Nine Missouri S&T Ph.D. students received dean’s honors from the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) during a ceremony held in early May.

Six students received the Dean’s Ph.D. Scholar Award, which recognizes scholarly contributions among the most productive Ph.D. students. Three students received the Dean’s Graduate Educator Award, which recognizes excellence in teaching by graduate students.  

“These students have truly left their mark on Missouri S&T, and I’m confident they will continue to do outstanding work in their fields,” says Dr. Francisca Oboh-Ikuenobe, CEC’s associate dean for academic affairs and professor of geology and geophysics. “Receiving these competitive awards demonstrates they are among the top Ph.D. students at one of the nation’s leading research institutions.”

Award winners were selected after a two-part process. First, each of the nine CEC departments selected up to three nominees. Then, a committee made up of five CEC faculty members from different departments selected the winners.
 
This year’s award winners, departments and nominators are as follows: 
 
Dean’s Ph.D. Scholar Award 

• Radwa Eissa, civil, architectural and environmental engineering, nominated by Dr. Islam El-adaway, CEC’s associate dean for academic partnerships and Hurst-McCarthy Professor of Construction Engineering and Management
• Irfan Ganie, electrical and computer engineering, nominated by Dr. Jagannathan Sarangapani, Curators’ Distinguished Professor and Rutledge-Emerson Professor of electrical and computer engineering
• Haodao Li, civil, architectural and environmental engineering, nominated by Dr. Kamal Khayat, vice chancellor for research and innovation and Vernon and Maralee Jones Professor of Civil Engineering
• Omar Rinchi, electrical and computer engineering, nominated by Dr. Ahmad Alsharoa, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering
• Alireza Roshan, civil, architectural and environmental engineering, nominated by Dr. Magdy Abdelrahman, Missouri Asphalt Pavement Association Professor of civil engineering
• Logan Wilcox, electrical and computer engineering, nominated by Dr. Kristen Donnell, Woodard Associate Professor of Excellence for electrical and computer engineering

Dean’s Graduate Educator Award 

• Varuni Abhayaratne, civil, architectural and environmental engineering, nominated by Dr. Joel Burken, Curators’ Distinguished Professor and Mathes Chair of Environmental Engineering
• Raghu Yelugam, electrical and computer engineering, nominated by Dr. Theresa Swift, teaching professor of electrical and computer engineering. 
• Ehab Rahman, electrical and computer engineering, also nominated by Swift. 

Selection committee members included Drs. Doug Bristow, professor of mechanical engineering; Kelly Liu, professor of geology and geophysics; Hongyan Ma, Kummer Impact Professor, Benavides Scholar and associate professor of civil engineering; Monday Okoronkwo, associate professor of chemical and biochemical engineering; and R. Joe Stanley, professor of electrical and computer engineering. 

About Missouri S&T

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students located in Rolla, Missouri. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System, Missouri S&T offers over 100 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top public universities for salary impact, according to the Wall Street Journal. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit  www.mst.edu.