38 Faculty and Staff Members Recognized at 2026 Annual Woodruff School Awards
May 8, 2025
By Mikey Fuller
Thirty-eight faculty and staff members in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering received awards in 21 different categories at the Faculty and Staff Honors, Awards, and Promotions Reception on April 20.
Awardees were nominated by their colleagues for going above and beyond their job responsibilities to create an inclusive culture and enable others to succeed.
This year's Chair’s Awards included:
- Chair’s Appreciation Award: Bert Bras, Monifa Skelton‑Wells
- Sustained Exceptional Performance Award: Stephen Fuller, Glenda Johnson, Shreyes Melkote, Susan Thomas
Bert Bras
This Chair’s Appreciation Award is presented for outstanding support of the Woodruff School's strategic educational and research goals.
Monifa Skelton-Wells
This Chair’s Appreciation Award is presented for outstanding support of the Woodruff School's strategic educational and research goals.
Stephen Fuller
The Sustained Exceptional Performance Award recognizes faculty and staff who have demonstrated sustained exceptional performance in their roles, embodying dedication, excellence, and innovation in their service to the School. Recipients of this award consistently go above and beyond, inspiring others through their commitment to excellence and their positive impact on the academic environment.
Glenda Johnson
The Sustained Exceptional Performance Award recognizes faculty and staff who have demonstrated sustained exceptional performance in their roles, embodying dedication, excellence, and innovation in their service to the School. Recipients of this award consistently go above and beyond, inspiring others through their commitment to excellence and their positive impact on the academic environment.
Shreyes Melkote
The Sustained Exceptional Performance Award recognizes faculty and staff who have demonstrated sustained exceptional performance in their roles, embodying dedication, excellence, and innovation in their service to the School. Recipients of this award consistently go above and beyond, inspiring others through their commitment to excellence and their positive impact on the academic environment.
Susan Thomas
The Sustained Exceptional Performance Award recognizes faculty and staff who have demonstrated sustained exceptional performance in their roles, embodying dedication, excellence, and innovation in their service to the School. Recipients of this award consistently go above and beyond, inspiring others through their commitment to excellence and their positive impact on the academic environment.
This year's faculty winners included:
- Outstanding Distinguished Faculty Award: Matthew McDowell
- Mentor of the Year Award: Gregory Sawicki
- Outstanding Achievement in Commercialization and Entrepreneurship Award: W. Hong Yeo
- Outstanding Junior Faculty Award: Ellen Mazumdar
- Outstanding Mid-Career Faculty Award: Costas Arvanitis
- Outstanding Non-Tenure Track Faculty Award: Amit Jariwala, Sharmistha Mukhopadhyay
- Outstanding Teaching Excellence Award for Non-Tenure Track Faculty: Richard Simmons
- Postdoctoral Excellence Award: Hohyun Lee, supervised by Costas Arvanitis, Hakyeon Song, supervised by Marta Hatzell
- Research Award: Bachir El Fil, Aaron Young, Ting Zhu
- Research Faculty Excellence Award: Kinsey Herrin, Prasoon Suchandra
Matthew McDowell
The Outstanding Distinguished Faculty Award is presented to professors who have made sustained and significant contributions throughout their career, with particular emphasis on recent educational, research, and professional service activity.
Gregory Sawicki
The Mentor of the Year Award is presented to faculty who have excelled in the mentorship of faculty, staff, or students. The award recognizes the time and effort that the recipient spends in mentoring and serving in the School community.
W. Hong Yeo
The Outstanding Achievement in Commercialization and Entrepreneurship Award honors individual faculty members for their achievements through commercialization and entrepreneurship related to Georgia Tech research, as demonstrated through fundraising at a company, licensing, acquisition, and other entrepreneurial activities.
Ellen Mazumdar
The Outstanding Junior Faculty Award is presented to an assistant professor who has made significant, high-quality, and innovative contributions in research, teaching, and service as demonstrated, for example, by excellence in research authorship, extramural funding, graduate student mentorship, innovation in teaching, and outreach.
