4/29/2026
Undergraduate and graduate students of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering , along with three esteemed alumnae, gathered in April 2026 for a night of celebration and honors. The event took place at the
2026 spring banquet recognizes Illinois materials community
The students and alumni of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at The Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois-Champaign, are at the heart of every breakthrough shaping the future of materials research. On April 16, 2026, the Illinois materials community came together in the Illini Union Ballroom to honor the individuals driving that progress.
The evening shone a spotlight on those who turn scientific inquiry into real solutions—innovations with meaningful impact on the world around us. Student awards and scholarships were announced, three alums received honors for their dedication to the materials department and research contributions, and all 2026 senior design poster teams were recognized for their hard work.
The following honorees represent the best of what this department stands for — researchers and innovators whose work continues to move the field forward.
Alumni Honors
Distinguished Merit Award: Elizabeth Opila
Elizabeth Opila, a graduate with a B.S. in ceramic engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has been honored with the Distinguished Merit Award, which recognizes materials alumni whose illustrious careers reflect admirably on the department.
A fellow of both the American Ceramic Society and the Electrochemical Society, Opila currently serves as chair and Rolls-Royce Commonwealth Professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Virginia, where she also directs the Rolls-Royce University Technology Center for Advanced Materials Systems. Her exceptional contributions to high-temperature materials research — spanning ceramic matrix composites, ultra-high temperature ceramics and environmental and thermal barrier coatings — exemplify the transformative impact of an Illinois materials science and engineering education.
Young Alum Award: Cassandra Birrenkott
Cassandra Birrenkott, who earned her PhD in materials science and engineering from Illinois in 2022, has been presented with the Young Alum Award, recognizing unusual accomplishments in the early career stages of department alumni.
As a mechanical engineering educator and researcher at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Birrenkott brings Illinois-trained rigor to the classroom and laboratory alike. Her innovative work integrates novel characterization techniques, full-field deformation measurement and polymer and composite joining — with a deep commitment to hands-on, experiential learning that bridges materials science and mechanical engineering to prepare the next generation of engineers.
Loyalty Award: Zeba Parkar
Zeba Parkar, who earned her PhD in materials science and engineering from Illinois under the guidance of the late Dr. James Economy, has been presented with the Loyalty Award, recognizing alumni who give freely of their time, talents and service while displaying extraordinary dedication to the materials department.
As founder and CEO of Treleaf and a former research specialist at 3M, Parkar brings a rare blend of industrial expertise and entrepreneurial spirit back to the Illinois community. Her steadfast commitment to the department — having served as member, vice president and president of the MatSE Alumni Board — alongside her tireless mentorship of aspiring engineer-entrepreneurs, embodies the loyal engagement and generous service this award was created to honor.
Student Honors
Undergraduate Student Awards
- A.W. Allen Award: Spencer Biziorek, Jacob (Jac) Copeland and Hee Hwang
- MatSE Alumni Board Award: Krisha Sampat
- Russell Bolton Research Development Award: Mary Fowler and Jacob (Jac) Copeland
- MatSE Leadership in Service Award - Undergraduate: Elena Granzeier
