Asem Aboelzahab (right), Lead Instructional Labs and Senior Design Projects Coordinator, receives the Professional Achievement Award of Excellence from Mung Chiang (left), John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering.

Asem Aboelzahab was recognized for his ever-present compassion and shaping the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering’s educational and outreach experiences, global engagement, reorganization of lab space, usage of technologies designed to improve classroom learning, expansion and enhancement of the senior design course, and engagement with underserved students. Aboelzahab oversees the daily operations of two of the five instructional laboratory classes in the Weldon School. In addition to supervising the lab, he is passionate about mentoring and has led senior design teams to multiple first place finishes in national award competitions. Knowing the pipeline for Purdue students always needs to remain open, he leads outreach and mentoring activities for the school, crafting the best possible learning activities to suit the event and keep participants interested in the subject matter. Aboelzahab is also a key member of the BME Diversity and Inclusion committee.  Over the past two summers, he developed and led STEM outreach to 75 minority students from urban high schools.

In nomination materials, Andrew Brightman, Assistant Head for Academic Affairs, wrote that “because of his competence, commitment, and compassion leading to these myriad of exceptional professional achievements, Awesome Asem, as the BME students refer to him (and now many faculty and staff members also), is well deserving of this award for exemplary achievements in professional service to our School, the College, and student across the nation.”

Chantalle Brown (right), Academic Advisor, receives the New Employee Award of Excellence from Mung Chiang (left), John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering.

Chantalle Brown, was noted for her persistent passion in helping others and determination for providing resources for advisors, both inside and outside the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, as well streamlining student interactions and developing new approaches to diversity and inclusion. Brown is known for being an extraordinary and personable academic advisor, a reliable team member, and a constant innovator. She immediately took on learning all of the complexities of the BME curriculum, ensuring she knew as much as possible to support her students. She made it a point to develop connections with every one of BME’s 317 students. She often works beyond the 5:00 hour updating the My Purdue plan with curricular changes in the course catalog and improving registration meetings, allowing her to host walk-in hours during the very busy, intense six-week registration process. Her passion for Purdue extends beyond BME as Brown regularly serves as a resource to other advisors, training them how to approach and update student resources to get positive results.

In nomination materials, Corey Linkel, Associate Director of Undergraduate Programs, wrote that, “on top of all of these outstanding accomplishments, Chantalle prioritizes advising her students above all. This is just another perfect example of her excellence as a new employee with uncommon initiatives, strong desire to improve her job knowledge and skills, and her constantly positive attitude in dealing with each student and peer as a unique and diverse individual.”

Related: 2019 Staff Awards of Excellence