Dr. Stephanie Farrell - Commencement Address

2020 Student Commencement Address - Elizabeth Bealer

Irene Elizabeth Tracey Award for Excellence in Engineering - Elizabeth Bealer

Elizabeth (Liz) Bealer graduated in Fall 2019 after completing her BS in Biomedical Engineering in 3.5 years. She graduated with a cumulative 3.961 GPA. Liz is a Goldwater Scholar and has been highly active in research and counts 3 first-author peer-reviewed publications and several additional publications in preparation. Her research work in Dr. Staehle’s lab involved correlating a behavioral surrogate measurement with the dynamics of neurodevelopment has elucidated severe consequences of bisphenol exposure in planaria flatworms, suggesting that the planaria model holds tremendous potential in predicting neurodevelopmental toxicity. She has also been an active contributor to the department, college, university, and greater community through recruiting, SWE leadership, admissions ambassador, Glassboro reading program, and more. Liz is currently completing  a co-op program at Merck and will attend the University of Michigan this Fall for her PhD in Biomedical Engineering.

Dr. Thomas E. Robinson Leadership Award - Kelly Yorke

The Dr. Thomas E. Robinson Leadership Award is presented by the University Senate. This honor celebrates a student who has provided outstanding leadership to the student body and the Rowan community. Over the last four years, she has established a notable reputation among her professors and fellow engineering students as an outstanding student and an excellent role model. Through her time at Rowan, Kelly has been active in several professional engineering societies, including the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). Kelly has held several leadership positions in these professional societies since 2017. Since 2017, Kelly has also held a job as a University Admissions Ambassador at Rowan. She was promoted to an Admissions Ambassador Coordinator in 2018, where she is seen as a student leader on campus, working with the other coordinators to manage a group of 90 tour guides and regularly oversee recruitment/admissions events with over 4,000 attendees. Kelly is also part of the Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity at Rowan, which is a service fraternity that works to give back to the university and outside communities. Kelly has served as the Secretary, Vice President, and then President of SWE while at Rowan. During her time as President, she planned and organized a group of members to attend the SWE National Conference in 2018. She has also been involved in planning various outreach and fundraising events for SWE, as well as establishing a presence for SWE at Rowan’s Family Weekend and Engineering Accepted Students Day. It is young women like Kelly that we need in leadership positions in the engineering field to help attract passionate, dedicated women like herself into engineering disciplines. Kelly graduated with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering.

DaVinci Medallion for Excellence in Biomedical Engineering - Christopher Moran

Christopher Moran is graduating in May 2020 with a BS in Biomedical Engineering with a 3.981 cumulative GPA and Summa Cum Laude honors. The DaVinci award recognizes the most outstanding graduating senior in the department demonstrating academic excellence, excellence in creative scholarship and research, leadership, and exceptional character and outreach. Chris has been active in research within Dr. Shim’s lab where he studied novel DNA nanopores for biomarker diagnostics for cancer detection, and he has several peer-reviewed publications and has showcased his work at six different conferences/symposiums. In addition to conducting transformative research, he has mentored six students and trained them to conduct nanopore experiments, analyze data, and give technical presentations. Chris has been a highly active member of Rowan’s Emergency Medical Services team, logging more than 1300 volunteer hours during his undergraduate career, and 270 hours at his hometown rescue squad in Berkeley Heights. As the head and founder of the Rowan EMS fitness committee, he also organized sports events, group workouts, and picnics to help members stay healthy and active. On behalf of the Office of Health Professions and the College of Engineering, he has hosted 9 different workshops for pre-med students, with topics ranging from MCAT preparation to medical school application tips. He has also contributed to a variety of initiatives, including tours, panels, and outreach in the department, college, university, and greater community. Chris will be attending Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in Fall 2020 and has been awarded the Dorothea Posel Institutional Scholarship.

