Alumni Award Winners
Some of our happiest moments come from seeing the successes of our graduates as they make their way in the world. Each year we present awards to alumni of our programs in celebration of their career success, industry leadership, and continued engagement with the department, college, and university.
We have asked the alumni awardees from 2020 to receive their awards in person at this year's event; a complete list of the 2020 award winners is available at 2020 EME Awards.
Richard L. Gordon Distinguished Achievement Award in Mineral Economics and Energy Business and Finance
2022 Awardee: Shelley Corman Frisby, VP Business Development, Boardwalk Pipeline Partners
This award has been established to honor the memory of Dr. Richard Gordon, an energy economist and Penn State professor who served with distinction, great productivity, and professionalism, and it recognizes achievements and leadership that enhance the mineral economics and energy business professions.
Distinguished Achievement Award in Energy Engineering and Fuel Science
2022 Awardee: Madhukar B. Rao, Retired Director of Technology Operations, EMD Electronics
This award was established to recognize our alumni for their leadership and professionalism in all matters connected with the energy industry.
Distinguished Achievement Award in Environmental Systems Engineering and Geo-Environmental Engineering
2022 Awardee: Jason D. McNew, Program Manager at EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc., PBC
This award was established to recognize our alumni for their leadership and professionalism in all matters connected with the energy environmental and safety industries.
Robert Stefanko Distinguished Achievement Award in Mineral Engineering
2022 Awardee: Edward F. Zeglen, Jr., Chief Mine Engineer, GMS Mine Repair and Maintenance
This award was established in 1992 to honor the memory of Robert Stefanko (’48, ’57, ’61), a professor who served with distinction, great productivity, and professionalism and provided lasting benefits to his alma mater, and it recognizes achievements and leadership that enhance the mineral engineering profession.
C. Drew Stahl Distinguished Achievement Award in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering
2022 Awardee: Jeffrey L. Ventura, President/CEO, Range Resources Corp.
This award was established in 1998 to recognize Penn State Petroleum and Natural Gas engineers who are acknowledged for their leadership and professionalism in all matters connected with the petroleum industry, as Dr. Stahl was during his illustrious career in industry and at Penn State.
Distinguished Achievement Award in Energy and Sustainability Policy and Renewable Energy and Sustainability Systems
2022 Awardee: Mark R. Moore, Project Manager, TRC Companies, Inc.
Staff Award Winner
Each day in the department we rely on the outstanding efforts of the members of our staff to keep our gears turning. As a whole they are tireless, dedicated, and resilient. And even though every one them deserves our thanks, each year we select one staff member to acknowledge for exceptional work.
EME Outstanding Staff Award
2022 Awardee: James R. Miller, Research Technologist/Laboratory Coordinator
Student Award Winners
Our students are our pride and joy. They challenge us and inspire us every day. Following are the awards celebrating some of this year’s superlative work by EME students.
Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Awards
These awards are presented to EME graduate students who were nominated by faculty, peers, and students from the classes they instruct in recognition of superior teaching assistance. We typically award up to four Outstanding TA Awards and one TA of the Year Award from the pool of nominated students each year based on the number of nominations received and the strength of the individual nomination statements.
2022 Graduate Teaching Assistant of the Year: Shubhadeep Banik
2022 Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award: Zhicheng (William) Wang
2022 Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award: Mpila M. Nkiawete
2022 Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award: Jiayi Yu
Undergraduate and Graduate Student Merit Awards
Student Merit Awards are presented to individuals who have been chosen by their program faculty members as our most talented and dedicated students based on their academic performance, industry engagement, or leadership qualities. These students will receive an imprinted Nittany Lion statue as soon as the award manufacturers are able to re-open and produce the statues for us to mail to them. Awardees are chosen by the faculty within each program.
Energy Business and Finance:
Junior Undergraduate winner:
Patrick B. Rother
Senior Undergraduate winner:
Sihan Liu
EME-EMP Graduate winner:
Joseph M. Perla
Mining Engineering:
Junior Undergraduate winner:
Evan Antonacci
Senior Undergraduate winner:
Nicholas A. Boras
EME Graduate winner:
Sikandar Azam
Energy Engineering:
Undergraduate winner:
Spencer E. Hurst
Undergraduate winner:
Paige Gallotta
EME Graduate winner:
Akshay Pradip Gharpure
Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering:
Junior Undergraduate winner:
Caleb J. Ei
Senior Undergraduate winner:
Shalom N. Mulinge
EME-PNGE Graduate winner:
Wei Zhang
Environmental Systems Engineering:
Undergraduate winner:
Meredith Pepka
Undergraduate winner:
Claire E. Souder
Undergraduate winner:
Camila Van Oost
Energy and Sustainabililty Policy:
Junior Undergraduate winner:
Joseph R. Abouchacra
Senior Undergraduate winner:
Carolyn M. Heckman
RESS Graduate winner:
Nicolle Natali
EME Good Citizenship Awards
These awards are new this year and are being presented to students who take an active role in their community – whether that is in their local area, within their academic program cohort, or through a professional society, club, advisory committee, or external organization.
- EBF: Emanuel Aldebot
- ENENG: Hudson A. Wagner
- ENVSE: Riley Connors
- MNGE: Nicholas A. Boras
- PNGE: Mohammad E.S. ALNoaimi
- ESP/RESS: Farrah Jasmine Dingal
The Old Timers Club Award
2022 Awardee: Daniel Buonanno
Each year the Old Timers Club presents their Watchman Award to an outstanding senior in the Mining Engineering program.
The Careers in Coal (Ci-Coal) Award
2022 Awardee: Benjamin Hollister
Each year the Careers in Coal society presents a miners flame safety lamp to an outstanding senior in the Mining Engineering program.
TO THOSE WHO ARE GRADUATING:
It has been a privilege for the department’s faculty and staff to play a role in your Penn State education. We are confident that you will have successful professional careers and know that you will uphold the tradition of excellence established by your predecessors. You are about to join a loyal and supportive alumni group, and we hope that you will maintain your ties with the department, the college, and Penn State so that we can share in the joy that will accompany your achievements.
AND A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR ALUMNI, DONORS, AND FRIENDS:
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our alumni and friends for supporting Penn State and the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering. Without such support we would not be able to recognize and reward outstanding performance by the faculty, staff, and students. In difficult times like these, we rely on the funding and opportunities that you provide to our students more than ever.
WE ARE… proud, and grateful, and thankful for each and everyone one of our community members.