The Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) recognized the achievements of its students, staff, and faculty with honors from the Roger P. Webb Awards Program on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. The awards were held in person — in the Klaus Advanced Computing Building Atrium — for the first time since 2019. The awards program was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic and held virtually in 2021. 

The 2022 awards recognized 52 students, five staff members and four faculty members. ECE graduates and ECE Advisory Board members Shan Pesaru and Laura Huffman emceed the event.

The winner of the Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award, which is presented to a senior faculty member who has made significant contributions throughout his/her career, was awarded to Madhavan Swaminathan. He closed out the event by praising the thousands of ECE students he has taught in his nearly 30 years at the School.

“I am who I am today because of the many students I worked with over the years,” said Swaminathan. “Every day has been a new day of learning, excitement, and hope thanks to them.”

Below are the recipients of the 2022 Roger P. Webb Awards followed by photos from the award program. You can also watch a recording of the event online.

STUDENT AWARDS
Outstanding Electrical Engineering Sophomore Award
Rohan Wahabzada
Eta Kappa Nu, the honor society for ECE, recognizes the electrical engineering student who is in their second year and who has the highest scholastic average by presenting a check for $250 and a plaque.

Outstanding Computer Engineering Sophomore Award
Clifford Yao
Eta Kappa Nu, the honor society for ECE, recognizes the computer engineering student who is in their second year and who has the highest scholastic average by presenting a check for $250 and a plaque.

Electrical Engineering Junior Scholar Award
Phuong Minh Vu
This award is presented to the student who is in their third year and who has the highest GPA in the electrical engineering degree program. The recipient will be awarded a $250 check and a plaque.

Computer Engineering Junior Scholar Award
Bain McHale
This award is presented to the student who is in their third year and who has the highest GPA in the computer engineering degree program. The recipient will be awarded a $250 check and a plaque.

ECE Undergraduate Research Award
Pradyot Yadav
This award recognizes an undergraduate student who has demonstrated an unusually strong aptitude for research. The recipient will be awarded a $250 check and a plaque.

Outstanding Electrical Engineering Senior Award
Katherine Roberts
Eta Kappa Nu, the honor society for ECE, recognizes a graduating senior electrical engineering student with a 4.0 GPA with the most Institute hours and who plays an active role in extracurricular activities. The award consists of a plaque, engraving the name of the individual on a plaque in the Van Leer (ECE) Building, and awarding a check for $750.

Outstanding Computer Engineering Senior Award
Zachary Olkin
Eta Kappa Nu, the honor society for ECE, recognizes a graduating senior computer engineering student with a 4.0 GPA with the most Institute hours and who plays an active role in extracurricular activities. The award consists of a plaque, engraving the name of the individual on a plaque in the Van Leer (ECE) Building, and awarding a check for $750.

ECE Senior Scholar Awards
Anna Carow, Marcus Chan, Shaan Dhawan, Michael Farren, Nabid Farvez, Andrew Gauker, Akash Harapanahalli, Andrew Hellrigel, Madeline Holda, Raymond Jia, Raveen Karnik, Lucas Katayama, Ananth Kumar, Kangkyu Kwon, Tyler Lizzo, William Brice Minix, Felipe, Rego Monteiro, Mark Nicoletti, Zachary Olkin, Yue Pan, Hari Parameswaran, Subhachote Pornprinya, Maanas Purushothapu, Katherine Roberts, Naman Sarda, Christine Saw, Nishant Sharma, Jack Smalligan, Caleb Song, Tolga Üstüner, Leslie Wang, Cole Woerner, Huang Yao, Anna Yue, Bingyue Zhao

These awards consist of plaques and cash awards that are given to the electrical or computer engineering senior(s) with the highest academic average.

ECE Outstanding Service and Outreach Award
Asim Gazi
Georgia Tech has a responsibility to serve its local, national, and international communities. This award reflects the importance of improving people’s lives in the surrounding Georgia community and beyond. Investing time in such activities can have significant rewards for Georgia Tech in the future, and recognizing students who participate in and organize such activities helps to motivate other students to do the same. This award consists of a $250 check and a plaque.

ECE Faculty Award
Mohammadreza Zandehshahvar
This award is given to the electrical or computer engineering student who, in the opinion of the ECE faculty, has done the most to improve the educational environment within ECE or Georgia Tech and has contributed significantly to both student welfare and student-faculty interactions. The recipient will be awarded a $250 check and a plaque.

Colonel Oscar P. Cleaver Awards
Poulami Das, Ashkan Faghiri
The Colonel Oscar P. Cleaver Awards are given to the Ph.D. students who presented the most outstanding Ph.D. dissertation proposals in the previous year. Proposals are judged based upon the quality and originality of the proposed work, and the student’s expertise and insight on the subject matter. This award consists of a $1,000 check and a plaque.

ECE Graduate Teaching Assistant Excellence Award
Landon Ballard, Chenghao Duan
Teaching undergraduates is one of ECE’s most important missions. Teaching assistants are necessary to ensure that every student has the opportunity for personal attention during their course of study. The recipient will be awarded a $500 check and a plaque.

ECE Graduate Research Assistant Excellence Awards
Sajjad Abodollahramezni, Santhosh Karnik, Mohit Prabhushankar, and Mohammad S. E. Sendi

Research is the cornerstone to ECE’s success. Nurturing bright and hardworking graduate research assistants (GRAs) are among the most important factors in ensuring that ECE remains a leader in the research community. These awards will be given to the GRAs who have demonstrated particular excellence in performing their duties. The recipients will each be awarded a $500 check and a plaque.

STAFF AWARDS

Hats Off Performance Awards
Chance Brown, Nisaa Buchanan, Fanchette Danmola
These awards, each consisting of a $2,000 check and a plaque, recognize the classified staff members who have demonstrated exceptional job performance and/or service to ECE above and beyond the call of duty.

Research Spotlight Award
Samer Mabrouk 
This award is presented to a researcher who has made a significant contribution to the research efforts in ECE. The awardee will receive a $2,000 check and a plaque.

Academic Spotlight Award
Anna Holcomb
This award is presented to the researcher, classified employee, or general faculty member who has made a significant contribution to the ECE teaching or academic program. The awardee will receive a $2,000 check and a plaque.

FACULTY AWARDS

Outstanding Junior Faculty Member Awards
Sam Coogan, Asif Khan                                                                                   
These awards, each consisting of a $2,000 check and a plaque, recognize the most outstanding assistant professor.

Outstanding Mid-Career Faculty Award
Shimeng Yu 
This award is presented to an associate professor or full professor no more than 10 years past his/her appointment as, or promotion to associate professor. The award consists of a $2,000 check and a plaque.

Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award
Madhavan Swaminathan
This award, consisting of a $5,000 check and a plaque, is presented to the senior faculty member (full professor or Regents’ Professor) who has made significant contributions throughout his/her career.