2023 MMAE Student Research Poster Competition and Departmental Awards
The Department of Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology held its annual MMAE Student Research Poster Competition and awards ceremony on March 31, 2023.
The MMAE Student Research Poster Competition is a long-standing tradition of the department, drawing keen interest and wide participation among students, faculty, and the Illinois Tech community.
This year, 27 MMAE students representing all degree levels presented posters displaying their completed research. Participants were evaluated for the originality and relevance of the research as well as their overall presentation skills. Two separate panels judged the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate students’ posters.
The judges included members from the MMAE External Advisory Board, in addition to representatives from academia and industry. The department awarded a certificate and monetary prize to top-scoring presenters from each academic level.
Additional departmental awards were presented to faculty and students to recognize their outstanding contributions to research and teaching.
During the event, the MMAE 2023 distinguished alumnus, Joshua Cameron (AE ’01, M.S. MAE ’03), director of the Notre Dame Turbomachinery Laboratory, delivered a lecture, “The Notre Dame Turbomachinery Laboratory—Filling the Gap Between Idea and Application in Propulsion and Power.”
Congratulations to the following winners:
Department Awards
2023 MMAE Distinguished Alumni Award—Joshua Cameron (AE ’01, M.S. MAE ’03)
2023 MMAE Excellence in Teaching Award—Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Murat Vural
2023 MMAE Excellence in Research Award—Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Scott Dawson
2023 Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award—Chen Tang (Ph.D. MAE Candidate) and Runzi Cui (Ph.D. MSE Candidate) for work in Lecturer John Bernhardt’s MMAE 319 course
2023 Outstanding Research Assistant Award—Elisa Gallon (Ph.D. MAE Candidate) advised by Professor Boris Pervan
Poster Competition Winners
First Place (Bachelor’s and Master’s Category)—Willa Vigneault (MSE 4th Year) advised by Rowe Family Chair Professor in Sustainable Energy Leon Shaw
First Place (Doctoral Category)—Birendra Kujur (Ph.D. MAE Candidate) advised by Professor Boris Pervan
Second Place (Doctoral Category)—King Longdon Ankobea-Ansah (M.S. MAE ’22, Ph.D. MAE Candidate) advised by Associate Professor Carrie Hall
Third Place (Doctoral Category)—Elisa Gallon (Ph.D. MAE Candidate) advised by Professor Boris Pervan and Sai Simon (AE ’19, Ph.D. MAE Candidate) advised by Professor David Williams
Photo: Group photo from the MMAE Student Research Poster Competition
