Our Faculty and Alumni Lead the Way in Cutting-Edge Technology Innovation
Our faculty and alumni are the cornerstone of our department's education and research, preparing students for careers in fields that have tremendous impact on key areas of modern life while also upholding our university's public-service mission. Our faculty members and alumni are renowned throughout the state, nation and world for their cutting-edge electronic and computer engineering discoveries and contributions. Find out about their many well-deserved honors, awards and recognitions.
Recent Awards & Honors

The annual award recognizes the master's student who submitted the best master's thesis in the College of Engineering. This year, it celebrates Noah Glick's outstanding thesis on nonlinear optics, a significant intellectual contribution already shifting academic perspectives on random quasi-phase matching processes.

Each year, the College of Engineering celebrates outstanding faculty with awards that recognize their dedication to ensuring the future of engineering through teaching and research.

Stephen Henderson, B.S. '95, is a shining, if not atypical, example of Aggie Engineering excellence. After earning his electrical engineering degree, he has shown outstanding leadership as a professor of law at the University of Oklahoma, where he is known for his expertise in criminal law and law reform.
Academic Awards and Recognitions
- National Medal of Technology
- Jerry Woodall, 2001
- National Academy of Engineering Members
- Jerry Woodall, 1989
Robert Bower, 1999 - Emeritus, Deceased
Linda Katehi, 2006 - Distinguished Faculty Emerita
Gary May, 2018
Jonathan Heritage, 2019 - Emeritus - National Academy of Inventors Fellows
- Linda Katehi, 2012 - Distinguished Faculty Emerita
Jerry Woodall, 2013
Saif Islam, 2014
Junshan Zhang, 2024 - American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows
- Linda Katehi, 2006 - Distinguished Faculty Emerita
Gary May, 2009 - Member, 2020
Jerry Woodall, 2018
Saif Islam, 2018
Rajeevan Amirtharajah, 2019
John Owens, 2021
Chen-Nee Chuah, 2024 - American Association for the Advancement of Science, Lifetime Mentor Award
- Gary May, 2021
- IEEE Life Fellows
- Shu Lin, 2000 - Emeritus
Robert Bower, 2005 - Emeritus, Deceased
Ronald Soohoo - Emeritus, Deceased
Robert Redinbo - Emeritus
Tien C. “Steve” Hsia - Emeritus
William Gardner - Emeritus - IEEE Fellows
- Ronald Soohoo, 1970
Richard Dorf, 1973 - Emeritus
Mohammed Ghausi, 1973 - Emeritus
Tien C. "Steve" Hsia, 1977 - Emeritus
Shu Lin, 1980 - Adjunct Emeritus
Robert W. Bower, 1986
Jerry Woodall, 1990 John Owens, 2021
Jonathan Heritage, 1990 - Emeritus
William Gardner, 1991 - Emeritus
Bernard Levy, 1994
Linda Katehi, 1995 - Distinguished Faculty Emerita
Vojin G. Oklobdzija, 1996 - Emeritus
Robert Redinbo, 1997 - Emeritus
K. Wayne Current, 2000 - Emeritus, Deceased
Paul Hurst, 2001
Stephen Lewis, 2001
Neville Luhmann, 2002
Zhi Ding, 2003
Gary May, 2006
Richard Spencer, 2006 - Emeritus
S.J. Ben Yoo, 2007
Brian Kolner, 2012
Junshan Zhang, 2012
Shuguang “Robert” Cui, 2013
Chen-Nee Chuah, 2015
Saif Islam, 2020
John Owens, 2021
Anh-Vu Pham, 2022 - Optica Fellows
- Jonathan Heritage, 1986 - Emeritus
Andre Knoesen, 1996
S.J. Ben Yoo, 2007
Brian Kolner, 2011
Saif Islam, 2019
Jeremy Munday, 2020 - American Physical Society Fellows
- Herman Fink, 1969 - Emeritus, Deceased
Jerry Woodall, 1982
Neville Luhmann, 1987
Jonathan Heritage, 1989 - Emeritus
Robert Bower - Emeritus, Deceased - American Vacuum Society Fellows
- Jerry Woodall, 1994
- Electrochemical Society Fellows
