College Research Awards
The William States Lee College of Engineering’s faculty research awards were created to acknowledge success in conducting impactful, cutting-edge research and all it entails: leadership and mentorship, scholarly dissemination and extramurally-funded research.
Full-time faculty, including research faculty, with a minimum of three years of employment within the W.S. Lee College of Engineering are eligible for this category. The candidates must demonstrate early research success which shows promise for future impact on their field of study.
2024 Recipient: Amir Ghasemi
Ghasemi, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and engineering science, works in the area of human-machine interaction and control. In the past 18 months he received an NSF CAREER award and is the PI on the UNC Charlotte team conducting the N.C. Department of Transportation CASSI pilot study. He has written five journal papers, with three more under review, advised graduate students and two undergraduates, and runs summer camps for middle school students. He contributed to the organization of invited sessions at the 2022 American Control Conference and the 2022 Modeling, Estimation, and Control Conference.
Previous Recipients
2023: Kosta Falaggis
2022: Jun Xu
All full-time faculty, including research faculty, who have been employed by the W.S. Lee College of Engineering for five years are eligible. Applications can come from an individual or a team. Candidates for this award must demonstrate their exceptional research activity during the time-defined period.
2024 Recipient: Hamed Tabkhi
Tabkhki, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, works in the field of machine learning, real-time AI and cyber physical systems. Over the past 18 months he has published seven journal articles, 14 conference papers, and a book chapter. He has also filed a patent, secured over $1.4 million in external funding and given keynote talks at NSF-organized events on smart and connected cities. He is currently advising nine doctoral students, three master’s students and two post-docs.
Previous Recipients
2022: Badrul Chowdhury
Full-time faculty at the rank of associate professor or higher, with a minimum of five years of employment within the W.S. Lee College of Engineering, are eligible for this recognition. Candidates must demonstrate substantial creativity and scholarship in her/his field of expertise. Level of excellence will be evidenced by publication, high degree of citation, external funding and recognition among peers.
2024 Recipient: Tiefu Zhao
Zhao, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and the interim director of the BATT CAVE, has 76 peer-reviewed journal and conference articles with over 4,000 citations. Zhao is the lead PI on projects totaling $2.6 million in funding from esteemed agencies such as the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Energy, N.C. Department of Transportation, and industry sponsors alike. He is an IEEE IAS Andrew W. Smith Outstanding Young Member Awardee. He has advised 10 doctoral and five master’s students, and is active in his IEEE communities.
Previous Recipients
Recipients are recognized for a level of excellence very clearly superior to that expected of a faculty member in the field.