Awards and Innovations

Awards and Innovations by Year

A summary of recent awards, innovations and other accomplishments from the UB MAE community.

  • Alum Marcus Yam, BS '07, has been selected to receive a SUNY honorary degree at UB's spring commencement ceremonies.
  • Undergraduate students Sujal Dharne and June Bang were part of a UB team that finished first in the Space Exploration Track at StarkHacks 2026, the world's largest hardware hackathon.
  • Graduate student Brandon Soto and faculty advisor Javid Bayandor won first place in the graduate student category for their project, “Partial Optimization of Spacecraft Sandwich Shielding from Hypervelocity Impacts,” at the AIAA 2026 Regional Student Conference.
  • In a spring award ceremony, the department recognized two alumni for their outstanding contributions to the engineering field and society. Todd Krafchak, BS '83, received the 2026 MAE Distinguished Career Award. Tyler Robillard, BS '09, received the 2026 MAE Career Achievement Award.
  • A team of undergraduate students won first place at the American Society of Naval Engineers Promoting Electric Propulsion Competition.
  • Five MAE faculty and staff members were recognized at a spring ceremony with 2025 awards from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences:
    • James Chen, Senior Teacher of the Year
    • Jeannie Kornacki, Excellence in Student Support 
    • David Love, Outstanding Leadership 
    • Ryan St. Pierre, Early Career Researcher
    • Joshua Sugg, Rising Star