Dean Krish Roy presented awards and honors on May 8 to 30 seniors at the School of Engineering’s 2025 Commencement reception. Earlier, the School of Engineering’s Founder’s Medalist was recognized at Graduates Day, and the Banner Bearer will play an honorary role in the Vanderbilt Commencement ceremony, May 9.
Grace Ann Jones, from Knoxville, Tenn., is the 2025 Founder’s Medalist for the School of Engineering. She is graduating with a bachelor of science degree in engineering science, chemistry and math, with minors in scientific computing and business. Jones is planning to accept a year-long fellowship or enter a master’s program before exploring technological innovation start-ups for social impact.
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. Cornelius Vanderbilt endowed the Founder’s Medal, which “signifies first honors” and the engineering recipient is named by the dean after consideration of faculty recommendations as well as grade point averages of the summa cum laude graduates.
In the last four years, Jones has been recognized for her scholarship, leadership and service. She has been on the Dean’s List during her entire education, earning a 4.0 GPA each semester. She is a Coca-Cola Scholar, one of 150 U.S. students chosen from more than 99,000 applicants nationally, and a Vanderbilt Ingram Scholar. This year she was named one of the top-10 Outstanding Seniors in the Class of 2025.
She is president of the Vanderbilt chapter of the American Chemical Society, co-president of Next Step Ambassa’Dores, and founder and president of the Vanderbilt Gymnastics Club. She has served the Vanderbilt and Nashville communities through Preston Taylor Ministries as a volunteer in its after-school program for at-risk children, Vanderbilt’s Ingram Scholars Program, and Mano a Mano International, and a month-long project in Bolivia sponsored by the Nichols Humanitarian Fund at Vanderbilt.
Abihith Kothapalli from Overland Park, Kansas, is this year’s Banner Bearer. He is graduating with a bachelor of science degree in computer science, a second major in mathematics, and minors in physics and scientific computing. Simultaneously, he will complete a master of science in computer science, earning both degrees within four years. He will continue his graduate studies as a doctoral student at Carnegie Mellon University.
Abi has received numerous honors, including the Vanderbilt Top 20 Outstanding Senior Award, the Immersion Vanderbilt Research Award, two Best Poster awards at the Undergraduate Research Fair, and the Undergraduate Changemaker Award. He was a finalist for the Computing Research Association (CRA) Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award and a finalist for the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, both among the most prestigious national recognitions for undergraduate research excellence and academic leadership,
Three seniors received a Dean’s Award for Outstanding Service. This award goes to a senior who has remarkable leadership qualities and who has made the greatest contribution in personal service to the school. The are Evelyn Marx of Long Beach, N.Y., Jacob Tomas of Fort Meyers, Fla., and Kate Wang of San Diego, Calif.
Marx, a senior in electrical and computer engineering, is a key participant in a research project with the Vanderbilt Institute for Space and Defense Electronics (ISDE) to construct a training simulator to educate engineers about radiation testing, for which she has won the best student paper at ECE day for the past two years. As a freshman, Marx joined DoD-funded Scalable Asymmetric Lifecycle Engagement (SCALE) program led by Purdue University that has become the preeminent DoD microelectronics workforce development program in the U.S. with over 1300 students since inception and across 30 universities. Her early work collaborating with the Purdue engineering education faculty was instrumental in developing the Knowledge Skills and Abilities approach that is used across the program. Purdue collaborators have praised her work, and she is included on a publication with Purdue.
Tomas, a civil and environmental engineering senior, has been especially active in Vanderbilt ASCE chapter since his freshman year, working on the ASCE national concrete canoe competitions. He also has been involved in the school’s Sterling Ranch-Vanderbilt Project. Sterling Ranch is a sustainable community south of Denver, Colo., on 3,400 acres, and will over the next 2 decades include about 12,000 homes and 45,000 residents. Its innovations, designed with Vanderbilt input, are in energy, water and education. For a senior design project, Tomas’s group designed a sustainable community building at Nashville’s Bell’s Bend community. The sponsor’s design engineer is going to stamp the drawings so they can be used to get the building started and help the community.
Wang, an engineering science major, served on the E-Council Board since her freshman year and as E-Council president in her senior year. Managing a board of over 20 members, she led the organization of monthly events to foster community and involvement in the engineering school and annual E-Week and E-Day celebrations involving various engineering student organizations to celebrate engineering professions. Wang served as co-founder and liaison of the Tumor Board Program since 2023 and spearheaded its expansion into a student organization to offer more pre-medical students the opportunity to gain clinical exposure in oncology. She also facilitated peer research mentorship on campus as the Director of Advising for Vanderbilt Scientific Immersion and Mentorship and was a V-Squared Ambassador. Starting her freshman year, she conducted neuroimaging research in the NEURDY Lab, resulting in a first-author publication and recognition as a Goldwater Scholar.
Dean Roy recognized 21 students whose grade point average equals or exceeds that of the top 5 percent of the previous three years’ graduating seniors. These students achieved summa cum laude distinction:
Tahsinul Haque Abir, Dhake, Bangladesh
Reed Wallace Andreas, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Henry Cooper Coleman, Chicago, Ill.
Kurt Anders Emrich, Evergreen, Colo.
Keshab Anil Gatehouse, Short Hills, N.J.
Carol He, Marion, Ala.
Jordyn K. Heil, Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Sitan Huang, Las Vegas, Nev.
Grace Ann Jones, Knoxville, Tenn.
