Faculty and Staff 2025

Faculty and Staff Recognized with 2025 Annual Woodruff School Awards

April 25, 2025
By Chloe Arrington

Faculty and staff in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering were recognized with awards across 22 different categories at the Faculty and Staff Honors, Awards, and Promotions Reception on April 17.

Members of the Woodruff School community nominated their colleagues, honoring those who make the School a better place and go 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: Jill Fennell
  • Chair’s Appreciation Award: Jaimie Hayes, Ashley Ritchie
  • Chair’s Appreciation Award (Campus Partners): Rick Clark, Matt Ryan
  • Sustained Exceptional Performance Award: Al Ferri, Melody Foster, Angela Hicks, Cary Ogletree


This year's faculty winners included: 

  • Culture Champion Award: W. Hong Yeo
  • Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award: Zhuomin Zhang
  • Mentor of the Year Award: Satish Kumar, Susan Napier Thomas
  • Outstanding Achievement in Commercialization and Entrepreneurship Award: Alexander Alexeev, Todd Sulchek
  • Outstanding Junior Faculty Award: Sourabh Saha, Fan Zhang
  • Outstanding Mid-Career Faculty Award: Aaron Young
  • Outstanding Non-Tenure Track Faculty Award: Kristi Mehaffey
  • Postdoctoral Excellence Award: Zhantao Liu (Advisor-Hailong Chen)     
  • Research Award: W. Hong Yeo
  • Research Faculty Excellence Award: François Guillot
  • Teaching Excellence Award for Non-Tenure Track Faculty: Samuel Petter


This year's staff honorees included:

  • Culture Champion Award: Scott Elliott
  • Hats Off Performance Award: Mikey Fuller
  • Leader Jackets Award: Nathan Mauldin, Segried Winfrey
  • Outstanding Staff Leadership Award: Echo Sayr
  • Outstanding Student Support Award: Andrew Keller, Jacob Tompkins
  • Professional Support Excellence Award: Shana Hefferon
  • Solutions Award: Eden Kahssai, Ann Lamb
  • Staff Excellence Award: Veronica Leak, Jessica Whitaker
  • Staff of the Year Award: Justin Dean, Johnieda Merritt