STUDENT PROFILES
Anushka Anand, a Computer Science PhD student receives the 2010 UIC Chancellor's Student Service Award
 This award recognizes outstanding student leaders and student volunteers. The Chancellor’s Student Service Award (CSSA) honors students who, while maintaining high academic achievement, demonstrate a commitment to the UIC community through participation in student organizations and activities and/or students who choose to serve the larger Chicago community through service activities.
Among her accomplishments, Anushka has served a term as president of the UIC Computer Science Graduate Student Association (CSGSA), presenting at the Midwest Celebration of Women in Computing and at several high schools, serving as a judge at school science fairs, and, oh yes, being the only UIC student representative on the University of Illinois Search Committee.
Read more about Anushka's accomplishments here.
UIC Outstanding Thesis Award 2009
 ChE's alumnus Bharath Somayaji won this award after graduating in the summer of 2008 with a PhD in Chemical Engineering.
"I feel encouraged with such recognition,
opportunities and the education I received at UIC- College of
Engineering. A total of five theses were awarded in the university of
which only one was awarded to COE (Chemical Engineering)."
Dr. Mahadevabharath R. Somayaji received his PhD degree in Chemical Engineering in 2008 from University of Illinois at Chicago, Master of Technology degree in 2003 from Anna University, India and Bachelor of Technology degree in 2001 in Chemical Engineering from University of Madras, India. The focus of his doctoral research was in the development of a novel computational platform for predicting drug distribution in the human brain and optimal design of personalized brain drug delivery. The research components included image driven geometric modeling, bio-transport in anisotropic and heterogeneous tissue, discovery of transport and reaction properties via problem inversion, chemical kinetics and computational fluid dynamics. During his PhD, Dr. Somayaji has won several internal and external research excellence awards such as Mimics Innovation Award (2005-2006),Sigma-Xi Award, Provost Award and Dean’s Scholar Award. For the most outstanding PhD dissertation and research excellence in the division of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, he received the Outstanding Dissertation Award, 2008 for his PhD thesis entitled “Drug Transport Mechanisms in the Human Brain”. Dr. Somayaji has disseminated his research outcomes in ten archival publications/proceedings and fifteen conference presentations. His research interests include mathematical modeling of chemical and biological systems, computational biology and medicine (CMB), and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). He is currently working as a Research Scientist at CFD Research Corporation at Huntsville, Alabama.
Habiba, a Computer Science PhD student receives the 2009 UIC Chancellor Student Service Award
For her outreach work with middle school children. The Chancellor’s Student Service Award (CSSA) honors students who have made an outstanding contribution to the University through campus and community service. Student nominees must contribute a significant amount of time, effort and creativity to one or more campus and/or community service project(s).
Habiba worked with the Oak Park Educational Foundation helping middle school students program robots. The OPEF acknowledged her help in their recent newsletter.
Pratik Mehta from Computer Science is awarded EAA Scholarship
 About a decade ago, the Engineering Alumni Association Board Members had the foresight to begin to raise funds with which endow a scholarship for students. Endowed in 2002, that scholarship fund now has about $42,000 in principal.
This year, an EAA scholarship of $2,000 was awarded to Computer Science student Pratik Mehta.
 Pratik is a Dean's List student and member of the Engineering Design Team, where he plays an active role devising software for our competition winning robots. He's attempting to graduate in 7 semesters and it looks like he will not only achieve that goal, but also do it with a near perfect GPA. From there, he plans to get an MS in Bioengineering so he can create and advance software technology for the medical field.
His active campus life an his intense intellectual life is greatly assisted by everyone who has contributed to the EAA Scholarship Fund.
In October, a fundraising solicitation will go to alumni with Pratik's photo included, I'm sure that Pratik would enjoy coming to an EAA Board meeting this year, too.
We're appreciative that he has volunteered to let the COE tell his story to donors.
Chemical engineering major Dima Alfawakhiri is  awarded a Morris K. Udall Scholarship
For her work and career promise in the field of renewable energy technology. Alfawakhiri is one of 80 Udall Scholars selected from the 510 nominated this year.
Alfawakhiri holds a 3.94 grade point average and is minoring in mathematics. She is president-elect of the UIC chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, co-president of the Society of Women Engineers and treasurer of the university’s chapter of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers.
She is a peer mentor in the Women in Science and Engineering program.
This summer she is conducting research as a paid intern at the Institute of Chemical Processing Engineering at Karlsruhe University in Germany. In August, she’ll meet with other Udall Scholarship winners at an orientation in Tucson, Ariz.
“It will be a rewarding experience that will allow me to meet and share ideas with emerging environmentalists, as well as students around the country committed to Native American public policy and health care,” she said.
After earning a Ph.D. in chemical engineering, Alfawakhiri plans a career in renewable energy, hoping to contribute to efforts to find new, environmentally responsible sources that are economically competitive with fossil fuels.
Named in honor of the late Arizona Democratic Representative, Udall Scholars are selected for demonstrated commitment to environmental or natural resources issues, tribal public policy or Native American health care.
Tuition, room and board and other fees are covered up to $5,000 a year.
Postponing medical school for research in London
Farah Shareef’s Fulbright Fellowship is another in a long list of honors this year.
 Farah Shareef, a recent Honors College graduate, Goldwater Scholar and member of the USA Today newspaper All-USA College Academic First Team, won a highly competitive Fulbright full grant fellowship to do medical research at Imperial College London.
One of 12 American undergraduate students selected for Fulbright Fellowships in the United Kingdom next academic year, Shareef will work on a device that applies mechanical stress to endothelial cells, which line blood vessels.
The research may lead to greater understanding of ways to prevent atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.
Shareef graduated in May with a bachelor of science in bioengineering, earning her degree summa cum laude in just three years.
When she completes her Fulbright fellowship, she will begin an M.D./Ph.D. program at UIC that focuses on prevention of vital organ damage through the use of bioengineered constructs.
Shareef was one of about 300 students nationwide to receive a Goldwater Scholarship last year, given to students in math, science or engineering by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.
She was one of 20 students nationwide named to the USA Today All-USA College Academic First Team. The award, given by the USA Today newspaper, recognizes undergraduates who excel in the classroom and dedicate their talents to benefiting society.
She plans a career as a physician-scientist focusing on cell and tissue engineering, including regenerative medicine and stem cell biology.
“What’s really fascinating to me is the development of artificial organs and the restoration of damaged tissue in the body,” she said.
|
