4/17/2025
Materials students, alums honored at 2025 banquet
Behind every advancement in materials research, the students and alums of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at The Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois-Champaign, are pushing the boundaries of what's possible. On April 17, the Illinois materials community gathered in the Illini Union Ballroom to recognize these impactful contributions.
The evening celebrated those who translate scientific curiosity into tangible innovations that address real-world challenges—a testament to our department's commitment to excellence in materials research and education.
Distinguished speakers at the 2025 edition of the department awards banquet included Department Head and Swanlund Endowed Chair Nancy Sottos, Founder Professor Axel Hoffmann, Professor and Racheff Faculty Scholar Cecilia Leal, Assistant Professor Marie Charpagne, Associate Professor Andre Schleife, Senior Lecturer Matthew Goodman and Assistant Professor Chris Anderson.
Below are the honorees whose work continues to advance the field of materials science.
Alumni Honors
Distinguished Merit Award: Julie M. Schoenung
Julie M. Schoenung, a 1983 graduate with a B.S. in materials science and engineering, has been honored with the Distinguished Merit Award, which recognizes alumni whose illustrious careers reflect admirably on the department.
As a member of the prestigious National Academy of Engineering, Schoenung currently serves as a professor at Texas A&M University with joint appointments in materials science and engineering and mechanical engineering. Her exceptional contributions to the field exemplify the transformative impact of an Illinois materials science and engineering education.
Young Alum Award: Robert F. Shepherd
Robert F. Shepherd, who earned his B.S. from Illinois in 2002 and Ph.D. in 2010, has been presented with the Young Alum Award, recognizing unusual accomplishments in the early career stages of department alum.
As a Cornell University engineering professor and senior member of the National Academy of Inventors, Shepherd leads groundbreaking research at Cornell's Organic Robotics Lab. His innovative work combines bioinspired design approaches, materials science and mechanical engineering to enhance machine function and autonomy.
Student Honors
Undergraduate Student Awards
- A.W. Allen Memorial Award: Alice Gao, Anthony Hyatt, Andrew Lum, Christian Papachristodoulou and Ray Tsai
- Russell Bolton Research Development Award: Jacob Chisholm, Mary Fowler and Liam Nelson
- Dow Community Award: Joseph Kallal
- M. Laird and Charisann Froberg Award: River Chen and Ray Tsai
- MatSE Alumni Board Award: Alice Gao and Ray Tsai
- Sheryl Blair Tipton Award: Meera Karthi and Laura Klusendorf
Undergraduate Student Scholarships
- A. I. Andrews Scholars: Jerrick Deardurff, Evan Lee and Landon Wrigley
- Paul A. Beck Scholar: Warren Wellington
- Harry J. Beckemeyer Jr. Memorial Scholars: Wills Liu and Mohammad Malik
- Clifton G. Bergeron Scholars: Cathy Chen, Alexandra Kuhlman-Schneider, William Pascoe and Jasmine Woo
- Louis R. Berner Scholars: Hrishita Baheti, Mary Fowler, Alex Huang, Amartya Jayakumar, Estella Wang and Mitchell Wetherill
- Gerson B. Bilow Scholars: Zidan Cai, Jackson Cole, Yongmin Kim, Edward Lukhanin, Vanessa Quan and Alex Sloat
