The Graduate Teaching Award was established by the IEEE Board of Directors in 1990. It was renamed in 2002 to honor Leon K. Kirchmayer, who was well known and revered throughout the world for his commitment to students and education.

The award recognizes teachers of electrical and electronics engineering and the related disciplines for inspirational teaching of graduate students in the IEEE fields of interest. It consists of a bronze medal, certificate, and honorarium.

Lundstrom was cited "for creating a global online community for graduate education in nanotechnology as well as teaching, inspiring, and mentoring graduate students."

"Putting research and education together in a way that benefits both is our highest aspiration as faculty at a research university like Purdue," Lundstrom said. "Being recognized for this by one's peers is a tremendous honor."

His contributions to tightening the research-education connection include creating nanoHUB the largest nanotechnology online resource, and nanoHUB-U for short courses on topics not yet widely available. He also established a complementary Lessons from Nanoscience Lecture Note Series.

Lundstrom is the second Purdue College of Engineering recipient of the IEEE Leon K. Kirchmayer Graduate Teaching Award. Supriyo Datta, the Thomas Duncan Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and leader of the Spintronics Preeminent Team, was so honored in 2008. IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. IEEE and its members inspire a global community to innovate for a better tomorrow through its more than 420,000 members in over 160 countries, and its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities. IEEE is the trusted "voice" for engineering, computing, and technology information around the globe.