Celebration of Excellence 2016

2016Celebration of Excellence


Reception - 6:00 p.m. Guitar Interlude - Ryan Snowden

Biological Engineering - Biomedical Instrumentation, Class of 2018

Dinner - 7 p.m.

WelcomeDonald J. Leo, Ph.D.

Dean & UGA Foundation Professor in Engineering

InvocationScotty Smith

Civil Engineering, Class of 2016 Student Ambassador, 2015 Presidential Scholar & Founding President, UGA Student Chapter American Society of Civil Engineers

Awards & Recognition Kyle J. Johnsen, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Computer Systems Engineering Chair, Honorifics Committee

Years of Service Awards

“India: A New Perspective”A film produced by Peter Akinosho, Civil Engineering, Class of 2017

Narration by Dr. K.C. Das

Undergraduate Student Awards

Graduate Student Awards

Intellectual Property & Start-upsLawrence A. Hornak, Ph.D.

Associate Dean for Research & Distinguished Faculty Scholar

Staff & Faculty Awards Dr. Johnsen

Closing Remarks & Farewell from Graduating StudentsDean Leo

UGA Engineering Class of 2016


The University of Georgia College of Engineering

Thank you for joining me in this celebration of our achievements in the University of Georgia College of Engineering.

As I pause to reflect, the many milestones we have reached during the past 12 months amaze me. With almost 1,700 Bulldog Engineers enrolled at UGA, we have exceeded all expectations for growth in our college. Our growth is not only reflected in our enrollment but also in our faculty and staff, our experiential learning opportunities, our cutting-edge research, and our foundation and scholarship support.

Our reputation for excellence is growing well beyond the walls of this university and the borders of our state. Faculty and students are being recognized nationally and internationally for their scholarship, research and service.

This is a night to celebrate our success and to recognize those who have made it all possible. Your passion and dedication are driving the University of Georgia College of Engineering toward greater heights than anyone could have predicted just a few years ago.

With appreciation,

Donald J. Leo, Ph.D.Dean & UGA Foundation Professor in Engineering

Welcome from the dean



2016 Celebration of Excellence Honorees

35 YearsDr. Sidney ThompsonDr. William Tollner

25 YearsRyan Adolphson

Dr. Mark Eiteman

15 YearsMelissa Garber

10 YearsForrest BridgesCaner Kazanci

Clodagh Phair-MillerBingqian XuMike Yoder

Years of Service Awards

Undergraduate Student AwardsService Awards

Abby Caballero & Casey Jay Johnson

Research AwardScotty Smith

Athletics Award Kaitlyn Ruff

Academic Awards

AgriculturalRichard “Trey” Dozier

BiochemicalRyan Droese

BiologicalMitchell Lynn

CivilKatelyn Stallings

Computer SystemsMichael Lastinger

EnvironmentalHaley Daniel & Lindsey Brooke Spreen

MechanicalTimothy Keller

Caswell Student ChallengeKevin Metz, Spring 2015 & Erik Petersen, Fall 2015

UGA Presidential ScholarBryan Grommersch

Teaching Assistant AwardChris Herring

Brahm P. Verma Award

for Academic & Leadership Excellence Narendran Sekar

Honorable Mentions Jia Ge

Kamalakanta Sahoo

Graduate Student Awards

Faculty & Staff AwardsStaff Award for Excellence

Mr. Jarrod Buffington

Award for Excellence in InstructionDr. Stephan Durham

Award for Excellence in ResearchDr. Jenna Jambeck

Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award Dr. Mark Eiteman



2016 Faculty & Staff Awards



Award for Excellence in Research Jenna Jambeck, Ph.D.

The Award for Excellence in Research honors outstanding faculty in the UGA College of Engineering who have shown exceptional creativity and achievement in any area of engineering research. An environmental engineer, Dr. Jambeck led a team of world-renowned researchers studying the global input of mismanaged plastic waste into the ocean. This work, published in the journal Science, provides a new and important perspective on the issue of marine debris. Dr. Jambeck’s research also shows that multi-pronged approaches and a focus on solid waste management can allow us to mitigate the flow of plastic into the ocean.

