Awards and Innovations

Awards and Innovations by Year

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

  • Ethan Fort, a junior mechanical engineering major, won the Robert W. Young Award for Undergraduate Student Research in Acoustics.
  • Associate Professor Matthew Ringuette has been named an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
  • Elektra Ismael, a PhD student in aerospace engineering, received the SMART scholarship from the U.S. Department of Defense.
  • Professor Tarun Singh received the 2022 Award for Outstanding Contributions to International Education at UB from the university’s Council on International Studies and Programs.
  • Professor Shenqiang Ren received the 2022 UB Exceptional Scholar: Sustained Achievement Award, which honors outstanding professional achievement that has been focused on a particular body of work over a number of years.
  • Two MAE alumni—Dr. Sean Garrick and Dr. Joseph Kolly—have been selected to receive the department’s inaugural alumni awards.
  • Associate Professor James Chen has been named a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. 
  • Anoop Kiran is the third UB aerospace engineering student to be named as a 20 Twenties by Aviation Week.
  • Mechanical and aerospace students Xiang Xi, Achira Boonrath, Anoop Kiran and Max Magee have been recognized, among others, for exemplary student research.  
  • John Crassidis, SUNY Distinguished Professor and Samuel P. Capen Chair Professor, has been named the second Moog Professor of Innovation.
  • A team of undergraduate mechanical and aerospace students mentored by Aaron Estes received the Stan Powell Memorial Award for Most Meaningful Lessons Learned at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Design/Build/Fly competition.
  • Assistant Professor Danial Faghihi received a National Science Foundation CAREER award to design superinsulation materials systems for use in buildings via data-driven predictive computational tool.
  • Derek Bourabah, a PhD student in aerospace engineering, won the best student paper award at the Third International Academy of Astronautics Conference on Space Situational Awareness.
  • A team of undergraduate mechanical and aerospace students mentored by Associate Professor Javid Bayandor, took first place in 2022 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Regional Student Conference.
  • Professor Deborah D.L. Chung presented the inaugural Millie Dresselhaus Memorial Lecture at MIT.
  • John Crassidis, Samuel P. Capen Chair Professor and SUNY Distinguished Professor, was inducted into Niagara Frontier Aviation and Space Hall of Fame.
  • Alumnus Marcus Yam, BS ’06 aerospace engineering, a Los Angeles Times roving foreign correspondent and photojournalist, has won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography. 
  • Several MAE students were recognized at UB's Celebration of Academic Excellence, including: Anoop Kiran, Grant Hecht, Chi Nnoka, Achira Boonrath, Safiya Dodoo, and Cailean Woods.
  • Assistant Professor Craig Snoeyink received an Early Career Teacher of the Year Award for 2021 from the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
  • Brad Darrall, assistant professor of teaching, received the 2021 Vanderhoef Faculty Award, which is given to a faculty member in MAE who takes the extra effort to coach, mentor, and provide support for students.  
  • Danial Faghihi, assistant professor, received the prestigious NSF CAREER award. Title: “CAREER: Reliable Superinsulated Building Envelopes via Predictive Multiphysics Modeling” ($595,593).
  • Alumnus Dexter Johnson, NASA Technical Fellow for Loads and Dynamics, was named Engineer of the Year by the UB Engineering and Applied Sciences Alumni Association in recognition of his numerous contributions to the aerospace field and dedication to supporting others.
  • The Stanford University ranking named Professor Deborah D.L. Chung as No. 1 in the world in the Building and Construction field.