Awards and honors will be presented by Dean Philippe Fauchet to seniors at the School of Engineering’s annual Commencement Reception at the University Club May 7.
Akash Umakantha, from West Chester, Ohio, is the recipient of the 2015 Founder’s Medal for the School of Engineering. He graduated with a bachelor of engineering in electrical engineering and biomedical engineering.
Umakantha has been a researcher at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Vanderbilt’s Radiation Effects and Reliability Group, and Vanderbilt’s Department of Psychology. He has presented his research on models of decision making at international conferences. He has been an engineering tutor, Vanderbilt Student Volunteer for Science, and is a member of Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society. In the fall, Umakantha will attend Carnegie Mellon University to pursue doctoral studies in neural computation and machine learning.
Since 1877, a gold medal has been awarded to the student graduating at the top of his or her class from each of Vanderbilt’s schools. These awards are called “Founder’s Medals” in honor of university founder Cornelius Vanderbilt, who made a specific contribution to endow the awards in their first year.
Matthew Dawson Collum, from Chattanooga, Tenn., is this year’s Banner Bearer. Collum graduated with a degree in electrical engineering with a minor in computer science. During his time at Vanderbilt, he has been a member of the Tau Beta Pi and has served as an officer in the Alternative Energy Club. He also has aided with Vanderbilt’s research into the effects of radiation on electronics. After graduation, Collum will join Boeing in St. Louis as an electronic system design engineer.
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. The Banner Bearer is selected from the summa cum laude graduates.
Brittany Nicole van Gelder, from Saint Petersburg, Fla. will receive the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Service. This award goes to a senior who has shown remarkable leadership qualities and has also made the greatest contributions in personal service to the school.
Van Gelder is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers student chapters at Vanderbilt. She has served as a mentor for V-Squared and in leadership roles for Vanderbilt Relay for Life. She has served as a mentor in the School of Engineering’s Design Studio, as a LabView Student Ambassador, and as an undergraduate teaching assistant.
She is vice president of Phi Sigma Rho, a social sorority for women in engineering, and a member of Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society and Omicron Delta Kappa leadership honors society. She has held various summer internships, including Great Explorations Children’s Museum, Auramist, Cardiac Surgical Associates, and application engineer at National Instruments.
Dean Fauchet will recognize each graduating senior who achieved summa cum laude distinction:
Jeremy Spencer Bradford, Lexington, Ky.
Matthew Dawson Collum, Chattanooga, Tenn
Aditya Vishwas Karhade, Jacksonville, Fla.
Jacob Damian Moore, Destrehan, La.
Muhammad Izany Md Sallih, Muar Johor, Malaysia
Daniel Levi Rauch, Bellaire, Texas
Tianwei Shen, Shanghai, China
Kelsey Lorraine Simmons, Grapevine, Texas
Akash Umakantha, West Chester, Ohio
Brittany Nicole van Gelder, Saint Petersburg, Fla.
Mary Katherine Young, Madisonville, Ky.
Eric Michael Young, Columbia, Mo.
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: Tianwei Shen, Shanghai, China
Chemical Engineering: John Kelly Ewing, Decatur, Ga.
Civil Engineering: Kelsey Lorraine Simmons, Grapevine, Texas
Computer Engineering: Daniel Levi Rauch, Bellaire, Texas
Computer Science: Mary Katherine Young, Madisonville, Ky.
Electrical Engineering: Matthew Dawson Collum, Chattanooga, Tenn
Engineering Science: Nicole Ufkes, Sullivan’s Island, S.C.
Mechanical Engineering: Eric Michael Young, Columbia, Mo.
Jeremy Spencer Bradford, Lexington, Ky, is the recipient of the Wilson L. 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.
John Kelly Ewing, Decatur, Ga., is the recipient 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 extramural progress as an undergraduate.
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 Jordan Friedman, Great Neck, N.Y.
The ASCE/Dan Barge Jr. Award is given to a junior civil engineering student who exhibits outstanding academic performance and dedication to professional or community service. The recipient is Madison McMurray, Baton Rouge, La.