Clarence Slater Award for Excellence in Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Studies - Casey L. Wagner

Casey Wagner is an accomplished student-athlete, distinguishing herself with a Univ GPA of 3.989, outstanding contributions in research and clinic projects, and service to the Department.  She performed research in her junior year on injectable catalyst for in-situ anticancer drug synthesis with Dr. Iman Noshadi, and is a co-author of several conference papers and a manuscript under preparation.  Her clinic project in the senior year, optimization of pipeline flushing operations for the ExxonMobil lubricants and oil blending plant.  This project involves a high level of engagement with ExxonMobil engineers to investigate innovative processing issues. She is a Department tutor for sophomore classes and has participated marketing and recruitment efforts for the Department.  She has won numerous NCAA field hockey awards.  She is a recipient of the AIChE Othmer Award.

Elizabeth Slater Award for Excellence in Graduate Chemical Engineering Studies - Alexander W. Bassett

Alex Bassett is a Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering, working under the direction of Dr. Joseph F. Stanzione III. His research is focused on the synthesis, formulation, and characterization of novel polymers via the understanding of structure-property and polymer network connectivity relationships in polymeric materials. He has participated in He has significant contributions to the field with eight accepted, peer reviewed journal publications, one book chapter, and numerous conference presentations. He has developed new and innovative ideas resulting in four patent applications. His ability to succeed in research is demonstrated by his strong leadership and teamwork skills; being project lead on three research projects which culminated in ten awards/honors, including the University William L. Maxwell Engineering Graduate Scholarship and AIChE Outstanding Graduate Student Award

Ralph Alan Dusseau Medallion Award for Civil and Environmental Engineering – Karen J. Tayar

The Ralph Alan Dusseau Medallion Award for Civil and Environmental Engineering is given annually to the senior who best demonstrates a record of hard work, dedication, ability to overcome obstacles, service, and scholarship.  Karen J. Tayar has a current GPA of 3.834 at Rowan University and has an extensive record of service to her community and to the civil engineering profession.  She has worked very hard to self-finance her academic career while maintaining an excellent academic record.

Ralph Alan Dusseau Medallion Award for Civil and Environmental Engineering – Benjamin Chierici

The Ralph Alan Dusseau Medallion Award for Civil and Environmental Engineering is given annually to the senior who best demonstrates a record of hard work, dedication, ability to overcome obstacles, service, and scholarship. Benjamin Chierici has a current GPA of 3.844 at Rowan University and has an extensive record of service to his community and to the civil engineering profession.  He has worked very hard to finance his academic career while maintaining an excellent academic record.

C. Ernest O’Neal Award for Electrical and Computer Engineering – Karlie Naphy

Karlie Naphy not only has shown very strong academic performance (one of the requirements of the award), but has also shown great leadership and participation in many departmental activities. She has been instrumental in the department’s recruitment and retention efforts – in particular of women. She has always been a great ambassador of the ECE Department.

Tirupathi Reddy Chandrupatla Award for Excellence in Mechanical Engineering – Kevin Meglathery

Kevin served as the student in-charge of the Clinic Match process for the last two years. Clinic Match assigns 600 junior and senior students to over 150 engineering projects every term based on a number of preferences. Kevin lead the effort to incorporate new features and make the match strongly driven by student choices. He assumed this responsibility with passion and a desire to improve student and faculty experience. Kevin has promised to serve as advisor beyond graduation. This is on top of Kevin’s academic success. There is no doubt that he has made his mark at Rowan Engineering and we are certain that he will do the same elsewhere.

Tirupathi Reddy Chandrupatla Award for Excellence in Mechanical Engineering – Greggory Murray

Greggory Murray has set himself as a great example on how engineers can overcome challenges to succeed in academia and life. After working in industry for more than 15 years, Greggory has decided to follow his passion in engineering and made a full commitment in pursuing higher education. With strong motivation and clear goals, not only has he excelled in coursework but also made significant contributions to a number of research projects. The professionalism demonstrated by Greggory, as well as the quality of his work, represent Rowan engineering students' continuous pursuit of excellence.

Department Award Pages

Chemical Engineering

Civil & Environmental Engineering