Student Awards, Scholarships & Grants
Source: https://engineering.rice.edu/academics/student-awards-scholarships/student-awards-2021-22 Parent: https://engineering.rice.edu/academics/student-awards-scholarships
2021-22 RECIPIENTS
Student Awards, Scholarships & Grants
In 2021-22, Rice Engineering students were awarded nearly $280,000 in awards and scholarships!
Congratulations to our 2021-22 engineering scholarship and award recipients! Rice Engineering students have a variety of scholarships, awards and opportunities available to them — recognizing academic success, research, service and development.
We encourage Rice Engineering students to apply for the awards next academic year! Browse the award opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students.
2021-22 Student Award Recipients
Leadership Excellence Award
Michael Angino\ B.S. electrical engineering 2022
“The award will assist me as I continue onto my master’s degree in ECE at Rice.”
Outstanding Senior Merit Award
Leslie Arrazolo\ B.S. chemical engineering 2022
“This gift will help me with relocation to my new institution. I will be moving to New Haven to pursue a Ph.D. at Yale University. This gift will help me purchase an airline ticket and necessary winter attire.”
Research Excellence Award, Junior Merit Award
Joseph Asfouri\ B.S. electrical engineering 2023
“This generous gift plugs me into the REA network, which will provide valuable connections as I search for graduate schools next semester and for professorships after graduate school.”
*Rodd/Selman Scholarship*
Sean Bishop\ B.S. chemical engineering 2024
“This award will go towards paying for my college education, making it easier for my family and I to get me through school and allow me to focus more on my academics and contributing to the Rice community while I am a student here.”
*Electrical and Computer Engineering Outstanding Junior*
Max Aksel Bowman\ B.S. electrical engineering 2023
“This gift plays a significant role in helping me establish a solid foundation in electrical engineering, preparing me for graduate school and a career in industry. I hope to pursue engineering research and development.”
*REA Project Grant*
Brianna Bukowski\ B.S. chemical engineering 2025
“I plan to solve global warming, and since biofuels can be an important component of that, the grant will ensure I can do future research on biofuels.”
Leadership Excellence Award and Senior Merit Award
Jamie Chen\ B.A. computational and applied mathematics 2022
Graduate Travel Grant
Joshua Chen\ Ph.D. bioengineering 2022
“This gift will enable me to travel to conferences so that I can broaden my scientific knowledge and network with potential future mentors and colleagues.”
*Dick and Mary Wilson Enhancement Award*
Yunseo Choi\ B.S. civil engineering, 2022
“With this funding I will have more freedom to design experiments. It can help me buy the experimental tools and products with less financial burden and solidify my hypothesis.”
REA Research Excellence Award; REA Junior Merit Award
Colter Decker\ B.S. mechanical engineering 2023
“I balance time spent on research with working to support my tuition. This award will permit me to spend more time pursuing research goals. I’m also hoping to present at research conferences in the coming year, which this award will support.”
*Thomas Michael Panos Family Engineering Student Award; Chevron Scholarship*
Daniel Dibos\ B.S. mechanical engineering 2022
“This award will help fund my graduate school, which is the next destination for my career in engineering.”
Louis and Peaches Owens Fellowship for Professional Masters
Travis Dowd\ Master of Bioengineering 2023
“This scholarship will help me to gain more experience in hands-on design, medical needs finding, and medical entrepreneurship through Rice’s amazing GMI program while continuing to compete athletically at the collegiate level.”
*Bioengineering Outstanding Junior Award*
Abigail Dowse\ B.S. bioengineering 2023
“This gift will be extremely useful in supporting my efforts to complete a master’s degree in bioengineering, with the goal of pursuing a career in medical device design for low-resource settings.”
REA Project Grant
Nicholas Ess\ B.S. mechanical engineering 2023
“Rice Eclipse is deeply grateful for your support, and we can't wait to put this award to good use as we shoot higher than ever.”
Senior Merit Award
Corbett Fong\ B.S. mechanical engineering 2022
“It will provide me with money to find housing for the next year when I plan to do the master’s of mechanical engineering program.”
*Electrical and Computer Engineering Outstanding Senior Award*
Samantha Fuentes\ B.S. electrical engineering 2022
“This award inspires me to keep striving for excellence and to keep giving back to my engineering community as I graduate and begin my professional career. It is a very great honor.”
Distinguished Junior Merit Award; REA Leadership Excellence Award
Vanessa Garlepp\ B.S. bioengineering 2023
“This gift will give me increased financial security as I continue to pursue my degree, and help me feel more comfortable exploring my BIOE interests in more classes without worrying about taking on an abundance of working hours.”
