Celebrating Engineering Research Teaching and Service Excellence
During the 2022-2023 academic year, William States Lee College of Engineering significantly strengthened its research activity, continuing to elevate its position as an innovative engineering college.
With 213 proposals submitted and over 107 research awards yielding $17.8 million, which is 30% higher than the prior year, the College experienced its best year ever. This increase aligns with University research award growth, which swelled from $57.3 million last year to $73.2 million this year.
The College helped drive UNC Charlotte research activity by contributing over 24% of total university awards. Particular awards to note include:
- Engineers led by earning three of the university’s four National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER awards during the year (Ahmed Arafa, In Hong Yang and Amir Ghasemi).
- Brett Tempest, Associate Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering, earned the largest NSF award for the “Engineering Academic Pathways” project. The $1.5 million award will enable Tempest and his team to develop a merit scholarship structure and support system for low income and first generation students. As a known champion of the student experience, Tempest is congratulated for this award.
- Mike Mazzola, Director of EPIC, earned the $1 million NSF Engines Development Award to fund “Clean Carolinas,” a project which will support the earth’s atmosphere through clean energy technology and innovations in offshore wind, solar, marine energy and more. The Clean Carolinas project is one of only 40 projects nationwide to earn the inaugural Engines Award.
To honor College research activity and teaching expertise, William States Lee College of Engineering held the spring College Faculty Awards Ceremony on April 25 at the Harris Alumni Center. The ceremony recognized 2022-2023 faculty for their research and teaching excellence as they forge the future of discovery and lead engineering students toward contributions in their upcoming careers.
Spring 2023 William States Lee College of Engineering Faculty Awards
Teaching Awards
Excellence in undergraduate and graduate instruction
Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching
Alison Sears, Assistant Professor of Teaching
Civil Engineering Technology and Construction Management
Excellence in Graduate Teaching
Kosta Falaggis, Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science
Early Career Award
Faculty demonstrate early research success which shows promise for future impact on their field of study.
Kosta Falaggis, Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science
Research Focus: Optical metrology, computational methods in precision metrology, and image and signal-processing techniques
Service Award
Faculty who have made service-oriented impact through service to the profession, the university community/region/state, or national/international levels.
Jim Conrad, Professor
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Service: Served with IEEE for over 40 years; International Board of Directors and was IEEE-USA President in 2020; currently President, IEEE-HKN, the international honor society for electrical, computer engineering, computer science and affiliated disciplines.
Scholars Award
Faculty who have contributed to increasing the number and amount of publications, awards, grants, contracts and other recognitions for the University, as well as helping to develop the next generation of scholars. These winners demonstrate substantial creativity and scholarship in her/his field of expertise.
Tara Cavalline, Associate Professor
Civil Engineering Technology and Construction Management
Research Focus: Portland cement concrete and cementitious materials, sustainable construction materials, bridge and pavement management systems
Robert Cox, Associate Professor
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Associate Director, EPIC
Research Focus: Power systems
Hamed Tabkhi, Associate Professor
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Research Focus: Novel architecture for emerging deep learning and machine learning algorithms
Distinguished Scholars Award
Level of excellence must be very clearly superior to that expected of a faculty member in the field.
Badrul Chowdhury, ProfessorElectrical and Computer Engineering, Industrial and Systems EngineeringResearch Focus: Power system modeling, analysis, control, optimization and economics
Wei Fan, Professor
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Research Focus: Big data analytics for transportation, connected and autonomous vehicles, multimodal transportation and shared mobility, and transportation system analysis and network modeling
Sukumar Kamalasadan, Professor
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Research Focus: Smart grid design, renewable energy integration, energy storage
New Patents
W.S. Lee College of Engineering recognizes innovation by presenting plaques to new U.S. Patent awardees, commemorating their achievement. Patents earned in 2022 were recognized in the Fall Faculty Awards Banquet.
Inventor: James Amburgey, Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Title: “Nanomaterials, devices, and methods of water treatment”
US Patent 11,542,181
The recognition and awards ceremony is sponsored by Dean Robert Keynton and was developed by Dr. Brigid Mullany, Professor and the college’s first Associate Dean of Research.
Congratulations to all award winners for their accomplishments and contributions.