Maryland Engineering Recognizes Undergraduate Excellence

Each year the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland celebrates exceptional undergraduate scholars through its Honors and Awards, which recognize students for their academics, leadership, and service.

This year, Maryland Engineering honors 69 undergraduates who exemplify the college’s commitment to excellence; five are recognized with Dean’s Awards.

“We’re surrounded by greatness at the Clark School, and these students are proof of it. Congratulations to all of them, and those who support them, on their achievements,” said Clark School Dean Samuel Graham, Jr. “Climate change is threatening food supplies. Roads, bridges, and tunnels, when built without a focus on equity and inclusion, create inequities in communities. Modern medicine needs treatments and devices that are increasingly fit to individuals. Solving these grand challenges requires engineers—and the students we honor today will lead the way. We’re very excited to follow their careers."

Emily LeoClark School Dean's Award: presented for excellence in academics, leadership, and service to the college.

Emily Leo
Senior, bioengineering

Emily is a member of the Design Cultures & Creativity program, QUEST, and RISE. She is co-president of Ballet Company M, a Women in Engineering Program intern, a resident assistant, and a researcher in the Kuo Lab. She is actively involved in the Society of Women Engineers, Alpha Omega Epsilon, the Student Alumni Leadership Council, Tau Beta Pi, and Omicron Delta Kappa. Emily has led the Women in Engineering peer mentor program, founded a summer program for prospective students, and coordinated Discover Engineering. Following graduation, she will be working as a process engineer at CRB.

Sarah NolandClark School of Engineering Leadership Award: presented to a Clark School student who demonstrates outstanding leadership.

Sarah Noland
Senior, mechanical engineering

Sarah leads the Women In Engineering Student Advisory Board as chair and has served in several leadership positions on the Society of Women Engineers Executive Board. She is a member of University Honors, QUEST, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and Pi Tau Sigma, and is a proud alum of the Flexus Program. She currently works as a Clark School Ambassador and as an intern for the Women In Engineering Program. After graduation, Sarah will start her career as a mechanical engineer at ExxonMobil in Joliet, Illinois.

Mubarak BabalolaA. James Clark School of Engineering International Leader Award: presented for leadership and service through international engineering activities.

Mubarak Babalola
Junior, mechanical engineering

Mubarak is a member of the Muslim Students’ Association, Engineering Honors, Pi Tau Sigma, and Global Communities Program. In Engineers Without Borders, Mubarak is the project lead for a sanitation project in Uganda; the project plans on building a futuristic and sustainable latrine system for a school in the country. Throughout his time at the university, he volunteered for different projects and programs, such as Education Day at Lewisdale Elementary School.

Farida AbubakarKim A. Borsavage and Pamela J. Stone Student Award for Outstanding Service: presented for outstanding service and dedication to the Clark School.

Farida Abubakar
Senior, civil & environmental engineering

Farida has worked closely with engineering student affairs since her freshman year. She works at the Center for Minorities in Science and Engineering to increase minority participation in STEM fields and serves on the Women in Engineering Student Advisory Board, where she helps provide feedback, insight, advice, and support to the Women in Engineering Program. After graduation, Farida plans on starting off her career as a project engineer with Clark Construction.

Anish SanklaDinah Berman Memorial Award: presented to a third-year engineering student who has combined academic and scholastic excellence with demonstrated leadership or service to the Clark School.

Anish Sankla
Junior, aerospace engineering

Anish is a member of the aerospace honors program, researching and developing liquid bi-propellant rocket engines under the guidance of Professor Christopher Cadou. Anish also helped found SEDS@UMD, a club on campus promoting space-based technical projects, and is leading their liquid rocket team in developing a 350-pound thrust rocket engine. This summer, he will intern as a mechanical engineer at Venturi Astrolab, a startup developing commercial planetary rovers.

Christal DimasTerry Island Outstanding Advisor Award: recognizes staff excellence in undergraduate or graduate student advising. Established by Professors Emeritus William Fourney and George Dieter.

Christal Dimas
Coordinator for Retention, Clark Foundation Scholarship Programs

Christal is lauded for providing multiple resources and developing innovative programs; of particular note are her efforts in building community and accelerating networking among students through the launch of major meetups, professional development opportunities, and service-learning projects. In addition to co-founding the campus’ First-Gen Terps initiative, Christal is honored for her ability to be authentic and caring for students’ mental and physical health, as well as additional responsibilities she took on over the past year when the Clark Foundation Scholarships program was short-staffed.

Congratulations to all 69 of our 2022 honorees!

Farida Abubakar
Muhammad Adil
Excel Alale
Dahlia Andres
Ijeoma Asonye
Mubarak Babalola
Reese Barrett
Kieran Barvenik
Pavan Bhat
Ezra Bregin
Zachary Breit
Hailey Brennan
Gerald Brown
Jonathan Chang
Long Chen
Ezra Cho
Alexander Cochrane
Daniel De Leon
Haroon Farrukh
Anjali Gajendiran
Catherine Gao
William Gerst
Ted Gladkov
Eleanor Grosvenor
Moussa Haddad
Harry Hall
Erfan Jabari
Elizabeth Kinnard
Gustavo Lang, Jr
Caitlin Lee
Emily Leo
Catherine Lewis
Diana Liepinya
Cindy Liu
Wensen Liu
Erika Maher
Michael Mallamaci
Yusuf Mastoor
Liam McCue
Bianca Meinhardt
Robert Meloni
Liora Mervis
Sumi Mondal
Sarah Noland
Roshni Patel
Aashini Patel
Shivani Patel
Carolyn Payne
Giuse Pham
Kyle Pichney
Miranda Pierce
Audrey Rappaport
Thomas Roche
Thomas Rotello
Evan Ruderman
Benjamin Ruggeri
Ryan Ruspil
Logan Saar
Nicholas Sagun
Anish Sankla
Rebekah Schrader
Sophia Seo
Cassandra Smith
Matthew Thomas
John Ting
Alexander Tran
Erik Vaughan
Evan Wozniak
Lilia Yousefian

Published May 5, 2022