Students

Suchita Mukherjee is the first recipient of the annual Master’s Thesis Excellence Award in the College of Engineering. She is graduating from UC Davis this spring with a master’s degree in computer science and will be joining Zillow Group as a software developer.

She was selected for this award based on her research, “Fixing Dependency Errors for Python Build Reproducibility,” under the mentorship of computer science Professor Cindy Rubio-González.

Growing up, Kathryn Tarver would have never believed she would one day be an engineer. Now, she is graduating with a B.S. in biological systems engineering, having become a dedicated machinist and problem-solver. At UC Davis, she fostered her love of machines in the biological and agricultural engineering (BAE) shop and has worked to create a better world both in the community and on campus by founding the Women Machinists’ Club at UC Davis.

The UC Davis College of Engineering congratulates the students who have received Outstanding Senior Awards, Department Citations and Scholar Awards. These students demonstrate the best in leadership, academic achievement and service both in and out of the classroom.
 

Dr. Sima Asadi is this year’s recipient of the Zuhair A. Munir Award for the best doctoral dissertation in the College of Engineering. She received her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from UC Davis in 2020 and is now a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Asadi’s dissertation, “Airborne Infectious Disease Transmission via Expiratory Aerosol Particles and Aerosolized Fomite,” focuses on airborne infectious disease transmission.

By Rachel Steere and Noah Pflueger-Peters

The Engineering Design Showcase is the culminating experience for graduating seniors. This event brings together project teams from all eight departments for an opportunity to share their design projects with their peers, professors and the public. This year, the College of Engineering will host the showcase virtually on the college’s website on June 3, 2021. About 130 design teams and engineering clubs have signed up to share their efforts with industry partners, alumni and the campus community.

Civil and environmental engineering student Chidubem Nnaji has been named a 2021 Donald A. Strauss Foundation Scholar for his project titled “Using Solar Power to Empower.” The annual scholarship was established as a memorial to the late Don Strauss—a successful business executive who had a lifelong interest in education and public service—and awards $15,000 to up to fifteen college sophomores or juniors from pre-selected institutions in California.

Marissa Gionet-Gonzales is a fifth-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Her research focuses on engineering biomaterials to enhance mesenchymal cell regeneration for bone and muscle repair. During her Ph.D., she served as a mentor and presenter for the California Alliance for Minority Participation program, founding a diversity, equity and inclusion journal club within her lab and serving on the department’s Health Equity and Wellness Committee.

By Cecilia Linares and Alejandra Godinez Gomez, Global Centers interns, Global Affairs

Starting this year, the UC Davis College of Engineering is proud to recognize four outstanding graduate students with the College of Engineering Graduate Student Awards.

These awards honor the achievements and contributions of engineering graduate students for their research and service. Nominations were open to any M.S. and Ph.D. student enrolled in a graduate program in the college. Each award recipient will receive a $500 scholarship and their name will be added to a permanent display located in the Kemper Hall lobby.

Our next #SeniorSpotlight is Derek Lee, a computer engineering major and Class of 2020 graduate!

One of Derek’s favorite memories from his time at UC Davis was working with the College of Engineering and his professors to sponsor SacHacks, the first major intercollegiate hackathon in the Sacramento area, as that made him feel closer to the faculty.

Derek starts his software engineering job in January and his advice to incoming engineering students is to focus on extracurricular activities if you do not plan on going to grad school.