Purdue ME Student Awards

Recognizing student excellence at every level

The School of Mechanical Engineering is pleased to announce the following awards, given to deserving sophomore, junior, and senior undergraduate students.  These students have demonstrated academic excellence, exemplified personal integrity, and exercised involvement in the community of Purdue University.

The award ceremony takes place Friday, April 26, at 2:30 p.m. in the Purdue Armory! All are welcome!

The John M. Starkey Prize in Mechanical Engineering

The John M. Starkey Prize in Mechanical Engineering celebrates the top all-around graduating ME senior every year, as exemplified by the school’s core values of Character and Personal Integrity, Academic Excellence, and Community Engagement and Leadership. The award comes with a cash prize of $3,000. Must meet the following criteria:

  • Outstanding contribution to the School of Mechanical Engineering
  • Demonstrated leadership and involvement
  • Record of academic excellence

The John M. Starkey Prize in Mechanical Engineering is named after John Starkey, who served as a professor in Mechanical Engineering from 1982 to 2017.  He served as faculty advisor for Purdue's SAE auto racing teams, and also director of the ME463 senior design capstone class, where he oversaw the final Purdue experience for hundreds of students.

And the nominees are...

Emma Balevic

Emma Balevic embodies the core values of the School of Mechanical Engineering. Through her role in Purdue Mechanical Engineering Ambassadors (PMEA), she has served as Course Coordinator for ME199 How Stuff Works for two semesters, as well as a TA for ME274 and a mentor for ME290. She conducted three semesters of undergraduate research at the DC Nanogrid House, and completed a 5-semester co-op with Honeywell Aerospace.

Jennifer Short

Jennifer Short has made outstanding contributions to the School of Mechanical Engineering. She has served as President of Purdue's Society of Women Engineers, TA and mentor for ME290 and ME270, and a Purdue Mechanical Engineering Ambassador. Her internship experience includes GE Aerospace, Andretti Autosport, Chip Ganassi Racing, and Toyota North America. She was recently named a Purdue Engineering Fellow to mark her robust accomplishments.

Vishnu Srinivas

Vishnu Srinivas has been a model student, and an outstanding TA. As a double major in computer science, he has guided many fellow mechanical engineering students through ECE2K7. He is a VP of Pi Tau Sigma, and has done internships with Zipline and GE Aviation. He also leads the musical group Microwave Turntable. His positive attitude helps enable students to make an impact within Purdue's ME program.

Previous winners

  • 2023: Adia Raya
  • 2022: Jennifer Ascher
  • 2021: Tanmay Das
  • 2020: Emily Nadler
  • 2019: Kaan Ardic

Frederick Morse Award for Outstanding Juniors

Presented to a student in junior level curriculum (they must have taken ME 309, ME 365, and ME 323); based on dedication to the School of Mechanical Engineering, in recognition of leadership within the community and department; examples of leadership include: club involvement, mentoring program, co-op/internship opportunities, etc. The award comes with a cash prize of $1,000. Must meet the following criteria:

  • Outstanding contribution to the School of Mechanical Engineering
  • Demonstrated leadership and involvement
  • Record of academic excellence

The Outstanding Junior Award is named after Frederick Morse, who served as a professor in Mechanical Engineering from 1947 to 1985.  He is best known for creating Purdue's first cooperative education (co-op) program in 1954, and in the decades since, guiding hundreds of students through their first work experiences.

And the nominees are...

Audrey DeKoninck

Audrey DeKoninck is an incredibly driven leader that has made her mark on the School of Mechanical Engineering through a wide breadth of activities. As President of Purdue ASME, she leads strategic initiatives to provide technical and professional opportunities for 500+ members, while providing leadership development to an executive board of 65 people: conducting design reviews, touring manufacturing plants and research labs, and starting a Design Consulting Team that reaches outside the School. She is currently researching in Shirley Dyke's RETH Institute, and  she TA’s for honors engineering. She has had internships at Roush and Stellantis, and will be interning with Steelcase this summer.

Grant Dierking

Grant Dierking epitomizes the core values of academic excellence, community engagement, and leadership. He is the Industrial Relations Officer for Pi Tau Sigma, and also serves an ME student mentor. He conducts undergraduate research with Justin Weibel, while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. He has had multiple internships, and works with the non-profit SCOPE Consulting group.

Maitri Pandya

Maitri Pandya made history in 2023 when she helped to found the Women in Mechanical Engineering group, helping to grow it from four members to more than 200. She's also an incoming VP for Society of Women Engineers. She was selected as a Dean's Leadership Scholar for 2023-24 based on academic & leadership accomplishments. She has also done internships with Central States Manufacturing, Belden, and GE Vernova.

Previous winners

  • 2023: Jessica Howell
  • 2022: Jack Walsh
  • 2021: Marcus Lannie
  • 2020: Abby Grillo

George Elwood Rhoads Award for Outstanding Sophomores

Presented to a student in sophomore level curriculum (they must have taken ME 200, ME 270, and ME 290); based on dedication to the School of Mechanical Engineering, in recognition of leadership within the community and department.  The award comes with a cash prize of $500.  Must meet the following criteria:

  • Outstanding contribution to the School of Mechanical Engineering
  • Demonstrated leadership and involvement
  • Record of academic excellence

The Outstanding Sophomore Award is named after George Elwood Rhoads, who graduated from Purdue Mechanical Engineering in 1900; the funds were provided by his son, Albert B. Rhoads (BSME 1933).

And the nominees are...

Aaron Binstock

Aaron Binstock is an outstanding member of the Baja SAE team. As the suspension sublead, he has introduced new members into suspension design and grown his subsystem for next year. He is also the tech lead for the Purdue Drone Club, and has done an internship at Caterpillar.

Tanmaee Ledalla

Tanmaee Ledalla is a hard worker and ambitious learner. She is the Vehicle Performance Lead on ASME's Grand Prix racing team, working on chassis and carburetor optimization, clutch tuning, and developing a racing simulator. She also has done two undergraduate research projects already, with lithium ion batteries and vapor compression cooling.

Greta Schantz

Greta Schantz is a multi-tasking Honors student with a passion for leadership, involvement, and entrepreneurship. As part of ASME, she hosts a podcast that interviews notable engineers on Purdue's campus. She's involved in WiME, SWE, and Old Masters. She has also done a manufacturing internship at Kautex Textron.

Previous winners

  • 2023: Mackenzie Misterka
  • 2022: Sajon Seaberg
  • 2021: Meredith Meyer
  • 2020: Jordan Harris

Interested in funding a Purdue ME Student Award?

Do you want to fund future awards to recognize the best and brightest Purdue Mechanical Engineering students? Contact Christina Starace at cdstarace@purdueforlife.org, or donate online today (and specify Student Awards!)