Students and faculty from the School of Engineering and Computer Science were honored for their accomplishments this month at the annual Advisory Board Dinner.
The dinner began in 2010 to thank advisory board members for their time, and expanded to recognize more members of the Engineering and Computer Science Community.
"(The dinner) was great and I like that we can honor the students, as well as faculty, with awards," said Dr. Louay M. Chamra, Dean of the School of Engineering and Computer Science. "I was very happy to meet the parents and (pay tribute to) students in terms of their contribution to the school, as well as academically-gifted students in the school of engineering and computer science.
On the faculty side, I like the fact that we give awards for their hard work in all aspects of teaching, research and service to the community, as well as Oakland University," Dean Chamra continued.
A committee of department chairs and board members vote for faculty awards. This year’s honors went to Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of Outreach and Recruitment, Chris Kobus, Ph.D., for Teaching, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Laila Guessous, Ph.D., for Service, Associate Professor Osamah Rawashdeh, Ph.D., for Research, Professor and Chair of Mechanical Engineering Zissimos Mourelatos, Ph.D., for John Dodge Chair and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Xia Wang, Ph.D., for Distinguished Associate Professor.
Graduating seniors from the program were also recognized for service and academics that evening. Faculty members decided who would be honored based on achievement and performance, Dean Chamra said.
"These students go to classes everyday and may have work outside the classroom, but yet, they find a time to volunteer and make a difference at the university as well as the community," Dean Chamra said. "So, by honoring them — whether for service or academics — we tell everybody that if you volunteer, your hard work is not for nothing. We appreciate everything they do for us, and that’s what Oakland University is all about."
Jameson Carle, an electrical and computer engineering student with a GPA of 3.73, was honored with the Service Award. This award is given to the graduating senior who has "rendered the greatest service to the school," in judgment of the faculty.
Carle has been involved in many on-campus organizations, including his presidential role with Tau Beta Pi Honors Society, position as Treasurer of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, involvement with Sigma Pi Fraternity and OU Student Program Board, to name a few.
Outside of school, he gave back to his community, working with Gleaners, Toys for Tots and an American Textile Recycle Services, in addition to organizing math workshops in local schools and receiving the Eagle Scout Award in 2009 from Boy Scouts of America. His next step will be moving to Denver, Colo., to start his career as New Product Introduction Engineer with Agilent Technologies.
Information Technology Graduate Trpko Blazevski was honored with the award for Professional Development, which is given to the student who "has demonstrated the greatest technical development in his/her studies and shown an outstanding measure of individual initiative in connection with a project."
Graduating with a 3.95 GPA, Blazevski was named Student Leader of the Year, and recipient of the Alfred G. Wilson Award. His academic success earned him Dean’s List recognition, an Academic Achievement Award and first-place honors in the Senior Capstone Design Competition.
Blazevski was also involved in on-campus student organizations, including Gold Key International Honor Society and Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, and is the founder of the Oakland University Cyber Security Club "CyberOU." Through the club, Blazevski coordinated a Google Glass Exploration Conference and the 2014 Cyber Summit Conference with keynote speakers from around the state.
The award for Exceptional Achievement went to Mechanical Engineering Graduate Caymen Novak. This honor is given to the student who faculty sees as achieving "the highest level of academic experience."
Novak maintained a 3.95 GPA as an Honors College student, receiving the Matilda R. Wilson Award, Provost Undergraduate Research Award and recognition as Dean’s Scholar and Presidential Scholar.
The graduate is also a member of Alpha Lambda Delta, Golden Key International, Tau Beta Pi Honor Society, Society of Women Engineers and Engineering Society of Oakland University. As a student, she worked as a teaching assistant, academic peer mentor and Imagineers Engineering program instructor, in addition to participation in Track & Field, Judo Club and Juggling Club.
The Academic Achievement honor is awarded to the student with the highest GPA. This year’s recipient was Matthew Solt, a Mechanical Engineering and Physics senior with a GPA of 3.99.
Solt interned and did research at Cornell, OU and MSU, become the first Goldwater Scholarship Honorable Mention from OU in 2012.
On campus, Solt worked as a Supplemental Instruction Leader for the Academic Skills Center/Tutoring Center, and served as a Peer Tutor, achieving the highest tutoring certification from his experience. He was also an officer of Tau Beta Pi Honors Society, an OU Top 3 sophomore for SECS in 2011, member of the American Physical Society and Secretary for the Society of Scholars, in addition to Presidential Scholar of Oakland University.
Solt will be will be attending Stanford University’s Ph. D. program in physics next fall, and receiving funding from the school to research at CERN this summer.
“(I consider) every student who graduates from the School of Engineering and Computer Science (an) ambassador for both Oakland University and the school of engineering,” Dean Chamra said. “When they go out into the world and do well, they are representing all of us at Oakland— students, faculty and administration. That shows the quality of education and students at Oakland.”