Staff Award for Excellence Mr. Jarrod Buffington

The Staff Award for Excellence honors a staff member in the UGA College of Engineering who has demonstrated a strong work ethic, commitment to service and exceptional job performance. In recognition for exemplary work and service, the Staff Award for Excellence this year recognizes Jarrod Buffington, administrative financial director for the College of Engineering. Jarrod has been associated with UGA engineering for 12 years and has been a UGA employee for a total of 17 years.



Award for Excellence in Instruction Stephan Durham, Ph.D.

The UGA College of Engineering’s annual Award for Excellence in Instruction honors outstanding faculty who demonstrated sustained commitment to high-quality instruction and creativity. Dr. Durham has exhibited high levels of achievement, demonstrated by his numerous research awards and the graduation of more than 20 masters and doctoral students under his mentorship. His contributions to engineering education through curriculum development, experiential learning and professional development places him among top educators in his field.

Distinguished Faculty Scholar Mark Eiteman, Ph.D.UGA College of Engineering Distinguished Faculty Scholars are recognized for their sustained excellence in scholarship. Dr. Eiteman’s research in the field of metabolic engineering and fermentation, a long record of technology transfer through the commercialization of intellectual property and his leadership in organizations such as the Institute for Biological Engineering place him among the elite scientists in his field.

2016 Faculty & Staff Awards

Biosynthesis of Caffeic Acid and Caffeic Acid Derivatives by Recombinant MicroorganismsInventors: Yuheng Lin and Yajun Yan Utility Patent 9,121,044 Synthesis and Application of Reactive Antimicrobial Copolymers for Textile FibersInventor: Jason J. Locklin Utility Patent 8,968,421 Functional Nanostructured Jelly Rolls with Nanosheet ComponentsInventors: Christopher A. Barrett, Kun Yao, Manoj Manjare, Tina T. Salguero and Yiping Zhao Utility Patent 9,202,606 Substrate-Selective Co-Fermentation ProcessInventors: Elliot C. Altman and Mark A. Eiteman Utility Patent 9,212,346

Eu2+-Activated Aluminates Nanobelts, Whiskers and Powders, Methods of Making the Same and Uses ThereofInventors: Feng Liu, Xufan Li and Zhengwei Pan Utility Patent 9,039,933

Torrefaction reduction of coke formation on catalysts used in esterification and cracking of biofuels from pyrolysedlignocellulosic feedstocksInventors: Jim Kastner, Sudhagar Mani, Roger Hilten, & K.C. Das Utility Patent 9,175,235



Innovation & Discovery

Intellectual Property

YDS Biotechnologies Yajun Yan

Start-up Company

Brian Bledsoe was named the inaugural Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor in Resilient Infrastructure.

Peter Carnell was named a UGA Teaching Academy Fellow.

Jason Christian was named Engineer of the Year in Education by the Georgia Society of Professional Engineers.

K.C. Das received the Rufus Cheney Research Award, presented by the U.S. Composting Council for excellence in research.

Ben Davis received an Office of Naval Research Summer Faculty Fellowship.

Stephan Durham received the ASCE Georgia President’s Award.

Mable Fok received the CURO Research Mentoring Award from the UGA Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities.

Cheryl Gomillion was named a 2015-2016 University of Georgia Teaching Academy Fellow.

Hitesh Handa received a STAR Young Investigator Award from the Southern Translational Education and Research Conference.

Lawrence Hornak received the 2015 UGA College of Engineering Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award.

Jenna Jambeck received a 2016 UGA Creative Research Medal and the 2015 UGA College of Engineering Instruction Award.

William Kisaalita received the President’s Fulfilling the Dream Award from the University of Georgia for significant efforts to build bridges of unity and understanding. He also received the 2015 Lioba Moshi Award for Service in African Studies.

Changying Li received the New Holland Young Research Award from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.

Sudhagar Mani was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for his contributions to TAPPI.

Siddharth Savadatti received a University of Georgia Creative Teaching Award.

John Schramski received the award for “Doomiest Graph of 2015” from Desdemona Despair, a leading blog for sustainability science metrics.

Hillary Tanner was named UGA Teacher of the Week by the Center for Teaching and Learning.

Zion Tse received a Summa Cum Laude Research Award and a Magna Cum Laude Research Award from the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Xianqiao Wang was named a University of Georgia Lilly Teaching Fellow.