- Bob Bohl Undergraduate Scholars: Darren Cheng, Ethan Curran, Niharika Devaraju, Tarin Fung, Louis Hodges, Grant Kalil, William King, Rohin Sen and Henry Ye
- Otto Sr. and Mildred Capek Department of Materials Science and Engineering Scholar: Mia Mikolajczak
- Earl J. Eckel Scholars: Shehzad Bajowala, Nola Brandmeyer, Noah Cedergren, Sri Geetika Cuttamanchi, Kaila Kuo, Nick Kwentus, Gianna Mabulay, Tiger Sun, Adi Taire and Annabelle Wright
- Materials Science and Engineering Visionary Scholars: Rory Carty, Jac Copeland, Ravyn Edran, Elena Granzeier, Allison Lau, Lucy List, Nicole Poppe, Jude Short, Joanna Sterczek and Dongjae Yoo
- Arthur L. Friedberg Memorial Scholars: Harrison Dale, Kevin Scanlan, Sanya Shah and Jason Zhao
- Friends of MatSE Scholar: Katelyn Bagwell
- M. Laird and Charisann Froberg Scholar: Luke Siebenaler
- Phil Geil Scholars in MatSE: Jack Jiang and Tommy Miller
- Henry E. Grein Jr. Scholars: Hee Hwang, Cody Park and Joe Yang
- Kaiser Aluminum MatSE Scholars: Micheal Chen, Mike Costa, Isaiah Kim, Anqi Pan, Sydney Pavlik, Sahana Prabhu, Hazel Seo, Mythri Subash, Elliott Topp, Edric Wang and Yiran Zhao
- Doris Maroney Krumwiede Scholars: Kylie Broderick and Elise Tejeda
- Dr. Geoffrey Hao-Wen Liu Scholarship: Shruti Mukhopadhyay
- Robert E. and Karen Martin Luetje Scholar: Ashley Li
- Kevin Moore Scholar in MatSE: Hermella Tewodros
- G. Ronald and Margaret H. Morris Scholar in MatSE: Kyle Cai
- G. Ronald and Margaret H. Morris Opportunity Scholar in MatSE: Brandon Lewis
- Jim Nelson Memorial Scholars: Shivansh Agarwal, Joseph Kallal, Daniel Karl, Maxwell Li, Nonoko Momozaki, Vithuran Rathakrishnan, Hanzhi Sa, Jacob Schneiderman, Suhas Vatsavai and Evan Zemont
- Professor Cullen W. Parmelee Scholars: Spencer Biziorek, Isha Bordawekar, Jacob Chisholm, Cameron Cote, Scott Dastrup, Gavin Rabe and Matthew Ulozas
- Professor Cullen W. Parmelee International Research Scholar: Rachel Han and Savannah Scheffel
- David A. Payne Scholars: Trevor Dollins, Justin Macatangay, Nathan Spohnholtz and Raymond Wang
- Frederick A. Petersen Endowed Scholars in MatSE: Ryan Taur and Gary Zhang
- Norman L. Peterson Memorial Scholars: Dylan Brown and Erin Stapleton
- Larry D. and Carol Rakers Scholars: Lucas Kallieris, Sara Kashyap, Genevieve Sciortino, Jaden Vo and Eloise Zhou
- Ian and Victoria Robertson Scholars: Adelaide Germann, Elli Lu, Josh Miao, Jiya Shekhar and Wolfgang Trier
- C. M. Wayman Memorial Scholar: Elizabeth Quansah
- Lucille and Charles Wert Scholars: Brisa Baldwin, Ryan Barnicle, Conor Bergan, Ethan Chen, River Chen, Nikolas Hartke, Georgia McKelvain, Regina Raemsch and Matthew Yin
Graduate Student Awards and Fellowships
- 3M Community Engagement Award: James Tallman
- Durgam and Subha Chakrapani Family Trust Award: Rimsha Bhatta
- Conference Presentation (Travel) Award: Yingying Chen, Yu-Ju Huang, Young Bum Lee, Ming Jun Lee, Abhiroop Mishra, Yuheng (Jackson) Nie, James Tallman and Jie Zhao
- Mavis Future Faculty Fellows: Fufei An, Nurila Kambar and Tyler Price
- M.S. Travel Award: Ritvik Annadi
- Racheff Teaching Fellows: Christopher Bean, Adrian Birge, Anna Cramblitt, Kenyi Choy Hernandez, Soumyajit Jana, Yuheng (Jackson) Nie and Ziqi Zhao
Congratulations to the materials science and engineering alumni, undergraduate and graduate student award-winners on your achievements. We are thrilled for everything you have already achieved and the impact you will continue to make in the future.