Distinguished Alumnus Award

Mechanical Engineering Distinguished Alumnus Award 

The Distinguished Alumnus Award recognizes BS, MS, or PhD Alumnus of the UCSB Mechanical Engineering Department who have made sustained exemplary contributions in their professional field and/or who have distinguished themselves for their dedicated service and leadership.

Nomination Process

Nominations may be submitted by alumni, faculty, staff and members of the Industrial Advisory Board. Nominations are sought annually via an email to all potential nominators in the spring and with a deadline for receipt during late summer. We are accepting applications until July 15th of each year! The nomination consists of a 1-page bio-sketch and a paragraph with the nomination rationale. Nominations are treated confidentially. Nomination packages for individuals not selected in a given year are retained for consideration in the following year, and for individuals not selected in a given year are retained for consideration in the following year, and nominators are contacted to obtain updated information as appropriate.

Please email nominations (1-page biosketch and rationale paragraph) to Professor Frederic Gibou  (Chair of the Department) and the MECE Communications and Events Coordinator.

Selection Process

The Department Chair establishes a yearly ME Awards Committee, with representative from the faculty, the Industrial Advisory Board and previous awardees. The ME Awards Committee will select one or two award recipients each year.

Award Ceremony

The award will be presented in conjunction with a departmental activity, ideally during the Convocation Event in early October. The award recipient will be invited to attend and will receive a certificate.

Past Awards:

2021 Distinguished Alumnus Award: Dr. Lara Leininger - In recognition of outstanding contributions in failure modeling and assessment of structures and mechanical components under blast loading and high explosives reaction-zone physics

2020 Distinguished Alumnus Award: Prof. Santosh Devasia - In recognition for outstanding contributions to control theory in manufacturing and mechatronics

2019 Distinguished Alumnus Award: Alastair Winn - In recognition for outstanding entrepreneurship and the development of high-grade silicone and for his leadership in clarifying a vision for Mechanical Engineering

2018 Distinguished Alumnus Award: Christopher S. Lynch - In recognition for outstanding leadership and contributions to research in smart materials and structures

2017 Distinguished Alumnus Award: Modjtaba “Moji” Ghodoussi - in recognition for outstanding contributions to telemedicine and medical robotic systems

2016 Distinguished Alumnus Award: John Lake - in recognition for his outstanding entrepreneurship and contributions to the development of liquid handling systems

2015 Distinguished Alumnus Award: Niklas Karlsson - in recognition of outstanding application of system engineering principles to the field of online advertising

2014 Inaugural Class 

The inaugural class was inducted during the Department’s 50th Anniversary Celebration on October 25, 2014, where the first three awardees were invited as keynote speakers.

·       Mihailo Jovanovic - In recognition of outstanding research contributions to fluid dynamics, control and optimization

·       Kevin Ness - In recognition for outstanding contributions to microfluidics and PCR

·       Stephen Neushul - In recognition for outstanding contributions to non-destructive testing and for the development of X-Ray scanning systems