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Medal of Excellence Awards

The Medal of Excellence Awards

The Medal of Excellence Awards, established in 2006, recognize graduates of Rutgers University School of Engineering who have distinguished themselves professionally since graduation in industry, academia, government, research, or business. The awards also recognize alumni who have distinguished themselves in other areas including continued involvement in the School of Engineering and social responsibility.    

The areas of recognition include: Medal of Excellence for Overall Achievement, Distinguished Achievement in Industry, Distinguished Achievement in Research, Distinguished Young Alumnus/a, and the Dean's Award for Service. The Distinguished Engineer Award is presented annually by the Rutgers Engineering Society to a fellow School of Engineering graduate who has made significant technical contributions in their career. Alumni of the School of Engineering have been presenting this award since 1960.

                                                 Awards

Medal of Excellence

This award honors alumni or friends of the School of Engineering whose superior achievements have honorably reflected the School over the course of his or her lifetime. Recipients of this award will have an outstanding record of distinguished career accomplishments in either traditional or non-traditional engineering fields, set high standards of excellence in their careers serving as excellent role models for today’s Rutgers Engineering students, demonstrated executive managerial leadership, and pursued activities that generally benefit the greater good of society.

Distinguished Alumnus/a: Industry  

This award honors alumni of the School of Engineering whose contributions have earned distinction in industry and commerce as a leader, innovator, and manager.

Distinguished Alumnus/a: Research

This award honors alumni of the School of Engineering whose achievements in the areas of research have significantly contributed to the advancement of new technologies.

Distinguished Young Alumnus/a Award

This award recognizes the early career accomplishments of alumni who have graduated—at any academic level—within the past ten years and have demonstrated continued involvement with the school and university.

Dean’s Award for Service 

This award honors alumni or friends of the School who have given of their time or talent for the enrichment of the School of Engineering community. A candidate’s contribution must directly impact the School through service such as board or committee membership, as a guest lecturer engaging with students, as a supporter of School or student initiatives, by making industry introductions which open doors to opportunities, and other similar contributions.

Rutgers Engineering Society Distinguished Engineer Award

This award is presented annually by the Rutgers Engineering Society to a fellow School of Engineering graduate who has made significant technical contributions in their career. Alumni of the School of Engineering have been presenting this award since 1960.

Corporate Partner of the Year

This award recognizes a corporation or business that has demonstrated outstanding collaboration and made a positive impact within Rutgers School of Engineering’s community in the areas of philanthropy, student engagement, research partnerships, and career support.  

Medal of Excellence Past Honorees

    • 2024 Michael Haberman ENG'90
    • 2023 John M. Sharkey ENG’79, GSNB’90
    • 2022 Tilak Lal ENG'84
    • 2021 Thomas A. Kennedy ENG'77 
    • 2019 Michael J. Inglese ENG'83, RGSB'88
    • 2018 Frederick W. Werner ENG'77
    • 2017 Andrew L. Intrater ENG'85
    • 2016 Marvin O. Schlanger ENG'69
    • 2015 Richard N. Weeks ENG'50
    • 2014 James W. Hughes, Ph.D. ENG’65, GSNB’69, ‘71
    • 2013 Charles E. Croom ENG'73
    • 2012 Richard H. Frenkiel GSNB'65
    • 2011 Gary Neuwerth, Ph.D. GSNB'69, '74  
    • 2011 Robert Alan Glassman ENG'64 2
    • 2010 Hugh C. Martin, Jr. ENG'78  
    • 2009 Mark D. Lutchen ENG'73 
    • 2008 William Plerhoples ENG'68, GSNB'73 
    • 2007 Curtis R. Carlson, Ph.D. GSNB'69, '73 
    • 2006 Irwin M. Lachman, Ph.D. ENG'52  
    • 2024 Whitney Muse ENG’08
    • 2023 Bharat Parikh ENG’88
    • 2023 Rina Parikh ENG’88
    • 2022 Squire J. Servance, Esq. ENG'04 
    • 2021 Joel B. Reiss ENG'92 
    • 2019 Frank DeMauro II ENG'88 
    • 2018 Rose Angulo Cook ENG'88 
    • 2018 Lynn Angulo Faughey ENG'88 
    • 2017 Roman P. Pacewicz ENG'87 
    • 2016 Vijay Swarup, Ph.D. GSNB'88,'90 
    • 2015 Subhasish Roychoudhury, Ph.D. GSNB'92,'95 
    • 2014 Joanna L. Martinez ENG’75, GSNB’77 
    • 2013 Remo Colarusso, Jr. ENG’83, RBSG’88  
    • 2012 Michael L. Grandinetti ENG'83 
    • 2011 Randall D. Pinkett, Ph.D. ENG'94 
    • 2010 Dev C. Ittycheria ENG'89 
    • 2009 J. Scott Gration ENG'74 
    • 2008 Keiko Takeuchi Harvey ENG'72 
    • 2007 Mir Imran ENG'77 
    • 2006 Kevin J. Kennedy, Ph.D. GSNB'79, '81, '82

                      

