Monday, May 1, 2017

Engineering Professional Development hosted its 3rd Annual Awards Banquet Thursday, April 20th. The night included updates from engineering student organizations, a featured speaker, dinner, and awards ceremony.

The banquet is an annual celebration honoring College of Engineering student organizations and advisors, community partners, and students for outstanding leadership and service. What started as an idea to celebrate and recognize the outstanding accomplishments of our student organizations gradually evolved into a celebration of all accomplishments related to professional development. Group, individual, and community partner awards were given in various categories. The purpose of the banquet is to foster a strong sense of pride in the college, recognize the accomplishments of students and student groups, and encourage students to seek out experiences that make them great engineers and leaders.

This year's keynote speaker was author and retired Chief Operating Officer of Rockwell Collins, Bob Chiusano. Bob gave a powerful speech on his Top 10 Principles of Leadership. These are a combination of values, skills, and behaviors that he amassed over both his professional and personal life that, when truly practiced, will help the listener differentiate themselves from others. These principles apply to everyone, no matter where we may be in our personal and professional journeys.

Photos from the banquet can be seen at the following link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0By-bAjGfbrYdeXMyVkxod2Z0djg 

The 2016-2017 award winners are:

Student Organization Awards

  • Outstanding Established Student Organization - Society of Women Engineers
  • Outstanding Student Organization for Service/Fundraising - Continental Crossings
  • Most Improved Student Organization - Biomedical Engineering Student Society

Individual Awards

  • Engineer and Something More - Siddig Siddig, IE
  • Outstanding Leader - Abram Nothnagle, EE, UI Robotics Club
  • Most Promising New Member - David Movitz, ME, Society of Automotive Engineers
  • Unsung Hero - Pavlo Nikolaidis, ME, UI Robotics Club
  • Outstanding College of Engineering Student Employee - Anu Balakrishnan, BME, Engineering Student Development Center
  • Outstanding Student Organization Adivsor - Priya Pennathur, Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers
  • Outstanding Co-op - Ethan Bachinski, ME, Modus Engineering
  • Outstanding Intern - Megan Jones, CBE, Alliant Energy

Community Partner Award

  • Outstanding Intern/Co-op Employer - Rockwell Collins