REA Outstanding Junior Merit Award; Leadership Excellence Award
Bryn Gerwin\ B.S. mechanical engineering 2023
“I am grateful to the REA for these generous gifts. They will allow me to spend my senior year focusing on my studies to complete my degree. I will also be able to explore my interests in robotics and aerospace engineering, and determine what I want to do after graduation.”
Fluor Daniel Engineering Scholarship
Esha Ghai\ B.S. chemical engineering 2023
“This gift will help support my co-curricular professional/career development and academic pursuits.”
Phil Layton Award for Excellence in the Arts
Elise Gibney\ B.S. electrical engineering, 2022
“This gift will allow me to upgrade some of my personal neurological equipment and help cover my living expenses while I begin work toward a Ph.D. in neuroengineering this fall.”
REA Graduate Student Travel Award
Sakib Hassan\ Ph.D. electrical and computer engineering 2022
“I will be able to share my knowledge with my peers and get useful feedback from the leading scientific community. This will enable me to improve the design, performance of the sensor and broaden the application.”
REA Graduate Student Travel Grant
Delaram Pirhayatifard\ Ph.D. electrical and computer engineering 2024
“It gives me the opportunity to attend conferences related to my field and grow my knowledge.”
*REA Graduate Student Travel Grant*
Ze He\ Ph.D. chemical and biomolecular engineering, 2023
“Thanks to this gift, presenting my work at professional conference will help promote my research and expand my horizons in industry.”
*Materials Science and NanoEngineering Outstanding Senior*
Alexander Ho\ B.A. materials science and nanoengineering, 2022
“This award will help me demonstrate my discipline, hard work and commitment to always learn, grow and improve myself as an emerging engineer. I am honored to be recognized for my hard work.”
*Mechanical Engineering Outstanding Senior Award*
Joshua Holder\ B.S. mechanical engineering 2022
“This monetary gift will be invaluable in paying for tuition and living expenses in this phase of my education. and allow me to focus on my studies. The recognition will be helpful in propelling my career.”
SAME Award
Caroline Holland\ B.S. civil engineering 2023
“This will be helpful in allowing me to pay rent, buy meals, purchase basic living items and most importantly use my time studying rather than worrying about my finances.”
*REA Graduate Student Travel Grant*
Kshipra S. Kapoor\ Ph.D. electrical and computer engineering, 2023
“My field is extracellular vesicles, using them and lipid nanoparticles for dermal applications. With the REA gift I will attend a conference, share my work and meet with the leaders in the field.”
*Mechanical Engineering Outstanding Junior Award; TSPE Most Outstanding Junior; Fluor Daniel Engineering Scholarship*
Ellen Kasradze\ B.S. mechanical engineering 2023
“This gift will allow me greater flexibility to engage in unpaid learning opportunities. I would like to thank Prof. Marcia O’Malley, whose humor and passion for teaching made 9 a.m. lectures enjoyable.”
*REA Graduate Student Travel Grant*
Junhyung Lyle Kim\ Ph.D. computer science, 2024
“My adviser, Prof. Anastasios Kyrillidis, is always the biggest motivator and supporter for my research. I would like to thank the REA for the travel grant. I will attend conferences to make research connections.”
*Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Outstanding Senior Award*
Minjung Kim\ B.S. chemical engineering 2022
“This gift is especially meaningful because it will support my Ph.D. journey after graduation. I hope to one day give back to support the endeavors and futures of the next generation of students.”
REA Research Excellence Award; REA Junior Merit Award
Chloe Kong\ B.S. materials science and nanoengineering
“I plan to spend this gift to support the living costs accompanying summer research and to attend conferences this upcoming fall.”
REA Graduate Student Travel Grant
Cheuk Sun Edwin Lai\ Ph.D. bioengineering 2023
“It lessens the financial burden to attend a conference, which is important to build connections for professional opportunities.”
*Bioengineering Outstanding Senior Award; TSPE Most Outstanding Senior*
Alex Lammers\ B.S. bioengineering 2022
“I’ve framed my study of bioengineering through global health. I hope for a career in designing low-cost medical devices. Whether saving for graduate school or living expenses during a fellowship, every bit helps!”
REA International Service Award
Matan Lieber-Kotz\ B.S. chemical engineering 2023
“This award will help me continue working on new engineering and/or service projects during and after my time at Rice. My mentors have always told me that giving back is of paramount importance, and after many years spent on this project, this award is inspiration for me to make volunteering a project for life.”\
Buckley Sartwelle Scholarship
Jonathan Lloyd\ B.S. mechanical engineering 202
“This gift will help alleviate the burden of tuition on my family and fund my internship relocation this summer.”