- Jerry Woodall, 1992
- SPIE Fellows
- Saif Islam, 2017
Jeremy Munday, 2025 - SPIE Aden and Marjorie Meinel Technology Achievement Award
- Saif Islam, 2024
- SPIE Early Career Achievement Award
- Jeremy Munday, 2014
- OneQuantum Leading Female Researcher Award
- Marina Radulaski, 2021
- David and Lucille Packard Foundation Fellowships
- Brian Kolner, 1991
- National Science Foundation CAREER Award Winners
- Venkatesh Akella, 1997
Anh-Vu Pham, 2001
Hussain Al-Asaad, 2001
Chen-Nee Chuah, 2003
Junshan Zhang, 2003
Bevan Baas, 2006
Rajeevan Amirtharajah, 2006
Lifeng Lai, 2011
Jane Gu, 2013
Erkin Şeker, 2015
Omeed Momeni, 2015
Jeremy Munday, 2016
J. Sebastian Gomez-Diaz, 2018
Marina Radulaski, 2021
William Putnam, 2021
Gary May
Linda Katehi - Distinguished Faculty Emerita
Saif Islam
Weijian Yang - National Society of Black Engineers Lifetime Member of the Year
- Gary May, 2023
- DOE Early Career Principal Investigator
- John Owens, 2004
- National Academy of Engineering Simon Ramo Founders Award
- Linda Katehi, 2015 - Distinguished Faculty Emerita
- IEEE Third Millennium Medal Winners
- Jerry Woodall, 2000
Linda Katehi, 2000 - Distinguished Faculty Emerita
Shu Lin, 2000 - Emeritus
Stephen Lewis, 2000 - Association for Computing Machinery Distinguished Scientists
- Chen-Nee Chuah, 2012
John Owens, 2017 - Optical Society of America R.W. Wood Prize
- Jonathan Heritage, 2008 - Emeritus
- Alexander von Humboldt Research Prizes
- Jonathan Heritage, 1975 - Emeritus
Mohammed Ghausi - Emeritus
Robert Bower - Emeritus, Deceased
Shu Lin - Emeritus - ECEDHA Diversity Award
- Renetta Garrison Tull, 2022
- ECEDHA Leadership Award
- Gary May, 2015
- Robert L. Woods Award for Excellence in Vacuum Electronics
- Neville Luhmann, 1994
- IEEE John R. Pierce Award
- Neville Luhmann, 2012
- IEEE Jack R. Morton Award
- Jerry Woodall, 1984
- IEEE Leon Kirchmayer Graduate Teaching Award
- Shu Lin - Emeritus
- William Streifer Award of the IEEE LEOS Society
- Jonathan Heritage - Emeritus
- IEEE Jun-ichci Nishizawa Medal
- Jerry Woodall, 2005
- Institute of Physics Kenneth J. Button Award
- Neville Luhmann, 2005
- American Vacuum Society Founders Medal and Award/Welch Award
- Jerry Woodall, 1990
- IEEE Communications Society Education Award
- Zhi Ding, 2020
- IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society Outstanding Young Engineer Award
- Anh-Vu Pham, 2008
- IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society Distinguished Microwave Lecturer
- Anh-Vu Pham, 2010
- IEEE Stephen O. Rice Prizes for Best Original Paper
- Shu Lin, 2007 - Emeritus
William Gardner - Emeritus - IEEE Photonics Society Young Investigator Award
- Jeremy Munday, 2015
- IEEE Distinguished Papers
- Chen-Nee Chuah, 2008, 2016, 2021
Junshan Zhang, 2008
Saif Islam, 2010
Houman Homayoon, 2019, 2019, 2020, 2021
Linda Katehi - Distinguished Faculty Emerita - ACM Distinguished Papers
- Houman Homayoun, 2016
Junshan Zhang, 2016 - ISSCC 50-Year Anniversary Museum Paper Award
- Stephen Lewis, 2003
- ISSCC 50-Year Anniversary Author Honor Roll Winners
- Paul Hurst, 2003
Stephen Lewis, 2003 - ISSCC Beatrice Winner Awards for Editorial Excellence
- Stephen Lewis, 2004
Paul Hurst
Richard Spencer - Emeritus - DARPA Young Faculty Award
- Jeremy Munday, 2018
- DARPA Director's Fellowship Award
- Jeremy Munday, 2020
- OSA Adolph Lomb Medal
- Jeremy Munday, 2015
- NASA Early Career Faculty Space Technology Research Award
- Jeremy Munday, 2012
- Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award
- Junshan Zhang, 2005
Jeremy Munday, 2016 - Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator
- William Putnam, 2021
Marina Radulaski, 2022/ 2023 - Georgia Tech College of Engineering Hall of Fame
- Gary May, 2024
- CMBE Young Innovator Award, Biomedical Engineering Society
- Erkin Seker, 2016
- National Institutes of Health NIBIB Trailblazer Award
- Erkin Seker, 2018
- National Academy of Engineering’s Annual Frontiers of Engineering Education Symposium
- Erkin Seker, 2014
- Google Research Scholar Award
- Marina Radulaski, 2022
- Senior Member of National Academy of Inventors
- Soheil Ghiasi, 2024
UC Davis Awards and Recognitions
- Chancellor's Fellow
- Chen-Nee Chuah, 2008
Jane Gu, 2019
Sebastian Gomez-Diaz, 2023 - ADVANCE Scholar Award
- Chen-Nee Chuah, 2020
- Distinguished Emeriti Award
- V. Ralph Algazi, 2024 - Emeritus
- Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Awards
- Gary Ford, 1984 - Emeritus
Saif Islam, 2010
Hussain Al-Asaad, 2017
Erkin Şeker, 2024 - Distinguished Graduate and Postdoctoral Mentorship Award
- Erkin Şeker, 2020
- Graduate Advising and Mentoring Award
- Joshua Hihath, 2020
- Outstanding Research/Teacher/Mentor Award Winners
- Gary Ford - Emeritus
Neville Luhmann
Ronald Soohoo - Emeritus, Deceased
S.J. Ben Yoo
Saif Islam
Stephen Lewis - Outstanding Engineering Faculty Teaching Awards
- Hooman Rashtian, 2020
Stephen Lewis, 2020
William Putnam, 2024 - College of Engineering Outstanding Junior Faculty Awards
- Chen-Nee Chuah, 2004
Saif Islam, 2006
Jane Gu, 2015
Marina Radulaski, 2023 - College of Engineering Outstanding Mid-Career Faculty Research Awards
- S.J. Ben Yoo, 2004
Saif Islam, 2012
Jeremy Munday, 2024 - College of Engineering Outstanding Senior Career Research Awards
- S.J. Ben Yoo, 2011
Zhi Ding, 2021
Saif Islam, 2022
Chen-Nee Chuah, 2024 - College of Engineering Best Teaching Award
- William Putnam
Hooman Rashtian - ECE GSA Awards for Graduate Teaching and Mentorship
- John Owens, 2009
Rajeevan Amitharajah - ECE Distinguished Research Award
- John Owens, 2019
- ECE Distinguished Teaching Award
- Andre Knoesen, 2018
Weijian Yang, 2021
Marina Radulaski, 2022
Diego Yankelevich - ECE Distinguished Service Award
- Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, 2018
- IEEE Student Association’s Professor of the Year Awards
- Hussain Al-Asaad, 2001
Saif Islam, 2005, 2009
Stephen Lewis, 2010, 2016
Andre Knoesen, 2012
Omeed Momeni, 2014
Hooman Rashtian, 2017, 2018, 2019
Chen-Nee Chuah, 2021
Rajeevan Amitharajah
Richard Spencer - Emeritus
Diego Yankelevich
Gary Ford - Emeritus
Xiaoguang “Leo” Liu - ASUCD Academic Excellence in Education Award
- Stephen Lewis, 2009
Hooman Rashtian, 2019
Alumni Awards
- UC Davis Alumni Award
- Hope Bovenzi, 2020
- Cal Aggie Alumni Association Distinguished Achievement Award
- Prem Jain, 2021
- ECE Alumni Leadership in Promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award
- Jeremy Roberson, 2021
Tracy Liu, 2023 - Rising Star Alumni
- Andrew Fong, 2021
Vincent Li, 2024 - Outstanding Alumni Mentor
- Alysia Iglesias, 2021
Michael P. Coffey, 2022
Neil Jacklin, 2024 - Jerry W. Fielder Award
- Charles C. Nichols, 2022
- DEI Alumni Leadership Award
- Danjue Li, 2022
- Cal Aggie Alumni Association Outstanding Alumnus Award
- Michael Hurlston, 2023
- Distinguished Engineering Alumni Medalists
- Andrew J. Botka, 2023
Michael P. Coffey, 2023
Judy Chang, 2025
Jeff Reed, 2025
Rob Tobias, 2025 - ECE Distinguished Alumni Award
- Constance Chang-Hasnain, 2019
Frank Mong, 2021
Stephan Schell, 2023
Stephen Henderson, 2024 - Aggie Service Award
- Michael P. Coffey, 2025
- UC Davis Medal
- Michael C. Child, 2025