Purdue University’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering is recognizing the efforts of undergraduate students who help out in all facets of departmental life, with annual ECE Undergrad Excellence Awards. These students help with classes as undergraduate teaching assistants (UTAs), they are integral parts of research groups, they embark on incredible design projects, and they perform all manner of service to the department through student societies and other volunteer groups.

Undergraduate TA Award

UTAs are a vital component of the teaching mission at Purdue, and each semester roughly 200 undergraduates help out in ECE courses, running labs, holding office hours, providing tutoring and mentoring, and grading. The following awards recognize the top UTAs each semester who demonstrate exemplary performance and go above and beyond in their pursuit of excellence.

• Enes Shaltami (nominated by Mark Johnson and TN Vijaykumar) - for supporting ECE 47300 at a high level, performing the duties of a graduate TA

• Shristi Saraff (nominated by Avi Kak) - for going above and beyond during office hours in providing assistance to students in ECE 40400

• Gore Kao (nominated by Dan Elliott) - for supporting the virtual teaching of ECE 30411 through extensive consulting with students

• Tanner Andrulis (nominated by Sanjay Rao) - for supporting the development of a new online networking class, including development of a course project

• Vishal Meyappan (nominated by Ryan Beasley) - for his efforts as head UTA of ECE 20007, including stepping in to fill graduate TA duties

• Jorge Apolo (nominated by Ryan Beasley) - for stepping up and filling graduate TA duties in ECE 20007

Undergraduate Research Award

Purdue ECE runs the largest research program of any school at Purdue, and undergraduates play key roles in the research agenda. These students design and run experiments, write papers, present results, and support ECE’s top 10-nationwide program. These awards recognize the top undergraduate researchers, as measured by drive and accomplishment.

• Vishnu Banna (nominated by James Davis and Yung-Hsiang Lu) - for leading a Google-funded research team on replicating machine learning research, and developing tutorials presenting the material at technical conferences

• Tyler Fedrizzi (nominated by Shreyas Sundaram) - for leading a VIP team that is developing simulations for swarm robotics systems, and engaging with industry partners on his research

Undergraduate Service Award

Through organizations such as the ECE Student Society (ECESS) and HKN, undergraduates provide camaraderie, advice, tutoring, mentoring, and coffee and donuts to the ECE community. This award recognizes students who have performed extraordinary service to the School over the year.

• Sam Dlott - for going above and beyond in helping students, and helping families of prospective students engage with and understand the department