The Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering celebrates excellence with multiple awards for outstanding educators. Their diverse talents have significantly contributed to the college's success.
It is with immense pleasure that we announce the recipients of the 2024-2025 faculty awards within the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering. These individuals have demonstrated exceptional dedication, innovation, and leadership in their respective fields, contributing significantly to the academic excellence of our college. The recipients were selected by the WCOE Teaching and Service Awards Committee and the Faculty Research Awards Committee.
The 2024-2025 award recipients are as follows:
George T. and Gladys Abell-Hanger Faculty Award
Dr. Joshua Howe – Chemical Engineering
The Whitacre College of Engineering Teaching and Service Awards Committee commends Howe for being the “Departmental and, indeed, institutional leaders in the employment of evidence-based modern pedagogical approaches in the classroom.” The impact of his teaching approach is reflected in the testimonial letters of TTU students who have taken some of the many classes that he teaches. For example, “Dr. Howe's dedication to student success is evident in his willingness to invest time and effort into helping his students achieve their goals. He recognizes and rewards hard work and dedication, doing everything in his power to help his students reach their full potential.”
Charles L. Burford Faculty Award
Dr. Amrika Deonarine – Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering
The Whitacre College of Engineering Teaching and Service Awards Committee was impressed with Deonarine's strong personal commitment to training the next generation of researchers in the environmental sciences. Her mindset's impact on teaching is clearly reflected in the testimonial letters of TTU students. For example, “Her guidance has helped me grow in my role, and I have seen the same positive impact on her undergraduate students.”
Whitacre Engineering Research Award
Dr. Yuexiao Shen – Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering
The Whitacre Research Award recognizes Shen's excellence in research over the past five years. He has distinguished himself through his work on membrane-based technologies and materials for effective containment removal and resource recovery. We would like to commend Shen's research activity in the past five years at the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering, highlighting his impactful publications and his success in securing funding from highly competitive sources such as the NIH, DOD, and the upcoming DOE grant to support his research program.
Dr. Joe Gauthier – Chemical Engineering
The Whitacre Research Award recognizes Gauthier's research growth over the past five years. He has distinguished himself through his work in understanding structure property-trends in catalytic materials and semiconductor fabrication. We would like to commend his research growth over the past three years in his tenure-track position, based on the number of Ph.D. students and undergraduate researchers, the external funding he has secured, and the number of citations he has received at this stage of his career.
Dr. Qiugang (Jay) Lu – Chemical Engineering
The Whitacre Research Award recognizes Lu's excellence in research over the past five years. He has distinguished himself through his multidisciplinary work at the intersection of process control, artificial intelligence, and process system engineering. We would like to commend his research activity since joining the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering, including receiving the NSF CAREER award, publishing 12 papers in peer-reviewed journals, and providing effective mentorship to both graduate students and student organizations.
Ed and Linda Whitacre Faculty Fellowship
Dr. Weilong Cong – Industrial, Manufacturing & Systems Engineering
The Ed and Linda Whitacre Faculty Fellowship is in recognition of Cong's research excellence. We would like to commend him as a promising researcher in the Department of Industrial, Manufacturing & Systems Engineering. He has distinguished himself through his work on additive and subtractive manufacturing of high-performance materials. He is also commended for extensive and impactful publications, productive student advising, and his success in securing funding from highly competitive sources such as the NSF and DOD to support his research program.
These awards celebrate the diverse talents and contributions of our faculty, highlighting their impact on education, research, and the overall success of our college. Each recipient has demonstrated outstanding achievements and played a crucial role in advancing the goals and mission of the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering.
Congratulations to all the award recipients for their outstanding achievements!