- Sheryl Blair Tipton Award: Regina Raemsch
Undergraduate Student Scholarships
- A. I. Andrews Scholars: Jerrick Deardurff, Evan Lee and Landon Wrigley
- Paul A. Beck Scholars: Zidan Cai and William Pascoe
- Harry J. Beckemeyer Jr. Memorial Scholars: Ethan Curran and Wills Liu
- Clifton G. Bergeron Scholars: Mortaza Alkhames, Yejin Hong, Alexandra Kuhlman-Schneider, John Jacob Thankachen and Jasmine Woo
- Louis R. Berner Scholars: Mary Fowler, Amartya Jayakumar, Estella Wang, Mitchell Wetherill and Lewis Yu
- Gerson B. Bilow Scholars: Vansh Bhatt, Yongmin Kim, Esmee Newton and Kyle Sigale
- Bob Bohl Undergraduate Scholars: Baylei Best, Tarin Fung, Louis Hodges, Grant Kalil, William King, Mohammad Malik, Chanju Park, Jiwon Seo, Galen Song and Henry Ye
- Earl J. Eckel Scholars: Nola Brandmeyer, Noah Cedergren, Joshua Chang, Srigeetika Cuttamanchi, Yassin Eltaramsi, Connor Hartman, Aaron Hill, Enzo Huang, Mingeon Joo, Gianna Mabulay, Raj Mutha, Luke Siebenaler, Tiger Sun and Wilson Wu
- Materials Science and Engineering Visionary Scholars: Rory Carty, Patrick Corrigan, Natalia Dobrilovic, Varun Murali, Rishab Navadgi, Jude Short and Joanna Sterczek
- Arthur L. Friedberg Memorial Scholars: Kevin Scanlan, Sanya Shah, Yitian Wu and Jason Zhao
- Friends of MatSE Scholar: Robert Batzer and Yuening Zeng
- M. Laird and Charisann Froberg Scholars: Chanon Fongsrisin, Oscar Nie and Alex Sloat
- Phil Geil Scholars in MatSE: Matthew Armstrong, Jack Jiang and Kimberly Wang
- Henry E. Grein Jr. Scholars: Samkit Golchha and Joe Yang
- MatSE Innovation Scholars: Sebastian Lostaunau, Mia Mikolaczak, Isaac Pinkus, Krisha Sampat and Estella Wang
- Kaiser Aluminum MatSE Scholars: Samantha Chen, Jeongmin Cho, Anqi Pan, Sahana Prabhu, Elliott Topp, Edric Wang and Isabel Zemke
- Doris Maroney Krumwiede Scholar: Elise Tejeda
- Dr. Geoffrey Hao-Wen Liu Scholar: 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: Joseph Kallal
- G. Ronald and Margaret H. Morris Opportunity Scholar in MatSE: Brandon Lewis
- Jim Nelson Memorial Scholars: Raghava Akkinepalli, Harrison Dale, Henry Gengler, Daniel Karl, Sambhav Maloo, Vithuran Rathakrishnan, Roy Shang, Suhas Vatsavai, Evan Zemont
- Professor Cullen W. Parmelee Scholars: Ethan Hung, Ben Kim, Sharini Menon, Harsrith Nayani, Gavin Rabe, Ava Tyburski and Matthew Ulozas
- Professor Cullen W. Parmelee International Research Scholar: Timothy Njuguna
- David A. Payne Scholars: Jack Fair, Rachel Han, Justin Ji, Nathan Spohnholtz and Alan Wang
- Frederick A. Petersen Endowed Scholars in MatSE: Trevor Dollins, Vanessa Quan and Gary Zhang
- Norman L. Peterson Memorial Scholars: Dylan Brown, Erin Stapleton and Nat Stowe
- Larry D. and Carol Rakers Scholars in MatSE: Mohannad Alghamdi, Ian Buchanan, Jaymin Choi, Rhea Ganguly, Nishika Jethra, Lucas Kallieris, Sara Kashyap, Jesse Park, Kiran Sagbohan, Genevieve Sciortino, Jaden Vo, Jule Zhang and Eloise Zhou
- Ian and Victoria Robertson Scholars: Elli Lu, Dylan Peters, Sachika Tomer and Wolfgang Trier
- C. M. Wayman Memorial Scholar: Elizabeth Quansah
- Lucille and Charles Wert Undergraduate Scholars: Brisa Baldwin, Conor Bergan, Justin Chen, Alex Halpin, Nikolas Hartke, Max Hirsh, Maru Kim, Chloe Lee, Michael Liu, Ginger Oakley, Reilly Shea, Daniel Shen, Suhaani Singh and Matthew Yin
Graduate Student Awards and Fellowships
- MatSE 3M Leadership in Service: Satyajit Panda
- Chakrapani Annual Innovation Award for Outstanding Ph.D. Thesis: David Zhou
- Conference Presentation (Travel) Award: Jaehyon Kim, Pranav Krishnan, Rahim Raja, Phillip Sin, Rees Chang and Yun-Ju Chen
- Mavis Future Faculty Fellows: Qian Ai, Adrian Birge and Chansong Kim
- Technip FMC: Jaehyeon Kim
- Yee Fellowship: Sipei Zhang
- ARCS Scholar Award: Bobby Kaman
- Racheff Teaching Fellows: Kenneth Cox, Alexander Deptula, Bobby Kaman, Montse Solis, Dhruv Anjaria, Vaibhav Vasudevan, Jackson Nie, Ming Jun Lee, Tyler Price and Gillian Nolan
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.