Jonsson School Recognizes Stellar Faculty, Staff and Students
Leaders at the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at The University of Texas at Dallas recognized faculty, staff and graduate students at its annual meeting and awards ceremony held in the spring.
Dr. Stephanie G. Adams, dean of the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science and Lars Magnus Ericsson Chair, congratulated the award winners and thanked everyone for their perseverance and contributions during the year. She reminded participants of her charge to make 2024-25 a “Year of Creativity” and highlighted that engineers and computer scientists are highly creative people, despite stereotypes of left-brained STEM professionals.
With expertise in painting, music, photography and more, engineers and computer scientists extend their creativity beyond applied physics as well-rounded professionals and contributors to create a true STEAM university. During the academic year, the University held a ribbon-cutting for the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Jr. Athenaeum and broke ground on the second phase that will include a performance hall and music building scheduled to open in fall 2026.
Heads of each department and Tonya Griffin, senior director of finance and administration, recognized the award winners who posed with Dean Adams for photos. Several faculty members and students were also recognized at the University level for excellence in teaching, mentorship and research.
Jonsson School Research Awards
Dr. Wei Li
Assistant professor of mechanical engineering
Dr. Jie Zhang
Associate professor of mechanical engineering
Dr. Julia Hsu
Professor of materials science and engineering
Jonsson School Outstanding Teaching Awards
Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award for Tenure System Faculty
Dr. Feng Chen
Associate professor of computer science
Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award for Non-Tenure System Faculty
Dr. Matthew Heins
Associate professor of instruction in electrical and computer engineering
Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award for Tenure System Faculty
Dr. Waseem Abbas
Assistant professor of systems engineering
Jonsson School Outstanding Staff Awards
Amanda Moilan
Senior business manager
Dean’s Office
Andrea Turcatti
Director
UTDesign® EPICS
Erich Finch
Administrative services officer II
Department of Computer Science
María Josefina Arellano-Jiménez
Research scientist
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Scott Conner
Business manager
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Best Teaching Assistant Awards
Nathan Tjahjono
Bioengineering
Ke Su
Computer science
Danial Kazemikia
Electrical and computer engineering
University Faculty Recognition
2025 President’s Teaching Excellence Award in Undergraduate Education for Non-Tenure System Faculty
Dr. Christian Rivera
Assistant professor of bioengineering
2025 President’s Teaching Excellence Award in Undergraduate Instruction for Tenure System Faculty
Dr. Fatemeh Hassanipour
Professor of mechanical engineering
2025 Provost’s Award for Faculty Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentoring
Dr. Baowei Fei
Professor of bioengineering
2025 Provost’s Award for Faculty Excellence in Faculty Mentoring
Dr. Justin Ruths
Associate professor of mechanical engineering
University Graduate Student Recognition
2025 Best Dissertation Award
Dr. Mojtaba Afshar
PhD in electrical and computer engineering,
Dec. 2024
Advisor: Dr. Bilal Akin, professor of electrical and computer engineering
2025 David Daniel Thesis Award
Dr. Simin Chen
PhD in computer science, Aug. 2024
Advisor: Dr. Wei Yang, professor of computer science
2024 Nominee for Outstanding Graduate Student, MS Level
Yagna Annadata
Computer engineering
2024 Nominee for Outstanding Graduate Student, PhD Level
Matthew Bergschneider
Materials science and engineering