School bestows honors on 2011 graduating seniors

Awards and honors were presented by Dean Kenneth F. Galloway May 12 to 36 seniors at the School of Engineering’s annual Commencement Reception.

Eppa Rixey V, Cincinnati, Ohio, is this year’s Founder’s Medalist and is graduating with a bachelor of engineering in mechanical engineering and a minor in human and organizational development. The Founder’s Medal signifies first honors and was endowed by Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt as one of his gifts to the university. The recipient is named by the Dean after consideration of faculty recommendations as well as grade point averages of the summa cum laude graduates.

Rixey has received several academic honors, including a Paul Harrawood Honors Undergraduate Scholarship. He was inducted into the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society and named to the Dean’s List every semester. Rixey will work as an associate consultant for Bain & Company in Dallas following graduation and plans to later attend graduate business school.

Rosalynne Rabayev Korman, Cincinnati, Ohio, is this year’s Banner Bearer. Korman is graduating with a bachelor of engineering in biomedical engineering. The honor of Banner Bearer is awarded to a senior who has been judged by the faculty to have excelled in all aspects of the undergraduate career and is considered an outstanding example of a well-rounded engineering student.

Dean Galloway recognized 14 students who achieved summa cum laude distinction: Stephanie Louise Bruse, Edward Allen Buehler, Parker Andrew Gould, Jennifer Lane Greene, Jonathan Wesley Hoke, Rosalynne Rabayev Korman, Nehal Satish Mehta, Hilmi Mohd Mustafah, Troy A. Probst, Manraj Singh Rangi, Eppa Rixey V, George Lionel Sunderland, Nathan Lee Tardiff and Alexander Ryan Trzeciak.

Also recognized at the reception were Leslie Colette Labruto, Edward Allen Buehler and Nicole Alexis Adams.

Labruto, Spring Lake, N.J., is the recipient of the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Service, which is given to the senior who has shown remarkable leadership qualities and has also made the greatest contributions in personal service to the School. Labruto is graduating with a bachelor of engineer in civil engineering.

Buehler, Knoxville, Tenn., is the recipient of the Wilson and Nellie Pyle Miser Award, which is given to the senior who has excelled in all aspects of mathematics during the student’s undergraduate career. Buehler, recognized for Honors in Chemical Engineering and High Honors in Mathematics, is graduating with a bachelor of engineering in chemical engineering and mathematics.

Adams, Nashville, Tenn. is the recipient of the Stein Stone Memorial Award, which is given to a senior who has earned a letter in sports and who is judged to have made the most satisfactory scholastic and extra-mural progress as an undergraduate.  Adams is graduating with a bachelor of engineering in civil engineering.

At Commencement May 13, 253 seniors received bachelor of engineering degrees; 65 engineering seniors received bachelor of science degrees; 20 received master of engineering degrees; 58 received master of science degrees; and 49 received doctor of philosophy degrees.

Other awards and honors

Program awards go to seniors who, in the opinion of the program faculty, made the greatest progress in professional development during the undergraduate careers. The recipients are:

Biomedical Engineering:  Melanie Ann Gault
Chemical Engineering:  George Lionel Sunderland
Civil Engineering:  James Isidore Kaplan
Computer Engineering:  Ryan Philip Millay
Computer Science:  Benjamin T. Podgursky
Electrical Engineering:  Parker Andrew Gould
Engineering Science:  Caroline Grace Marra
Mechanical Engineering:  Jordan Michael Croom

The Greg A. Andrews Civil Engineering Memorial Award goes to an exemplary senior who plans to do graduate work in environmental and water resources engineering. The recipient is Dylan Sullivan Bunch, Signal Mountain, Tenn.

The Thomas G. Arnold Prizes for Biomedical Engineering Systems Design and Research is shared by David Allen Morris (research), Fair Oaks, Calif., and for design: Lina Moufid Aboulmouna, Tullahoma, Tenn.; Peter Francis DelNero, Leawood, Kan.; Parker Andrew Gould, Houston, Texas; Rosalynne Rabayev Korman, Cincinnati, Ohio; Christopher Matthew Madison, Pueblo, Colo; and Stephen Robert Schumacher, Saint Louis, Mo.

The Walter Criley Prize is awarded for the best paper written on an advanced senior project in electrical engineering. The award is shared by Zachariah Taylor Wood, Denver, Colo.; Rueben Ansel Banalagay, Portsmouth, Ohio; Adil Husni  Ismail, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia; and Troy Everett Brown, Brentwood, Tenn.

The Arthur J. Dyer Jr. Memorial Prize is awarded to a senior who has done the best work in the study and/or design in use of structural steel, and who is a member of the American Society for Civil Engineers. The recipient is Ross Cambre Muirhead, Brentwood, Tenn.

The Robert D. Tanner Undergraduate Research Award is given to a senior who has conducted the best undergraduate research project in chemical engineering. The recipient is Matthew Tyler Irwin, Knoxville, Tenn.

The W. Dennis Threadgill Award is given for outstanding achievement in chemical engineering in honor of a former faculty member and department chair. The award is shared by Jennifer Lane Greene, Hendersonville, Tenn., and Peter Francis DelNero, Leawood, Kan.

Stephanie Louise Bruse, Houston, Texas and Edward Allen Buehler, Knoxville, Tenn. are recipients of the American Institute of Chemists Award, given on the basis of leadership, ability, character, scholastic achievement and potential for advancement in the chemical professions.

The Walter Gill Kirkpatrick Prize in Civil Engineering is given to the most deserving third-year student majoring in civil engineering. The recipient is Aaron Edward Coonley, Paoli, Pa.

The ASCE/Dan Barge Award in Civil Engineering is given to the junior civil engineering student who exhibits outstanding academic performance and dedication to professional or community service. The recipient is Scott Preston Guthrie, Scottsboro, Ala.