Two engineering graduate students are winners of 2024 Graduate Leadership Anchor Awards presented recently by the Vanderbilt Graduate Student Council.
Mentorship Award: Simon J. Ward, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Simon Ward’s commitment to his research through the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has helped form his legacy of leadership and mentorship to junior doctoral, undergraduate, and senior graduate students. One nominator highlights Ward’s passion for helping others by noting that, “Simon is extremely generous with his time and resources.” Ward has been a mentor to prospective Ph.D. students, serving them through multiple stages of preparing for their graduate degree. “Simon’s dedication to his field and the vitality of colleagues is evident through his attention to detail and planning.”
Research Excellence Award: Sajal Islam, Interdisciplinary Materials Science
Sajal Islam has focused his research on the reliability of high-voltage devices made from wideband semiconductors. He has won many awards for this work. In 2023 he won an AI-generated image contest at CS MANTECH, was a co-winner of the IMS Sales Pitch, and received the Fan Favorite Poster Award at VINSE NanoDay. He has authored or co-authored five publications and has presented his work at Vanderbilt and beyond. When considering his role as a researcher, one nominator writes, “Sajal is one of the most productive graduate students with whom I have worked in nearly 40 years as a professor.”
Graduate Leadership Anchor Awards honor the work and leadership of Vanderbilt graduate students schoolwide. This year’s awards recognized outstanding service, mentorship, departmental leadership, research and best overall.