The Walter Gill Kirkpatrick Prize in Civil Engineering is given to the most deserving third-year student majoring in civil engineering. The recipient is Mahaliah Eden Hyde, Covington, Ky.
The Thomas G. Arnold Prizes for Biomedical Engineering Systems Design and Research is shared by Katelyn Maureen Flint, Midland, Mich (research), and for design: Allyson Leanne Garcia, Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.; MaKenzie Jo Kalb, Dubuque, Iowa; Victoria Raquel Mitchell, Chicago, Ill.; Shasta Nicole Kahi’ilani Rizzi, Edmonds, Wash.; and Forbes Ellington Turley, Asheville, N.C.
David Allen Keatley, Charlotte, N.C., and Steven Tyler Arnold, Murray, Ky., 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 William A. Ma Award is given to an outstanding senior majoring in chemical engineering on the basis of a demonstrated record of leadership and scholastic achievement. The recipient is Cole Jones McKenna, Elm Grove, Wis.
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 Tianwei Shen, Shanghai, China; Alex Jeffrey Anderson, Barrington, Ill.; Justin Emmett Huntress, Midland, Mich.; Muhammad Zharfan Zainuddin, Batu Caves, Malaysia; and Whitney Claire Fowler, Overland Park, Kansas.
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 Paul Andrew Kempler, Portland, Ore.
The Walter Criley Prize is awarded for the best paper written on an advanced senior project in electrical engineering. The award is shared by Grant Tyler Hebrank, Greensburg, Pa.; Colleen Elizabeth Ker, Baton Rouge, La.; Tate Andrew Travaglin, Old Hickory, Tenn.; Jiaye Fan, Franklin, Tenn.; and Jayme Nicole Kravitz, Plano, Texas.
Class of 2015 members of Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society are:
Mohamed Hafiz Abdul Samad, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Alex Jeffrey Anderson, Barrington, Ill.
Steven Tyler Arnold, Murray, Ky.
Nicholas Lee Augspurger, Loveland, Ohio
John McDonald Boyd, Southbury, Conn.
Connor Ray Caldwell, Nashville, Tenn.
Matthew Dawson Collum, Chattanooga, Tenn.
Jessica DeAngelo, Atlanta, Ga.
Suruj Sambhav Deka, New Delhi, India
John Kelly Ewing, Decatur, Ga.
Jiaye Fan, Beijing, China
Whitney Claire Fowler, Overland Park, Kans.
Allyson Leanne Garcia, Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.
Alexa Haley Grabell, Bala Cynwyd, Pa.
Justin Emmett Huntress, Midland, Mich.
Nathan Benjamin Kallison, Austin, Texas.
Aditya Vishwas Karhade, Jacksonville, Fla.
David Allen Keatley, Charlotte, N.C.
David Andrew Lucia, Charlotte, N.C.
Nicholas Shao Kuang Ma, Darien, Ill.
Jeffrey Grant McNeill, Charlotte, N.C.
Muhammad Izany Md Sallih, Muar Johor, Malaysia
Jacob Damian Moore, Destrehan, La.
Sean Matthew O’Reilly, Villanova, Pa.
Anjolaoluwa Oluwaseyi Olayemi, Lagos, Nigeria
Daniel Levi Rauch, Bellaire, Texas
Khairulanwar Shahrul Nizam, Kuala Langat, Malaysia
Tianwei Shen, Shanghai, China
Kelsey Lorraine Simmons, Grapevine, Texas
Ziyue Song, Shanghai, China
Brendan Kent Stallard, Prairie Village, Kans.
Peizhen Sun, Dengfeng, China
Forbes Ellington Turley, Asheville, N.C.
Akash Umakantha, West Chester, Ohio
Peter Charles Van Dusen, Boulder, Colo.
Brittany Nicole van Gelder, St. Petersburg, Fla.
Muhammad Zharfan Zainuddin, Batu Caves, Malaysia
Contact:
Brenda Ellis, (615) 343-6314
Brenda.Ellis@Vanderbilt.edu
Twitter @VUEngineering