Brock Woodson received a University of Georgia Creative Teaching Award.



Awards & Accolades

Joachim Walther received a 2016 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on science and engineering professors in the early stages of their research careers.

Tim Foutz was named a University of Georgia Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor, the university’s highest recognition for excellence in instruction at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Phillip Bartley serves as a peer reviewer for IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement.

Peter Carnell was named a UGA Teaching Academy Fellow. and has helped develop engaging experiential learning projects for fluid mechanics.

Mi Guem Chorzpa was lead author of papers in the proceedings of ASCE Geo & Structure Congress and the 5th Structural Engineers World Congress 2015. She also co-authored papers in Computers and Structures, Engineering Failure Analysis, Magazine of Concrete Research and Journal of Bridge Engineering.

Jason Christian was lead author of a paper in Natural Hazards Review and led a USDA study on water availability in Puerto Rico. He developed a tropical hydrologic model funded by the U.S. Forest Service and the Corps of Engineers, and is exploring its application to other tropical areas including Costa Rica and Uganda.

K.C. Das was co-developer and co-leader of a new study abroad opportunity for students, Environmental and Energy Studies and Design Opportunities in India. In addition he was awarded one patent and co-authored eight papers in leading international journals.

Ben Davis was lead author of a paper in AIAA Journal and presented reports on his research at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and at the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center. He was also named an Honorary Fellow of the University of Liverpool School of Engineering.

Stephan Durham co-authored papers in the Journal of Construction and Building Materials and International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment and was selected as one of eight national professional members to represent ASCE at the Emerging Leaders Alliance Conference. Under his leadership, the College received an American Concrete Institute “Outstanding University Award.”

Mark Eiteman was an invited presenter at major conferences in the U.S. and India and serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Biological Engineering. In addition, he was awarded one patent, and co-authored papers in four leading, international biotechnology journals.

Mable Fok was awarded three provisional patents for her work and served as lead author or co-author of nine papers published in leading journals including Scientific Reports. Her research was prominently featured in IEEE Photonics Society Newletter and Laser Focus World.

Tim Foutz co-authored three papers in leading journals including the American Journal of Engineering Education and the International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. He was also named a UGA Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor, a University System of Georgia Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Fellow and received the ASEE-SE Outstanding Teaching Award.

Eric Freeman was lead author of a paper in Biomicrofluidics and co-author of three papers in other leading journals including Scientific Reports. In addition, he was nominated and accepted as an ASMS branch member, and was awarded an NSF grant to study the mechanics of membrane-based materials.



Scholarly Achievements

David Gattie is leading the University of Georgia’s solar tracking demonstration project in partnership with Georgia Power. In addition, he co-authored a paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and co-developed a new study abroad opportunity focused on environmental and energy studies and design in India.

Dan Geller coordinates the USDA National Climate Learning Network, which connects the USDA Climate Hubs and the Land Grant University System through translation of climate research to on the ground action.

Cheryl Gomillion was lead author of papers published in the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A and in Cleft-Palate Craniofacial Journal. She also was a presenter at the Southern Biomedical Engineering Conference.

Mark Haidekker contributed two book chapters and published six papers, serving as senior author on two. He was the first author of an invited review. In addition, he co-authored a paper in the Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science which covers a relatively new area of investigation:

using biofeedback to control greenhouse lighting and reduce energy consumption.

Melissa Hallow contributed papers to leading journals including Kidney International and the FASEB Journal. In addition, she received a $795,000 grant from AztraZeneca for research into physiologically-based disease models.

Takoi Hamrita is serving as a member of the IEEE International Women in Engineering Committee, in charge of the Southeastern U.S. In addition, she’s hosting a Global Women in STEM Leadership Summit in Atlanta this November. She has also led the accreditation of the College of Engineering’s CSEE program.

Hitesh Handa received a Young Investigator Award at the Southern Translational Education and Research Conference and was an invited speaker for the Page Morton Hunter Distinguished Seminar Series in Bioengineering at Clemson University. In addition, he was awarded a patent and secured funding from NIH, the Department of Veternas Affairs and industrial sources for his research.

Lawrence Hornak co-authored papers in Nature Communications and Network Modeling Analysis in Health Informatics and Bioinformatics on the topics of organic semiconductors and molecular biometrics.