    • 2024 Bruce Dunn, Ph.D. ENG'70
    • 2023 Heidi A. Taboada, Ph.D. GSNB’05, ’07 
    • 2022 Rita Marty ENG’93 
    • 2021 Vita M. Lanoce ENG'85 
    • 2019 Linda M. Braun, Ph.D. ENG'84, GSNB'87, '90 
    • 2018 Christopher Sinko, Ph.D. ENG'84 
    • 2017 Reates K. Curry, Ph.D. GSNB'94 
    • 2016 Dorin I. Comaniciu, Ph.D. GSNB'00 
    • 2015 Raymond Iezzi, Jr., M.D. LC'87, GSNB'96 
    • 2014 Mark C. Zimmerman, Ph.D. GSNB’81, ’85 
    • 2013 Gregory Russotti, Ph.D. GSNB'97 
    • 2012 C. Stewart Slater, Ph.D. ENG'79, GSNB'82, '83 
    • 2011 Nozer Singpurwalla, Ph.D. GSNB'64 
    • 2010 John M. Tarbell, Ph.D. ENG'69 
    • 2009 John M. Ballato, Ph.D. ENG'93, GSNB'95, '97 
    • 2008 Walter J. Weber, Jr., Ph.D. GSNB'59 
    • 2007 Arthur Erdman, Ph.D. ENG'67 
    • 2006 David S. Kosson, Ph.D. ENG'83, GSNB'84

                                  

    • 2024 Parth Oza ENG'12, GSNB'21
    • 2023 Nicole DiStefano Gonzalez ENG’13, GSNB’17
    • 2022 Christine C. Ho ENG'10 
    • 2021 Melissa Conner ENG'13 
    • 2019 Carlos E. Caicedo-Carvajal, Ph.D. GSNB'09 
    • 2018 Nasir Uddin ENG'10 
    • 2017 Emeka O. Oguh ENG'05 
    • 2016 Jackelynne Silva-Martinez ENG'08 
    • 2015 Eric Jayjock, Ph.D. GSNB'04, '11 
    • 2014 Robert Stianchi ENG’05 
    • 2013 Zachary Brett Daroff ENG'11 
    • 2013 Megan Smith ENG'06, GSNB'08 
    • 2012 Cristina Comaniciu, Ph.D. GSNB'02 
    • 2011 Cecelia A. Paredes, Ph.D. GSNB'98, '00 
    • 2010 Wilson K. S. Chiu, Ph.D. ENG'94, GSNB'96, '99 
    • 2009 Benjamin M. Williams ENG'01 
    • 2008 David J. Odde, Ph.D. GSNB'92, '95 
    • 2007 Jeffrey R. Biamonte ENG'99

                                                           

    • 2024 Kenneth Johnson* ENG'66
    • 2023 Peter D. Cherasia* ENG’84
    • 2022 Brian P. Reilly* ENG'80 
    • 2019 Robert J. Cenker GSNB'77 
    • 2019 Terry J. Hart GSNB'78 
    • 2016 John McAllen ENG'93, GSNB'96 
    • 2015 Tracy Espiritu ENG'96 
    • 2014 Charles Chang GSNB’75 
    • 2013 Fred R. Bernath, Ph.D. ENG'66, GSNB'67, '73
    *Dean's Award for Service and Lifetime Achievement
     
    • 2024 Vasant Padmanabhan, Ph.D. GSNB'90, '93 
    • 2023 David Litton, Ph.D. ENG’93, GSNB’95, ’98 
    • 2022 Kiana Aran, Ph.D. GSNB'12 
    • 2021 Paul DelRocini ENG'86 
    • 2019 Thomas D. Everett ENG'84 
    • 2018 Grant Lu, Ph.D. GSNB'80, '83 
    • 2017 John P. Cipolletti ENG'78, GSNB'80 
    • 2016 Andrew J. Foden, Ph.D. ENG'94, GSNB'99 
    • 2015 Benjamin Fasano, Ph.D. ENG'75, GSNB'80, '82 
    • 2014 Charles R. Kurkjian, Ph.D. ENG’52 
    • 2013 Kenneth R. Johnson ENG'66 
    • 2012 William A. Imbriale Ph.D. ENG'64 
    • 2011 Robert S. Balog, Jr. Ph.D. ENG'96 
    • 2010 Taha Farouk Marhaba Ph.D. ENG'89, GSNB'90, '93  
    • 2009 Frank P. Conway ENG'89 
    • 2008 Reuben Karol ENG'44, GSNB'49 
    • 2007 Frederick F. Lange, Ph.D. ENG'61 
    • 2006 Constantine (Gus) Sarkos ENG'63, GSNB'65


         

Nomination Procedures

Faculty, staff, alumni, or friends of Rutgers University may submit nominations. Medal of Excellence 2025 nominations must be received by TBD for appropriate consideration by the Selection Committee for that year's awards. Award recipients are asked to be present at the Engineering Awards Banquet, October 9, 2025, to accept the award in person, a condition for receiving the honor. Those nominees unable to attend the awards banquet in person will be reconsidered in subsequent years. Nominations submitted after TBD will remain in active consideration for three years and may be updated during this time. Please send all nominations to Kendra Cameron via email kendrac@soe.rutgers.edu.