Each year, the University of Georgia College of Engineering invites our community together to celebrate the accomplishments of our students, faculty, staff and alumni. This tradition, known as the Celebration of Excellence, convened on the evening of April 8, 2026 to recognize and award nearly 100 members of the College of Engineering community that help fulfill its mission through their pursuit of excellence.
View a full album of photos from the event below.
2026 Awardees
Impact Awards
Alumni Impact Award
Terry Hunt
Young Alumni Award
Hailey Morelli
Friend of the College Impact Award
Dr. Jerry Chesness
Trailblazer Awards
Dr. Thirimachos Bourlai
Professor in the School of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Dilmeet Kaur
Ph.D. Student in Biomedical Engineering
Aleena Rayamajhi
Ph.D. Student in Biological & Agricultural Engineering
UGA Academy of Engineering
Brian K. Adams
BSAE 2001
Bennie G. Branch, Jr.
BSAE 1988, MSAE 1990
William Craig
BSAE 1966, MSAE 1967
Nathan B. Long
BSAE 2001
James B. Manley, Sr.BSAE 1967
Frank Pittman
BSAE 1998
Dr. Raj Rao
Ph.D. 2001
Bayne Smith
Class of 1988
Benton H. Williams
BSAE 1971, MSAE 1974
Years of Service Awards
35 years
Dr. William Kisaalita
Dr. Mark Eiteman
30 years
Michelle McFalls
25 years
Jeremy Wheatley
20 years
Dr. Bingqian Xu
Dr. Roger Hilten
Forrest Bridges
15 years
Dr. Angela Birkes
Dr. Ramaraja Ramasamy
Emily Shirley
Kelley Saussy
10 years
Dr. Barbara McCord
Dr. Sung-Hee (Sonny) Kim
Dr. Brian BledsoeDr. Robert Awuah-Baffour
Amber Juncker
Lillian Ballance
Dr. Rawad Saleh
Dr. WenZhan Song
Pamela Pontenberg
Undergraduate Student Awards
Merit Awards of Excellence
The Merit Award for Service
Sofie Mayfield
The Merit Award for Research
Ben Pumphrey
The Arnton Clegg Award for Academic Excellence in Agricultural Engineering
Tanner Williams
The Award for Academic Excellence in Biochemical Engineering
Han Truong
The Award for Academic Excellence in Biological Engineering
McKenna Clary
The Dr. Sidney Thompson Family Civil Engineering Award
Margaret Royal
The Award for Academic Excellence in Computer Systems Engineering
Jordan Howard
The Award for Academic Excellence in Electrical & Electronics Engineering
Neel Desai
The Award for Academic Excellence in Environmental Engineering
Clara Forehand
The Award for Academic Excellence in Mechanical Engineering
Elena Vazquez
Presidential Awards for Excellence
Deborah Madden
Ben Pumphrey
Graduate Student Awards
The Rising Star Graduate Student Research Award
Amber Lopez
The Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award
Jixing Hou
The Outstanding Dissertation Award
Kyndra Higgins
The Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award
Steven Binder
The Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award
Erika Bowen Shamaun
Brahm P. Verma Award for Academic & Leadership Excellence
Aasma Sapkota
Outstanding Research Scientist Award
Baviththira Suganthan
Outstanding Postdoctoral Research Award
Jian Liu
Faculty Honors & Awards
Faculty Awards
Emerging Scholar Research Award
Dr. Haijian Sun
Sustained Excellence in Scholarship Award
Dr. James Huff
Distinguished Scholar Research Award
Dr. Linbing Wang
Excellence in Teaching Award
Dr. Edwin Lim
Excellence in Teaching Award
Dr. Racheida Lewis
Excellence in Faculty Mentorship Award
Dr. William Kisaalita
Excellence in Faculty Leadership Award
Dr. Stephan Durham
Excellence in Faculty Leadership Award
Dr. John Morelock
Lowry Gillespie Curriculum Enhancement
Dr. Mable Fok
U.S Patents Awarded
Dr. Elizabeth Brisbois
Dr. Hitesh Handa
Dr. Leidong Mao
Professional Fellowships
Optica Fellow
Dr. Mable Fok
American Society for Engineering Education Fellow
Dr. James Huff
American Society of Mechanical Engineers Fellow
Dr. Beshoy Morkos
Association for Computing Machinery Fellow
Dr. Alex Orso
Institute of Biological Engineering Fellow
Dr. Ramaraja Ramasamy
National Academy of Engineers
Dr. Edward Law
Dr. Marshall Shepherd
National Academy of Inventors
Dr. Elizabeth Brisbois
Dr. K.C. Das
Dr. Mark Eiteman
Dr. Dan Geller
Dr. Hitesh Handa
Dr. Leidong Mao
Dr. Jason Locklin
Dr. Kenan Song
Dr. Wenzhan Song
Dr. Yajun Yan
National Academy of Sciences
Dr. Marshall Shephard
Staff Awards
Distinguished Staff Award for Excellence
Jordan DeRosa
Director of Corporate Engagement
New Staff Award for Excellence
Emily Shirley
Academic Advisor for ECAM
Award for Excellence in Student Services
Sean McGarity
Assistant Director of Alumni and Employer Relations
Staff Leadership Award for Excellence
Amber Juncker
Director of Engagement and Recruitment
Staff Mentorship Award for Excellence
Litashia Carter
Director of Academic Advising
Award for Excellence in Continuous Improvement
Brandon Bryan
Grants Coordinator
University of Georgia Outstanding New Advisor
Dani Andrews
Academic Advisor for ECAM
UGA Honors Week Awards
Regents’ Professorship
Dr. Marshall Shepherd
UGA Creative Teaching Award
Dr. Kun Yao
Service-Learning Teaching Excellence Awards
Dr. Stephan Durham
Outstanding Teaching Awards
Dr. Racheida Lewis
Dr. Edwin Lim
Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander Inclusive Community Award
Dr. Eliza Banu
Lamar Dodd Creative Research Award
Dr. Hitesh Handa
Team Impact Awards
Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems (IRIS)
Georgia Wildland-fire Simulation Experiment (GWISE)
International Collaborative Research Award
M3X International Team