Leonid Ionov was named a Fellow of the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (IPF). In addition, he serves as the editor of a special issue of the journal Polymers, serves as a peer review for several leading journals, and published two papers.

Jenna Jambeck was lead author of a highly-cited paper on the problem of ocean debris in the journal Science. She is now an advisor to the United Nations on this issue and was a featured presenter at several major international conferences including the Global Ocean Commission, Prince of Wales International Sustainability Unit, G7, Our Oceans and a White House Office of Science, Technology and Policy briefing.




Kyle Johnsen co-authored papers in Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, Computing & Science Engineering, Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking, and Journal of Health Communication. He was also a featured presenter at Growing Apps for the Public Good, a national panel on citizen science in Washington, D.C.

Jim Kastner was lead author of papers in RSC Advances and Fuel Processing Technology and co-author of three other papers in leading journals. He was awarded a patent and served as a presenter at major conferences including the ASABE International Annual Meeting.

Caner Kazanci served as a presenter and organized workshops at major national and international conferences including the Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting and BIOMATH 2015. He contributed a chapter to Advanced Modelling Techniques Studying Global Changes in Environmental Sciences and co-authored a paper in Ecological Modelling.

William Kisaalita was lead author of a paper in Human Factors and co-author of a paper in Drug Discovery Today. He also deployed the first of his novel biogas-powered milk cooling devices to dairy farmers in Uganda this spring.

Peter Kner was an invited presenter at several major national and international conferences including the New Approaches in Light Microscopy Workshop and the Optical Society of America Incubator on Adaptive Structured Illumination. He also co-authored eight papers in leading journals.

Thomas Lawrence was an invited presenter at a seminar hosted by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany. He was also lead author of a paper in Sustainable Built Environment: Strategies, Stakeholders, Success Factors and served as co-developer of UGA’s new dual degree program in engineering and German.

Donald Leo co-authored papers in Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures and Scientific Reports.

Changying Li co-authored six papers in leading journals. He was a presenter at the AUVSI Unmanned Systems in Precision Agriculture Conference and Annual International Meeting of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. In addition, he is the project director of an NIFA-funded research project as well as the Agricultural Sensing and Robotics Initiative. He serves on the editorial boards of three premier journals.

Ke Li co-authored papers in Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering and the Journal of Industrial Ecology. He was also a presenter at the Coastal Resilience Workshop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Jason Locklin plays a leading role in UGA’s participation in Advanced Functional Fabrics of America, a new national public-private consortium to design and manufacture smart fabrics for the defense and commercial markets. In addition, he is leading the effort to establish a New Materials Institute under the Office of the Vice President for Research. He also co-authored several papers with his graduate students which were published in Langmuir, ACS Nano, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., Adv. Funct. Mater. and Macromolecular Symposia.

Sudhagar Mani was lead author of a paper in Proceedings of the 2015 Winter Simulation Conference. In addition, he was awarded a patent and co-authored papers in American Journal of Analytical Chemistry and Fuel Processing Technology. He also served as a presenter at major national and international conferences.




Leidong Mao co-authored papers in Advanced Functional Materials, Langmuir, IEEE-ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, and Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. He also directed a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program in nanotechnology and biotechnology.

Javad Mohammadpour authored or co-authored 11 papers including those in Electrical Power Systems Research, International Journal of Systems Science, and International Journal of Robust and Nonlinear Control. He also served as chair or co-chair for several sessions in major professional meetings and conferences.

Luke Mortensen was lead author or co-author on several papers including those in BoneKEy Reports, Journal of Biomedical Nanotechnology, and Bio-Optics: Design and Application.

Zhengwei Pan co-authored papers in leading journals including Nano Letters, Dalton Transactions and Journal of Material Chemistry C. He also was awarded a patent and served as an invited presenter at major international conferences.

Ramana Pidaparti was lead author of papers in Microsystem Technologies and the Journal of Medical Engineering & Technology. In addition, he is leading UGA’s collaboration with James Madison University in a project funded by the National Science Foundation to develop instructional resources centered on the concept of biologically inspired design in engineering curriculum.

Ramaraja Ramasamy was lead author or co-author of seven papers in leading journals including Journal of

Electrochemical Society, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Biosensors, Biosensors and Bioelectronics and Interface. He also served as editor of Electrochemical Society Publications and served as a presenter at major national and international conferences.