REA Graduate Student Travel Grant
Maria Astrid Campos Mata\ Ph.D. materials science and nanoengineering 2022
“The gift will assist me in presenting my work at an international conference, where I will be able to connect with experts in the field and help me establish future connections.”
*REA Project Grant*
Mit Mehta\ B.S. electrical engineering 2022
“This award was for the Rice Electric Vehicle Team.”
REA International Service Award
Andrei Mitrofan\ B.S. bioengineering 2023
“Receiving this gift will allow me to take time off during the summer and serve low-resource communities in the U.S., Romania and Mexico. It will also give me more flexibility to attend conferences and gain more insight into what I want to do with my career.”
Fluor Daniel Engineering Scholarship
Jacob Morgan\ B.S. civil engineering 2023
“I am starting to apply to graduate school and this gift will help cover the cost of GRE preparation and application fees.
REA Junior Merit Award
Derin Okunubi\ B.S. civil engineering 2023
“Receiving this award was motivating and inspiring for me. This is the first award I have received from Rice since becoming a student and it felt great to have my achievements recognized. It encourages me to strive to be better and keep on pushing and aiming higher in my education and career.”\
R.K.M. “Bob” Dickson Prize
Alice Owens\ B.S. mechanical engineering 2025
“The award will allow me to pursue a study abroad program in Costa Rica, where I will study two engineering design courses crucial for the engineering design minor. It will give me valuable experience working with new team members, clients and users.”
REA Senior Merit Award
Prashanth Pai\ B.S. computer science 2022
“I plan to use the scholarship to fund my move to Seattle, where I'll begin my career in computer science and also to help me begin saving up for graduate school, if I eventually decide to go down that path.”
Rodd/Selman Scholarship
Danica Pietrzak\ B.S. chemical engineering 2023
REA Graduate Student Travel Grant
Durnian Chen Chang Li Paruslki-Seager\ Ph.D. civil and environmental engineering 2025
“This gift will allow me to grow as a young researcher. With it, I'll be able to expand my professional network outside of Rice and have access to professional development resources not available here, such as a career-oriented, interactive panel.”
Thomas Michael Panos Family Engineering Student Award, REA Senior Merit Award
Jarrett Prchal\ B.S. mechanical engineering 2022
“This gift will be a great support as I go to law school to develop a set of skills to supplement my engineering education.”
REA Leadership Excellence Award
Alison Qiu\ B.S. computer science 2025
“It will encourage me to continue to develop myself as an engineering leader and empower other women in engineering to become leaders. Thank you for your kindness.”
Hershel M. Rich Invention Award
Rawand Rasheed\ Ph.D. mechanical engineering 2023
“This award is validation that my efforts are on track to helping make an impact on the world. I want the work I produce to have a benefit to humanity. That is why I have been working hard developing the thirsty corkscrew filters, also known as the multiplexed inertial filters. I believe it can have a big impact on helping our planet.”
Chevron Scholarship
Oscar Leonardo Reynozo\ B.S. electrical engineering 2023
“The gift will help reduce the number of hours I am required to spend for work-study as part of my financial aid plan. Hence, it will allow me to spend more time in my studies and perform better in my courses.”
REA Senior Merit Award
Kimberly Rodriguez\ B.S. mechanical engineering 2022
“It will help fund moving costs associated with starting a job after graduation.”
REA Senior Merit Award
Daniel Rothfusz\ B.S. electrical engineering 2022
“I am about to go work full time in California, so I will need a significant amount to be able to get started with my career.
Rodd/Selman Scholarship
Bryant Ruff\ B.S. chemical engineering 2024
“Coming to Rice has been a sacrifice for my family and this award is definitely received with a lot of gratitude. It also motivates me to continue pushing myself and making the most of my time at Rice.”
Louis and Peaches Owen Fellowship for Professional Master’s
Brandon Robert Ruiz\ Master of Bioengineering 2023
“With this gift I will be able to continue my education to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to pursue a career in neuro-prosthetics.”
Ralph Budd Ph.D. Thesis Award
Jordan Lee Shivers\ Ph.D. chemical and biomolecular engineering 2022
*Civil and Environmental Engineering Outstanding Senior Award*
Neha Singh\ B.S. civil engineering 2022
“This award will help fund my aspirations to attend graduate school in urban planning. It will permit me to more quickly start doing the work that I am completely passionate about.”
Distinguished Senior Merit Award
Mantej Singh\ B.S. computer science 2022
“This award instills the confidence in me that I can make an impact in this world. This award will help further my goal of improving human health through technology, as I continue my graduate studies at Johns Hopkins.”
*Fluor Daniels Scholarships*
Pasan (Pete) Sirithanachai\ B.S. computer science 2023
REA Junior Merit Award
Eliot Solomon\ B.S. computer science 2023
“It will help me purchase supplies and equipment relevant to my computer science studies.”
