9 exceptional scholars, innovative teachers from SEAS honored by UB

The Exceptional Scholars Award honors faculty members for their outstanding research performance at different stages of their careers. There are two awards: Sustained Achievement Awards for senior scholars and Young Investigator Awards for untenured scholars who received their terminal degree within the past eight years. Both awards recognize work that has “garnered public and/or professional accolades beyond the norm."

“Congratulations to all our awardees and their home departments! These awards recognize the excellence of our faculty and represent their outstanding abilities in research and education,” said Kemper Lewis, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Sustained Achievement recipients are selected based on their body of work over a number of years. The award is not meant to serve as a lifetime achievement honor, but rather as recognition for outstanding performance in a recent segment of a scholar’s career.

Recipients for 2020 are Gang Wu, professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; Tevfik Kosar, professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering; and Tarunraj Singh, professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

The Young Investigator Award is presented to untenured researchers whose work has garnered universal acclaim or been completed under the auspices of a prestigious fellowship grant.

Recipients for 2020 are Ning Dai, assistant professor, Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering; Changyou Chen, assistant professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering; and Mostafa Nouh, assistant professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

UB’s Teaching Innovation Award recognizes faculty members who have used new methods and approaches to teaching that have had a demonstrable effect on enhancing student-learning outcomes, including innovative uses of educational technology. All UB faculty members are eligible for the award.

Recipients for 2020 are Varun Chandola, assistant professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering; Jun Zhuang, professor, Department of Industrial Systems Engineering; and Aaron Estes, assistant professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.