The West Virginia University Institute of Technology honored its outstanding students during the Engineering and Science STEM awards banquet which was held on Tuesday, April 27th.
During the event, the Dean and Chairs of the Leonard C. Nelson College of Engineering and Sciences recognized students who have distinguished themselves though outstanding academic performance and service to their departments with various activities. Departmental scholarships were also awarded.
Dr. Faris Malhas, Dean of the Leonard C. Nelson College of Engineering, presented Darrel Gartin with the Engineering Freshman of the Year Award. “Darrel is an outstanding representative of our engineering students at WVU Tech, and I am pleased that we were able to acknowledge not only his talent, but also the exceptional work and leadership of so many of our engineering and science students during this awards banquet,” stated Malhas.
Students in the Computer Science Department who were honored include; Kyle Hickernell and Ryan Tinsley, seniors of the year; Patrick Kinser, sophomore of the year; Christopher Estrada, freshman of the year; and Computer Science C++ award winners Douglas Confere and William Tinnel.
Nathan L. Galinsky and Rebecca A. Minnick were recipients of the Hazelton/Mellow Endowed Scholarship and Caleb McComas was announced as the AICHE outstanding student in the Chemical Engineering Department.
Recipients of the Service to the Biology Department Award were Cayte Vigilante and Christina Neff. Ashton Staunton received the academic excellence award for that department.
The Department of Computer Engineering/Electrical Engineering honored Zachary Long and Garrett Wilson as outstanding senior design students, Hannah Fisher as outstanding electrical engineering junior, and Prasan Gurung and Gray Brewster as outstanding electrical engineering seniors.
The 2010 outstanding students in engineering technology were Mark McCoy (mechanical), Justin Bennett (mechanical), Shane Ranck (industrial), Joshua Huddleston (electronics), and Adam Lowe (civil). Amber Wall was also honored as outstanding student worker in engineering technology.
The Senior of the Year Award in the Department of Civil Engineering was given to Ting Shi. Students with the highest GPA in civil engineering were also awarded $500 from ATI for their academic performance. They were; Ting Shi, outstanding senior; Tyler Beaty, outstanding junior; Kendra Harper, outstanding sophomore; and David Webster, outstanding freshman.
The Department of Civil Engineering also named the recipients of the Bryan Bills awards. Bryan Bills was a 1977 civil engineering graduate of WVU Tech who was instrumental in the construction of Tech’s first concrete canoe. After his graduation, Bills continued to support Tech’s American Society of Civil Engineers, and his family and friends created an endowment to fund an annual scholarship after his death in 1987. The Bryan Bills Memorial Scholarship was awarded to civil engineering junior, Tyler Beaty. The Bryan Bills Award was presented to Mikael Sisson.
James Lovejoy was awarded the Stafford E. Thornton Award, which acknowledges the senior with the highest GPA who is active in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
Eight students were recipients of the Massey Energy Scholarships, which are awarded to the top two students with the highest GPA in each class. The recipients were; seniors Ting Shi and James Lovejoy, juniors Tyler Beaty and Michael Ramey, sophomores Kendra Harper and Chad Stowers, and freshmen Joshua Cook and Daniel Webster.
ASCE Scholarships were awarded to senior Michael Sisson, junior Wesley Church, sophomore Andrea Friend, and freshman Joshua Cook.
The Outstanding 2010 Freshman Award for the Department of Mechanical Engineering was Katherine E. Hensley; Samuel C. Brunetti received the Department’s Outstanding 1010 Senior Award; and Kevin A. Wolfe was acknowledged with the Lloyd Lee Memorial Award.
Aron Pickering was honored by the Department of Chemistry with the Award for Academic Achievement and Michael Booth received the Achievement in Chemical Research Award.
The Department of Mathematics presented John Coleman with the Senior of the Year Award and Casey Ornorff was honored as the Department’s Freshman of the Year.
During the ceremony, two WVU Tech faculty members with the Department of Engineering Technology were recognized for their work in excellence in ABET accreditation; Dr. Moayyad Al-Nasra, associate professor; and Lori Shaffer, lecturer and outreach officer.
Additional students who were acknowledged for their participation in and contributions to the Leonard C. Nelson College of Engineering and Sciences were: Daniel Barber, Andrew Blatt, Sam Brunetti, Jacob Curnutte, William Dolson, Tim Drennen, Kendrell Fuller, Nathan Galinsky, Joshua Gingerich, Matthew Green, Jacob Hatfield, Nicholas Hurst, Megan Keffer, Ross Martin, Rebecca Minnick, Ben Prior, Matt Pugh, Lacy Reed, William Roberts, Brianna Saunders, Justin Saunders, Timothy Shieler, Dustin Simerly, Josh Smith, Billy Thornton, Stacia Wentz, Anthony Woody, and Omair Zia.