Nine Missouri S&T graduate students received dean’s honors from the College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) during a ceremony held earlier this month.

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

“Missouri S&T is home to some of the nation’s top researchers and graduate students, and these awardees stand out even among that impressive group,” says Dr. Francisca Oboh-Ikuenobe, CEC’s associate dean for academic affairs and a professor of geology and geophysics at S&T. “They have already achieved great success as researchers and educators, and I am excited to see the contributions they will continue to make throughout their careers.”

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

• Saeid Alipour, materials science and engineering, nominated by Dr. Arezoo Emdadi, assistant professor of materials science and engineering
• Bryan Aylas-Paredes, materials science and engineering, nominated by Dr. Aditya Kumar, associate professor of materials science and engineering
• Bahaa Chammout, civil, architectural and environmental engineering, nominated by Dr. Islam El-adaway, associate provost for St. Louis operations and Hurst-McCarthy Professor of Construction Engineering and Management
• Mariam Elazhary, civil, architectural and environmental engineering, nominated by El-adaway
• Ruimin Jie, electrical and computer engineering, nominated by Dr. Jie Huang, Roy A. Wilkins Professor of electrical and computer engineering
• Ahmed Shiha, civil, architectural and environmental engineering, nominated by El-adaway.

Dean’s Graduate Educator Award

• Nawfal Guefrachi, electrical and computer engineering, nominated by Dr. Theresa Swift, teaching professor of electrical and computer engineering
• Braden McLain, mechanical and aerospace engineering, nominated by Dr. David Bayless, John and Deborah Roam Professor and chair of mechanical and aerospace engineering
• Keith Miller, electrical and computer engineering, nominated by Dr. Robert Woodley, associate teaching professor of electrical and computer engineering.

Selection committee members were Drs. Doug Bristow, the William Walker III Professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; Kelly Liu, professor of earth sciences and engineering; Hongyan Ma, Francisco Benavides Scholar and Kummer Impact Professor of civil, architectural and environmental 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.