguished Professor Karen McDonald was honored for her outstanding contributions to the field of biochemical engineering with the 2022 Daniel I.C. Wang Award from the American Chemical Society’s Division of Biochemical Technology (ACS BIOT) and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ Society of Biological Engineering (AIChE/SBE).

UC Davis Medals for 2 Alumni Couples

UC Davis Medals will be presented this spring to two alumni couples — Jacque and Wayne Bartholomew, and Pam Rohrich and Karl Gerdes — each pair having met as students and committing not only to each other but their alma mater.

The UC Davis Medal recognizes “extraordinary contributions that embody the campus’ Vision of Excellence.” Winners inspire and support the success of students, faculty, staff and alumni, and foster a bold and innovative spirit in teaching, research and public service.

Ph.D. Student Jared Stimac Receives DOE Graduate Student Research Award

Fourth-year Chemical Engineering Ph.D. Candidate Jared Stimac recently received a Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Student Research Award. The award supports graduate students to conduct part of their thesis research at a DOE national lab while providing them training and access to state-of-the-art facilities and resources.

Bruce Gates elected National Academy of Inventors Fellow

Chemical Engineering Distinguished Professor Bruce Gates was recently elected a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Being elected an NAI Fellow is the highest professional distinction given to inventors in academia. It highlights academic inventors whose outstanding inventions have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and societal welfare.