Awards and Innovations
A summary of recent awards, innovations and other accomplishments from the UB MAE community.
2019
- John Crassidis, Samuel P. Capen Professor, was named a SUNY Distinguished Professor.
- Rahul Rai, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, was recognized with a 2019 Best Paper Award from the Prognostics and Health Management Society.
- Aaron Estes, assistant professor of teaching in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, has received the 2019 Vanderhoef Faculty Award.
- UB mechanical engineering alum and Cal State LA faculty member David Blekhman has been selected as a Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Alternative Energy Technology.
- Shenqiang Ren, professor, received a new award from the U.S. Department of Energy, “Scalable and Cost-Effective Roll-To-Roll Additive Manufacturing Of Highly Durable And Thermal Insulating Silica-Carbon Aerogel.”
- Amin Karami, assistant professor, received a new award from the National Science Foundation, “Collaborative Research: Controlling Flow Separation via Traveling Wave Actuators.”
- PhD student Philip Odonkor was selected to address his fellow SEAS graduate students at the Spring 2019 commencement ceremony.
- Kemper Lewis, chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Moog Professor of Innovation, received the 2019 ASME Donald N. Zwiep Innovation in Education Award.
- Francine Battaglia, a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, has been named a Fellow of the American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers (ASTFE).
- Philip Odonkor, a PhD student in mechanical engineering, is one of 15 UB students who has been named a recipient for the 2019 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence.
- Mechanical engineering alumnus Benjamin Pawlik was selected as this year’s Engineer of the Year by the UB Engineering and Applied Sciences Alumni Association.
- PhD student Jesse Callanan was awarded second place in the Best Student Paper Contest at SPIE’s 26th Annual International Symposium on Smart Structures + Nondestructive Evaluation.
- Undergraduate student Leah Nolan was named a 2019 Brooke Owens Fellow.
- Undergraduate student Fatak Borhani was named one of Aviation Week’s 20 Twenties for 2019.
- PhD student Philip Odonkor was selected to present a lightning round talk at the 2019 Rosenfeld Symposium in Berkeley, Calif.
- Kemper Lewis was named the inaugural Moog Endowed Professor of Innovation.
2018
- PhD student Philip Odonkor presents "Teaching dumb homes new tricks" at TEDxBuffalo 2018.
- Dan Buckmaster, BS '18, MS '19, featured in 43North's Latitude podcast.
- Hui Meng was named UB Distinguished Professor.
- MAE Alum Allison O'Connor received the Volunteer Recognition Award from SEAS Alumni Engagement office.
- MAE Alum Bradley Cheetham's company Advanced Space has been selected to support future spaceflight missions for NASA with continued development of the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System (CAPS).
- Sophomore Alisa Delaj receives Navy Pathways Internship at Navy Yard in Washington, DC
- PhD student Souransu Nandi receives SEAS Dean's Graduate Achievement Award.
- Senior David Depauw and Sophomore Ian DesJardin receive SEAS Dean's Undergraduate Achievement Award
- PhD Student Philip Odonkor wins first place at Transforming Our Tomorrow: A New Clean Energy Vision pitch competition and Three Minute Thesis competition
- Seniors Walker Gosrich and Seamus Lombardo receive Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence
- Seniors Javier Yu and Walker Gosrich receive NSF GRFP Fellowships
- MAE Alum James van Oss named 2018 Engineer of the Year
- John Crassidis recognized as Samuel P. Capen Professor for exceptional contributions
- Senior Christopher Gnam named NASA/New York Space Grant Consortium: National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program fellow
- Hui Meng elected ASME Fellow
- Senior Seamus Lombardo named to Aviation Week's “Tomorrow’s Technology Leaders: The 20 Twenties”
2017
- Tarunraj Singh named SEAS Senior Teacher of the Year
- Francine Battaglia named Editor of the ASME Journal of Fluids Engineering
- Alum Richard Linares named grant recipient through Air Force's Young Investigator Research Program
- Kemper Lewis has article featured in ASME Journal of Mechanical Design
- John Crassidis mentioned in Wall Street Journal article about Space Junk
- Rahul Rai was awarded the ASME Computers in Engineering Young Investigator Award
- Sara Behdad won the Best Paper Award for the ASME Design for Manufacturing and the Lifecycle Conference
- Kemper Lewis was awarded the ASME Design Automation Award and the UB Award for Sustained Achievement
- Tarunraj Singh receives NAGS Outstanding Teaching Award at the Master's Level
- John Crassidis receives President Emeritus and Mrs. Meyerson Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring Award
- Iman Borazjani receives Fulbright Scholar award to study self-organizing systems in Austria
- UB Nanosat Lab featured in Air & Space Smithsonian magazine
- Junior Walker Gosrich receives Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship
- Kemper Lewis wins UB Award for Sustained Achievement
2016
- Paul DesJardin awarded AIAA Associate Fellow
- John Crassidis awarded J. Leland Atwood Award
- Joseph Mollendorf named SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor
- Hui Meng receives SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities
- Paul Bauman awarded NSF Career Award
- Jihyung Yoo awarded Early Teacher of the Year award
- Kemper Lewis receives Senior Researcher of the Year award
- Adjunct Paul Schifferle receives SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching
- Graduate student, Nikhil Paliwal, receives The Mark Diamond Research Fund (MDRF) grant
- Senior Daniel Henry receives the WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff Scholarship, a firm of the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York (ACEC New York)
- Seniors Levi Li, Henry Kwan and Samuel Tedesco are among the finalists for a NASA-sponsored contest to design a heat shield for future missions to Mars
- Senior Jennifer Merckel receives Galactic Unite Flying Tigresses Scholarship
2015
- Iman Borazjani receives UB Exceptional Scholars Young Investigator Award
- Susan Zonglu Hua receives UB Exceptional Scholar Award for Sustained Achievement
- David Salac awarded the School of Engineering Early Career Teacher of the Year Award
- Iman Borazjani receives National Science Foundation CAREER Award
- John Crassidis selected as a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
- Abani Patra selected as a Fellow of the US Association for Computational Mechanics (USACM)
- Kemper Lewis elected to the ME Department Heads/Chairs Executive Committee, a standing committee of the American Society of Mechanical Engineer’s Board on Education
- UB Space Bulls place third at the RASCAL Exploration Robo-Ops Competition at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston
- Senior Chams Mballo receives Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence
2014
- Gary Dargush receives SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching
- Hui Meng inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE)
- John Crassidis elected Fellow of the American Astronautical Society
- MAE Senior, Andrew N. Lyons, receives SUNY Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence
- The Society of Automotive Engineers student chapter placed second overall in the 2014 Clean Snowmobile Challenge.
2013
- Norman R. McCombs, MAE Alum, awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President Barack Obama
- Iman Borazjani receives American Heart Association Scientific Development Award
- Iman Borazjani receives American Chemical Society, Doctoral New Investigator Award
- Kemper Lewis receives President Emeritus and Mrs. Myerson Award for Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring
- Kemper Lewis named Eminent Engineer, Tau Beta Pi
- Kemper Lewis receives Milton Plesur Excellence in Teaching Award
- David Salac receives National Science Foundation Career Award
- Students Erika Salem, Jimmy Lam, Sandra Czarnecki, and Nathan Guttery are selected to participate in the Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program at NASA’s Microgravity University
- Seniors Sourobh Ghosh and Matthew Leibowitz receive SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Student Excellence
- UB Clean Snowmobile Team awarded "Best Emissions Winner"
Society Fellows