Costas Arvanitis
The Outstanding Mid-Career Faculty Award is presented to an associate professor who has made significant, high-quality, and innovative contributions in research, teaching, and service as demonstrated, for example, by excellence in research authorship, extramural funding, graduate student mentorship, innovation in teaching, and outreach.
Sharmistha Mukhopadhyay
The Outstanding Non-Tenure Track Faculty Award recognizes academic and research faculty with outstanding accomplishments and/or performance in one or more of the following areas: program development and management/support, teaching, research, and service.
Amit Jariwala
The Outstanding Non-Tenure Track Faculty Award recognizes academic and research faculty with outstanding accomplishments and/or performance in one or more of the following areas: program development and management/support, teaching, research, and service.
Richard Simmons
The Outstanding Teaching Excellence Award for Non-Tenure Track Faculty is presented to non-tenure track faculty who have exceptional performance and excellence in the area of teaching. Nominees are validated by documented teaching excellence, which may include CIOS scores, student input, and peer reviews.
Hoyun Lee
The Postdoctoral Excellence Award is presented to an individual for outstanding achievements as a postdoctoral scholar who has brought widespread recognition to themselves, their lab, and/or the Institute.
Hakyeon Song
The Postdoctoral Excellence Award is presented to an individual for outstanding achievements as a postdoctoral scholar who has brought widespread recognition to themselves, their lab, and/or the Institute.
Bachir El Fil
The Research Award is presented to faculty who have made a significant contribution to their field and to the reputation of the Woodruff School through innovations in research that support the Woodruff School’s strategic educational and research goals.
Aaron Young
The Research Award is presented to faculty who have made a significant contribution to their field and to the reputation of the Woodruff School through innovations in research that support the Woodruff School’s strategic educational and research goals.
Ting Zhu
The Research Award is presented to faculty who have made a significant contribution to their field and to the reputation of the Woodruff School through innovations in research that support the Woodruff School’s strategic educational and research goals.
Kinsey Herrin
The Research Faculty Excellence Award is presented to an individual for outstanding achievements as a research scientist whose contributions would have brought widespread recognition to themselves, their lab, and the Institute.
Prasoon Suchandra
The Research Faculty Excellence Award is presented to an individual for outstanding achievements as a research scientist and whose contributions would have brought widespread recognition to themselves, their lab, and the Institute.
This year's staff honorees included:
- Culture Champion Award: Tiffany Johnson, Kierra Payne
- Hats Off Performance Award: Lenna Applebee, Nick Gawdun
- Leader Jackets Award: Carlos Barrow, Ashley Ritchie
- Outstanding Staff Leadership Award: Jaimie Hayes
- Outstanding Student Support Award: Camellia Henry, Georgina Jimenez
- Professional Support Excellence Award: Shamekia Cotton, Diamond Giles
- Solutions Award: Chris Aldridge, Biye Amy Wang
- Staff Excellence Award: Echo Sayr, Daryll Whitehead
- Staff of the Year Award: Mikey Fuller, Joi Outlaw
Tiffany Johnson
The Culture Champion Award is presented to classified staff who went above and beyond to facilitate, enable, and support the teaching and research initiatives of faculty and their research groups. This award recognizes staff members who strive to make a difference and works to support and/or develop successful cultural practices that support the Woodruff School’s strategic educational and research goals.
Kierra Payne
The Culture Champion Award is presented to classified staff who went above and beyond to facilitate, enable, and support the teaching and research initiatives of faculty and their research groups. This award recognizes staff members who strive to make a difference and works to support and/or develop successful cultural practices that support the Woodruff School’s strategic educational and research goals.
Lenna Applebee
The Hats Off Performance Award recognizes classified staff members who have demonstrated exceptional job performance and/or service to the Woodruff School above and beyond the call of duty. It recognizes their excellent performance in support of the School's strategic educational and research goals.
