The USC Viterbi School of Engineering cohort at the annual awards event. Photo/Courtesy of Jim Moore
More than a dozen USC Viterbi students and faculty members won awards at the 2018 Orange County Engineering Council (OCEC) Honors and Awards Banquet. Taking place on February 17 in Santa Ana, Calif., the event kicked off this year’s National Engineers Week.
Awards
Outstanding Engineering Student Award
Ahmed Mohamed, M.S. Petroleum Engineering (Smart Oilfield Technologies) ’18
Outstanding Young Engineer Award
Stacey D. Finley, Gordon S. Marshall Early Career Chair, Gabilan Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Daniel L. McCurry, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Outstanding Engineering Merit Award
Yong Chen, Associate Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Michelle Povinelli, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering-Electrophysics and Physics and Astronomy
Distinguished Engineering Merit Award
Nenad Medvidović, Director of the USC Center for Systems and Software Engineering (USC-CSSE), Professor of Computer Science
Alice C. Parker, Dean’s Professor of Electrical Engineering and Professor of Electrical Engineering-Systems
Outstanding Educator Award
Malancha Gupta, Jack Munushian Early Career Chair and Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and Chemistry
Charles Radovich, Senior Lecturer of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Han Wang, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering-Electrophysics
James E. Ballinger Engineer of the Year Award (top award winner)
Iraj Ershaghi, Omar B. Milligan Professor of Petroleum Engineering and Director of the USC Petroleum Engineering Program
Winning Thoughts
On his Outstanding Engineering Student Award, Ahmed Mohamed MS PTE ’18 said: “This award absolutely boosted my self-confidence in my ability to connect with people in a larger-scale, help others and give back to the community, and that I can have a positive impact on this world.”
On receiving a top award, the James E. Ballinger Engineer of the Year, Ershaghi was proud to be recognized by engineers from all fields. “The majority of past awards and recognitions that I have been fortunate to receive over the years have been from the Society of Petroleum Engineers – my primary professional society,” Ershaghi said. “Receiving this Ballinger award is particularly a special honor for me as OCEC represents diverse fields of engineering and engineering leaders in Southern California.”
To view photos from the event, please visit the Flickr album.
About the OCEC Awards Banquet
The OCEC Honors and Awards Banquet recognizes the best of the best engineers, scientists, educators, students and projects from engineering and scientific corporations, professional societies, educational institutions, governmental agencies, STEM Program affiliates and individuals dedicated to serve the engineering profession, in and around Orange County. This year, OCEC presented more than 50 awards to outstanding individuals as well as projects.This year’s event sponsors included AECOM, Aeroplex, Air Liquide, T-Y-LIN, HUITT-ZOLLARS, PSOMAS, NMG Geotechnical, Inc., SAME, and USC.
Published on April 19th, 2018
Last updated on November 8th, 2022