Marcus Palmer Ilan Kamen, Houston, Texas
Abihith Kothapalli, Overland Park, Kan.
Yifei Li, Suzhou, China
Ella Rose Mostoller, Carrollton, Va.
Ryan David Occhionero, Morrison, Colo.
Grant Pangan Petrosky, South Hadley, Mass.
Jacob Tyler Schorr, Port Washingotn, N.Y.
Umar Sohail Qureshi, Karachi, Pakistan
Richard Wang Song, Herndon, Va.
Sebastian Lawrence Stull, West Middlesex, Pa.
Leyao Wang, Nanjing, China
Yifan Wei, Dalian, China
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: Leen Mohammad Madiah, Ramallah, Palestine
- Chemical Engineering: Hannah McKenzie Blake, Brentwood, Tenn.
- Civil Engineering: Ella Rose Mostoller, Carrollton, Va.
- Electrical and Computer Engineering: Jordyn K Heil, Murfreesboro, Tenn.
- Computer Science: Reed Wallace Andreas, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
- Engineering Science: Alexandra Serge Filipova, Newtonville, Mass.
- Mechanical Engineering: Sitan Huang, Las Vegas, Nev.
Hannah McKenzie Blake, Brentwood, Tenn., received 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.
Karsyn Belle Cook, Newport Coast, Calif., received 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.
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 Winnie Huang, East Elmhurst, N.Y.
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 Rachel Mary Hiesener, Annapolis, Md.
The Walter Gill Kirkpatrick Prize in Civil Engineering is given to the most deserving third-year student majoring in civil engineering. The recipient is Ella Kate Dzialowski, Coppell, Texas.
The Thomas G. Arnold Prizes for Biomedical Engineering Systems Design and Research is shared by Matteo Andrew Simamora, Rockville, Md. for research; and for design by: Seth Allen Hemingway, Hendersonville, Tenn., Reese Emma Flechner, Tustin, Calif., Samuel Jennings Thompson, Lebanon, Ky., Grant Pangan Petrosky, South Hadley, Mass., and Michael Shang Chen, Chandler, Ariz.
Jonah Evan Finkelstein, North Caldwell, N.J., is the recipient 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 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 Keshab Anil Gatehouse, Short Hills, N.J., and Ziqi Jack Jiao, Beijing, China.
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 Gabriella Jade Faircloth, Fishkill, N.Y.
The Walter Criley Prize is awarded for the best paper written on an advanced senior project in electrical engineering. The award is shared by Yixi Patrick Chen, Chengdu, China, and Adam Samuel Driscoll, Cincinnati, Ohio.
The William A. Ma Award is given to an outstanding senior majoring in chemical engineering based on a demonstrated record of leadership and scholastic achievement. The recipient is Caroline Rose Davis, Lexington, Ky.
Class of 2025 members of Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society are:
Tahsinul Haque Abir, Jessore, Bangladesh
Briana Victoria Bernicker, Marlboro, N.Y.
John Allen Bettinger, Kentfield, Calif.
Hannah McKenzie Blake, Brentwood, Tenn.
Elizabeth Rose Chason, Williamsburg, Va.
Sin Man Ansen Cheung, Nashville, Tenn.
Kunal Chugh, Asbury, Iowa
Henry Cooper Coleman, Chicago, Ill.
Samuel Matthew Cullison, Broomfield, Colo.
Kurt Anders Emrich, Evergreen, Colo.
Megan Alison Everson, Chesterfield, Mo.
Alexandra Serge Filipova, Newtonville, Mass.
Jonah Evan Finkelstein, North Caldwell, N.J.
Keshab Anil Gatehouse, Short Hills, N.J.
Abtin Abbassi Ghelmansaraei, Blackhawk, Calif.
Kaylee Greenberg, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Kira Fallyn-wynne Grossman, Hewlett, N.Y.
Carol He, Marion, Ala.
Jordyn Heil, Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Sitan Huang, Las Vegas, Nev.
Winnie Huang, East Elmhurst, N.Y.
Grace Ann Jones, Knoxville, Tenn.
Marcus Palmer Ilan, Kamen, Houston, Texas
Abihith Kothapalli, Overland Park, Kan.
Chuci Liu, Katy, Texas
Ziqi Liu, Beijing, China
Ian Patrick Morgan, Medina, Ohio
Ella Rose Mostoller, Carrollton, Va.
Serhii Mytsyk, Nizhyn, Ukraine
Ryan David Occhionero, Morrison, Colo.
Alexander Sukjoong Oh, Clarksville, Md.
Grant Pangan Petrosky, South Hadley, Mass.
Umar Sohail Qureshi, Karashi, Pakistan
Eric Renyuan Sang, Brentwood, Tenn.
Zander Jacob Schwartz, Vernon Hills, Ill.
Siddharth Parash Shah, Chantilly, Va.
Samuel Scott Taylor, Lebanon, Tenn.
Aman Thakur, Gurugram, India
Samuel Jennings Thompson, Lebanon, Ky.
Jacob Robert Tomas, Fort Meyers, Fla.
Emily Williams Van Schaack, Brentwood, Tenn.
Kate Wang, San Diego, Calif.
Margaret Mary Wilson, Germantown, Tenn.
Greyson Anthony Wintergerst, Louisville, Ky.
Kayla Paige Witz, Mount Kisco, N.Y.
Ziyuan Xu, Shanghai, China
Pierre Zakaria Zakaria, Nolensville, Tenn.
Xiaotong Zhao, Hangzhou, China
Contact: brenda.ellis@vanderbilt.edu