Nick Gawdun
The Hats Off Performance Award recognizes classified staff members who have demonstrated exceptional job performance and/or service to the Woodruff School above and beyond the call of duty. It recognizes their excellent performance in support of the School's strategic educational and research goals.
Carlos Barrow
The Leader Jackets Award is presented to staff supervisors who provide guidance and help build the culture of the School while hiring and training new employees. Recipients of this award exhibit leadership, communication, goal achievement, decision making, performance management, team development, resource management, adaptability, ethical conduct, etc.
Ashley Ritchie
The Leader Jackets Award is presented to staff supervisors who provide guidance and help build the culture of the School while hiring and training new employees. Recipients of this award exhibit leadership, communication, goal achievement, decision making, performance management, team development, resource management, adaptability, ethical conduct, etc.
Jaimie Hayes
The Outstanding Staff Leadership Award is presented to a classified staff member for their leadership in support of research, teaching, or service. The recipient of this award will have documented evidence of initiative, leadership, innovation, and high-quality results with respect to processes or programs that support research, teaching, or service, as attested by the appropriate supervisor(s)/administrator(s).
Camellia Henry
The Outstanding Student Support Award recognizes classified staff who go above and beyond to support students in extraordinary and unexpected ways. This could be either through sustained support of some kind or one-off extraordinary acts of service.
Georgina Jimenez
The Outstanding Student Support Award recognizes classified staff who go above and beyond to support students in extraordinary and unexpected ways. This could be either through sustained support of some kind or one-off extraordinary acts of service.
Shamekia Cotton
The Professional Support Excellence Award is presented to staff who have suggested or created and implemented measurable new efficiencies or innovations related to the technical support of academic research or teaching programs, or who have significantly improved upon an existing technical support activity in a measurable way.
Diamond Giles
The Professional Support Excellence Award is presented to staff who have suggested or created and implemented measurable new efficiencies or innovations related to the technical support of academic research or teaching programs, or who have significantly improved upon an existing technical support activity in a measurable way.
Chris Aldridge
The Solutions Award is presented to staff who have suggested or created and implemented new processes, resources, cultural improvements, or other contributions that lead to measurable improvements in the efficiency and/or effectiveness of School or Institute operations, student or staff lives, the functioning of the community as a whole, or research/teaching connections.
Biye Amy Wang
The Solutions Award is presented to staff who have suggested or created and implemented new processes, resources, cultural improvements, or other contributions that lead to measurable improvements in the efficiency and/or effectiveness of School or Institute operations, student or staff lives, the functioning of the community as a whole, or research/teaching connections.
Echo Sayr
The Staff Excellence Award is presented to staff who demonstrate significant job performance in one or more areas of strategic focus, communication, teamwork, or decision making, demonstrating high levels of execution in their primary job duties, auxiliary roles, and citizenship — positively impacting the strategic goals of the School.
Daryll Whitehead
The Staff Excellence Award is presented to staff who demonstrate significant job performance in one or more areas of strategic focus, communication, teamwork, or decision making, demonstrating high levels of execution in their primary job duties, auxiliary roles, and citizenship — positively impacting the strategic goals of the School.
Mikey Fuller
The Staff of the Year Award is presented to staff who have made the most significant impact on the success and operations of the Woodruff School. Their activities enhance the quality of the Woodruff School’s programs through achievements such as increased productivity of staff, faculty, and/or students, reduced costs, or quicker response times for faculty, staff, and students, which are achievements beyond normal expectations for staff.
Joi Outlaw
The Staff of the Year Award is presented to staff who have made the most significant impact on the success and operations of the Woodruff School. Their activities enhance the quality of the Woodruff School’s programs through achievements such as increased productivity of staff, faculty, and/or students, reduced costs, or quicker response times for faculty, staff, and students, which are achievements beyond normal expectations for staff.