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The Cullen College of Engineering recognized the hard work and efforts of its entire workforce at the 2023-24 Faculty and Staff Excellence Awards, held during the Faculty-Staff Meeting on May 8.

For a full gallery of photos from the event, click here!

The keynote award is the William A. Brookshire Teaching Excellence Award. This year's winner was Xuemei Chen, instructional associate professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department. The award recognizes faculty who demonstrate an unwavering commitment to exemplifying the highest levels of teaching excellence inside the classroom.

The W.T. Kittinger Teaching Excellence Award is traditionally the highest teaching award given in the college that recognizes outstanding teaching and service to the students. Michael Nikolaou, a professor in the William A. Brookshire Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, earned the honor this year.

The Career Teaching Award is given intermittently and reserved for faculty who have shown a life-time commitment to University of Houston students. The two recipients this year were Keh-Han Wang, a professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department; and Matthew Franchek, professor of Mechanical Engineering.

The Research Excellence Award recognizes faculty for their outstanding research contributions, with separate categories for Junior and Senior Faculty. The Junior Faculty winner is Xingpeng Li, assistant professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

This year's Senior Faculty recipients are Craig Glennie, Cullen College of Engineering Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the P.I. and director of the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping; and Megan Robertson, professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and associate chair for Faculty Development and Inclusive Excellence.

The Cullen College of Engineering Faculty Excellence Award is the highest honor afforded to a member of the faculty for research. The award recognizes career excellence in research, teaching and service. Gangbing Song, Moores Professor of Mechanical Engineering, is this year's winner.

The Career Innovator Award recognizes a track record of successful efforts by faculty in innovation and entrepreneurship during their career at UH. This year's awardee is Yan Yao, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.

The Young Innovator Award recognizes efforts by students or postdocs in innovation and entrepreneurship at UH. Jian Chen, a Ph.D. student in the Mechanical Engineering Department, won this year's award.

This Instructional Faculty Award recognizes exceptional teaching by instructional faculty and lecturers beyond what is characteristically expected of tenured or tenure-track faculty. Mequanint Moges and Burak Basaran, both instructional professors in the Technology Division's Engineering Technology Department, earned the distinction this year.

The Outstanding Adjunct Faculty or Lecturer Award is awarded for commitment to excellence in teaching demonstrated by lecturers and adjunct faculty who are not employed on a full-time basisThis year's winner is Bulent Mercan, a senior lecturer in Civil and Environmental Engineering Department.

Eight people received a Teaching Excellence Award, which recognizes outstanding teaching and service to students. They are:

• Aaron T. Becker, associate professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department
• Daniel Floryan, assistant professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department
• Olivia Johnson, assistant professor in the Technology Division's Human Development and Consumer Science Department
• Dimitrios Kalliontzis, assistant professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department
• Kyung Jae Lee, associate professor in the Petroleum Engineering Department
• Mehmet Orman, associate professor in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department
• Elizabeth Rodwell, assistant professor in the Technology Division's Information Science Technology Department
• Jinsook Roh, assistant professor in the Biomedical Engineering Department

The Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award recognizes outstanding commitment to instruction by graduate teaching assistants (TAs). This year's winners are Kripa Adhikari of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Umar Masood of Mechanical Engineering; and Hima Naga Sai Srikar Bolisetty of the Technology Division's Supply Chain and Logistics Technology program.

The Andrea Prosperetti Research Computing Student Award recognizes a person that has demonstrated a singular achievement in the broadly defined topics of scientific computing and data science. This year's recipient is Ayush Gupta, a graduate student of Gül Zerze, assistant professor in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department.

The Technology Division's Faculty Research Excellence Award rewards a professor that has been identified by the academic community and their peers as contributing defining research and leading-edge scholarly activity. This year's recipient is Xuqing (Jason) Wu, associate professor in the Information Science Technology Department.

The Technology Division awards two Teaching Excellence Awards, one each for tenure and non-tenure track teachers. This year's recipients are Rodwell and Basaran.

The Faculty Service Excellence Award recognizes contributions to the mission and vision of the Technology Division and not just on the number of committees served. This year's winner is Tony Liao, associate professor in the Information Science Technology Department.

The Technology Division's Staff Excellence Award is an opportunity to showcase outstanding staff who work with students, faculty, other staff and administrators. Recognition is given for outstanding service and innovative ideas. This year's winner is Peter Weber, Director of Assessment & Accreditation Services.