*Harrianna Butler Scholarship*
Cengizhan Taslicay\ Ph.D. mechanical engineering 2025
“In order to focus on academic studies, you need to minimize other problems, such as finances. Thanks to this scholarship, I will be able to focus on my studies because I will have the chance to live in a more comfortable environment.”
*REA Project Grant*
Christina Taylor\ Ph.D. computational and applied mathematics, 2024
“We are working on a novel ballet pointe shoe design. We haven’t begun work yet, but the project has already impacted 17 undergrads, two grad students and two recent Rice graduates who volunteered.”
James S. Waters Creativity Award; Chevron Scholarship; and REA Research Excellence Award
Savannah Tiemann\ B.S. chemical engineering 2023
“This gift will go directly to savings for use after graduation. I have earned a fellowship and will be conducting research at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, and the grant will help cover travel costs.”
*REA Graduate Student Travel Grant*
Mohammad Taha Toghani\ Ph.D. electrical and computer engineering, 2024
“One of the main components of successful research is to attend related scientific conferences and events and present the current or ongoing research to experts, colleagues and peers.”
REA Junior Merit Award; REA International Service Award; James S. Waters Creativity Award
Jeffrey Alejandro Vanegas\ B.S. chemical engineering 2023
“I am on the ChBE undergraduate board and a project lead for Engineers Without Borders. This summer I will be working at Thermo Fisher Scientific in their drug product division as a pharmaceutical science intern.”\
*Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Outstanding Junior Award; Chevron Scholarship; REA Research Excellence Award*
Benjamin Walls\ B.S. chemical engineering 2023
“The award will aid in my tuition payments and show on my graduate school applications that I am a high-achieving student. Thank you for incentivizing high-impact work from students.”
REA Graduate Student Travel Grant
Cheng Wan\ Ph.D. electrical and computer engineering 2024
“This is very helpful. It supports my travel to conferences which substantially increases the visibility of my research.”\
REA Graduate Student Travel Grant
Bo Wang\ Ph.D. chemical and biomolecular engineering 2023
*Rodd/Selman Scholarship*
Anthony Weeks\ B.S. chemical engineering 2024
“This gift will help me afford housing in Austin over the summer for my internship with Samsung Semiconductors and help me get more experience with electronics manufacturing, which I hope to have for a career.”
*Dick and Mary Wilson Enhancement Award*
Aidan Weindel\ B.S. civil engineering, 2023
“I intend to go to graduate school. This scholarship goes a long way in providing financial stability for my post-undergraduate life and will allow me to begin saving up for higher education sooner.”
REA Senior Merit Award
Isabelle Williams\ B.S. chemical engineering 2022
“The award will allow me to be more comfortable in graduate school.”
*Sue H. and Harold R. Galloway Award*
Joshua Woods\ Ph.D electrical and computer engineering, 2026
“This will enable me not to worry about housing and will give me flexibility for after I graduate. Thank you! This is a huge blessing.”
REA Leadership Excellence Award
Lindsay Wright\ B.S. mechanical engineering 2025
“This gift will help reduce the burden of tuition and allow me to focus on my plans to get more involved in the university through research and engineering clubs at Rice.”
REA Research Excellence Award; REA Senior Merit Award
Bohan Wu\ B.S. statistics 2022
“It will help initiate my graduate school study. I would like to thank Prof. Daniel Kowal for his research mentorship and Prof. Philip Ernst for his major-related advice.”
*Rodd/Selman Scholarship*
Luna Xia\ B.S. chemical engineering 2024
“This gift is a validation of my work and a motivation for me to keep learning and improving as a student in chemical engineering.”
*Materials Science and NanoEngineering Outstanding Junior Award*
Kefei Xu\ B.S. materials science and nanoengineering 2023
*Civil and Environmental Engineering Outstanding Junior Award*
Annie Xu\ B.S. civil engineering 2024
“My career goal is to drive sustainability forward in the realm of urban infrastructure. This award has made pursuing this goal and taking on other challenges less daunting and more fulfilling.”
REA Leadership Excellence Award
Berk Alp Yakici\ B.S. computer science 2022
“I will use this award to cover any additional expenses during my fifth-year master's thesis program that are not covered by the departmental graduate stipend.”
Buckley Sartwelle Scholarship
Steven Zhao\ B.S. mechanical engineering 2023
“I am interested in aerospace engineering, so this scholarship will help pay for the education necessary.”
International Service Award
Aasha Zinke\ B.S. materials science and nanoengineering 2024
“I am grateful that this generous gift will allow me to continue the work that I am doing. I will hopefully be able to travel soon and use this gift to fund the implementation of one of these projects.”\