Siddharth Savadatti received a Creative Teaching Award from the University of Georgia for his efforts to impact learning and retention rates by incorporating active engagement strategies in Statics and Fluid Mechanics courses.

John Schramski was lead author of two papers published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, including a highly publicized and acknowledged paper on the thermodynamic ramifications of our rapid destruction of the Earth’s biomass. He also served as an invited presenter at several major international conferences including the Ecological Society of America’s Annual Conference.

Nicki Sochacka was lead author of a paper published in the Journal of Engineering Education. In addition, she was co-author of papers in several leading journals and served as a presenter at major national and international conferences and workshops.

David Stooksbury served as co-developer of the university’s new dual degree program in Engineering and German. He also was an invited speaker at the University Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.

Jaya Sundaram was lead author of papers published in the Journal of Agriculture & Food Chemistry and the International Journal of Food Microbiology. She also serves as an editor for De Gruyter Open and serves as a peer reviewer for several leading journals. Her current research theme is “engineering for one health.”




Hillary Tanner was awarded a grant to design apps that support experiential learning in engineering education. In addition, she coordinated the college’s ABET accreditation activities for the six programs that underwent review in 2015.

Chi Thai’s textbook, Exploring Robotics with ROBOTIS Systems, was published by Springer. He also served as an invited presenter at the European Association for Research on Learning & Instruction (EARLI) Conference and co-authored a paper in Computers & Education.

Sidney Thompson co-authored papers in American Journal of Engineering Education, International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, and Transactions of the ASABE. He also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of International Agrophysics.

E.W. “Bill” Tollner co-authored papers in Journal of Environmental Quality and Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions. He was a presenter at the ASABE National Meeting and serves

as division editor for the aquaculture division of Transactions of ASABE.

Zion Tse was lead author or co-author of a number of papers in leading journals including IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, and Medical Physics. He was awarded two patents and three provisional patents. In addition, he served as an organizer and presenter at several major national and international conferences.

Ben Wagner is using a grant from Southern Company to investigate options for thermoelectric generation using boiler stack gas as a heat source.

Joachim Walther received a 2016 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). In addition, he was lead author of papers in the Journal of Engineering Education and Advances in Engineering Education. He also served as the invited keynote speaker at the first International Engineering Education Conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Xianqiao Wang was lead author or co-author of 18 peer-reviewed papers in leading journals including ACS Nano, Nanoscale, Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, and Carbon. He also delivered 11 presentations at major national and international conferences. He was named a UGA Lilly Teaching Fellow and joined the Editorial Board for the journal Polymers.

Mike Yoder teaches multiple sections of ENGR 1140, ELEE 1030, ENGR 2170, and ENGR 1920 and designs hands-on experiments for course labs. In addition, he serves as faculty advisor for the UGA student branch of theAmerican Society of Agricultural & Biological Engineers (ASABE).






FacultyRodney Averett, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Robert A. Baffour, Ph.D. Lecturer

Brian Bledsoe, Ph.D. UGA Athletic Association Professor in Resilient

Infrastructure

Yeshitila Gebremichael, Ph.D. Assistant Research Scientist

Leonid Ionov, Ph.D., Habil.Assistant Professor

Sung-Hee (Sonny) Kim, Ph.D.Associate Professor

Barbara McCord, Ph.D.Lecturer

Mr. Jagannath RaoAdjunct Instructor

Benjamin Thomas, Ph.D.Lecturer

StaffVickie Burkhalter

Administrative Assistant II

Callie Cole Advisor

Kendra GoodeAdministrative Associate II

Lillian HaasDevelopment and Alumni Relations Associate

Amber Juncker Advisor

Crystal Leach, Ph.D.Director, Discovery & Innovation Partnerships

Danielle Walker Advisor

Welcome To Our New Faculty & Staff

Postdoctoral Research AssociatesStan Gregory, Ph.D.

Rupali Hire, Ph.D.

Sean Hopkins, Ph.D.

Hari Shankar Mahato, Ph.D.

Joseph Najem, Ph.D.

Kayvan Forouhesh Tehrani, Ph.D.

Shunli Wang, Ph.D.

Documents

Celebration of Excellence 2016