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Amy Elliott, a 2013 PhD graduate in Mechanical Engineering and a group leader for robotics and intelligent systems at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has received both an International Additive Manufacturing Award and a 40 under 40 superlative.

Varsha Swamy, a New Horizon graduate student pursuing a MS. in mechanical engineering, is the recipient of the Excellence in Research Award presented by Automotive Research Center (ARC).

A team of undergraduates working with Associate Professor Oumar Barry won second place in the 2022 EnergyTech University Prize National competition sponsored by the Office of Technology Transitions at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Belal Shanab, a PhD candidate in mechanical engineering, has been awarded a 2025 Commonwealth of Virginia Engineering and Science (COVES) Policy Fellowship.

PhD Candidate Maruf Billah, a member of Associate Professor Pinar Acar’s research team, has won a best paper award at the AIAA Science and Technology Forum (AIAA SciTech 2025).

Connor Herron won Best Presenter at the 2022 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, held October 31 - November 3 in Columbus, Ohio.

Randall T. Fawcett, Abhishek Pandala, and Jeeseop Kim, together with Dr. Kaveh Akbari Hamed, have been selected to receive the 2022 ASME Rudolf Kalman Best Paper Award.

Three PhD students from the lab of Kaveh Akbari-Hamed authored a paper that has been selected for the top award of the 2023 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

Ph.D. candidate Jia Mi was elected vice-chair of the International Network on Offshore Renewable Energy (INORE), which aims to help support and empower students and early-career professionals in offshore renewable energy fields through networking and professional events.

Neil Ashwin Raj, a PhD student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been awarded Pratt funding from the Virginia Tech College of Engineering in support of his ongoing studies.

Jiaxin Xi, a PhD Student working in the Multiphysics Intelligent and Dynamical Systems Lab of Shima Shahab, was awarded third place at the the 33rd International Conference on Adaptive Structures and Technologies competition for her poster presentation on "Focused Ultrasound Actuated Shape Memory Polymers for Biomedical Devices.”

Mahbobur Rahman received both a scholarship from ASME and a department award for his research presentation.

Ben Beiter's talk entitled "Optimization approach to designing a bioinspired bat robot for flight and sonar integration" has been awarded First prize in the Animal Bioacoustics Best Student Paper competition from the Acoustical Society of America.

Jaisohn Kim, a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been awarded the GTA Excellence – Assistant Award by the Virginia Tech Graduate School. Kim was recognized at an awards ceremony on March 24th.

Mechanical engineering student Dean Conte was featured in a Nature article about managing COVID-19, commenting on his work with a robotic decontaminator. Conte worked with University of Virginia lab to tackle the project.

Graduate student Ahmed Sallam won first-place award in the Frank Pao CEHMS Research Competition, for his virtual presentation on “Reflective acoustic holograms for fine manipulation of sound.” Sallam works in the lab of Assistant Professor Shima Shahab. His research area is investigating Acoustic Holographic Lenses used in biomedical and automotive sensing applications.

Diksha Aggarwal, a PhD candidate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been awarded a 2025 Commonwealth of Virginia Engineering and Science (COVES) Policy Fellowship.

Melanie Hook, a graduate student pursuing a doctorate in mechanical engineering, is the recipient of a 2021 graduate research fellowship from the National Science Foundation.

Jia Mi, PhD candidate and graduate research assistant in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been named to serve on the inaugural Board of Directors of University Marine Energy Research Community. There are 10 seats on the Board of Directors and Jia Mi is the only student representative.

Amy Quartaro, a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, has been awarded a NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunity grant.

Abdulsalam I. Shakhatreh, a graduate student advised by Assistant Professor Juliana Pacheco Duarte, is the recipient of the Decommissioning & Environmental Sciences Division (DESD) Graduate Scholarship from the American Nuclear Society (ANS).

Two graduate students took first and second place for research in mechanical engineering during the 2021 Paul E. Torgersen Graduate Student Research Excellence Awards.