The College of Engineering and Architecture recognized two graduate students for outstanding performance at an awards ceremony in April.
Mohsen Hamidi, an industrial and manufacturing engineering doctoral student, received the Graduate Student Teacher of the Year award and Mike Fuqua, a mechanical engineering doctoral student, received the Graduate Student Researcher of the Year award.
Hamidi has taught Engineering Economy (a class with enrollment routinely more than 100 students) since fall 2008. He was nominated by his adviser, Kambiz Farahmand, professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering.
“He has done a wonderful job and has managed to make the course his,” Farahmand wrote in a nomination letter. “His evaluation ratings are above, in many cases significantly above, the department, college and university average ratings. Through the past two to three years, Mohsen has made a great contribution to the IME department and the college.”
Fuqua serves as a research assistant for his adviser, Chad Ulven, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, developing renewable composite materials. His research interests include polymer composite material design and manufacturing, biobased material development and polymer composite mechanics.
“Mike has written several conference papers, journal articles and co-authored two book chapters with me,” Ulven wrote in a nomination letter. “Mike’s eagerness to jump right into a research project reflects on his ambition to challenge himself and develop a deeper understanding of the topic at hand.”