The evening featured a senior design poster session, prepared remarks, and recognition of the students, faculty, alumni, and partners who continue to elevate SEE’s impact.

Honoring the Class of 2026

SEE proudly recognized an outstanding group of undergraduate and graduate students preparing to take the next step in their careers. The undergraduate Class of 2026 includes Hailey Benfield, Stew Blinco, Alexandra Britto, Ava Casto, Benjamin Cobler, Robyn DeJoan, Christina DeVries, Kareena Dutta, Cormac Fallon, Cait Fitzgerald, Garrett Foster, Abigail Fouts, Madeline Frasure-Lauth, Piper Hale, Ashlyn Hammond, Josh Harris, Hurin Hasnan, Audrey Heckel, Analiese Hickman, Ryan Higgins, Jillian Hirsch, Sam Howell, DJ Howells, Elizabeth Hutzel, Carley Jones, Kolby Knox, Jack Krayer, Grace Kuntz, Carly Kuva, Sarah LeFever, Evan McGonagle, Daniel McGuirk, Chantelle Miller, Ingrid Owczarzak, Delaney Partridge, Aaron Preimesberger, Advita Rayarikar, Sarah Reddan, Austin Ruetten, Valentina Saenz, Alba Samu Rodriguez, Jane Schroeder, Emilee Scott, Shrithik Sekar, Zayne Shalabi, Cassy Shelhamer, Lillian Slack, Grace Smith, Hadley Thompson, Payten Whitfield, Maera Williams, Nicole Williams, and Nolan Williams.

Graduate students across the MSEEE and PhD programs were also honored, representing cohorts from summer 2025 through spring 2026 and reflecting the continued growth and impact of SEE’s graduate community.

Senior Design and Industry Collaboration

The evening began with a senior design poster session showcasing work developed in partnership with industry sponsors including Butler, Fairman & Seufert; CPKC; Circular Indiana; Citizens Energy Group; Ecolab; Evonik; General Motors; the International Sleep Products Association; Microsoft; Waelz Sustainable Products; Wessler Engineering; and the City of West Lafayette Parks and Recreation Department. 

These collaborations give students hands-on experience addressing real-world challenges while strengthening SEE’s connections with industry partners.

A highlight of the evening included recognition of SEE’s senior design team, which won the CSWEA Midwestern Student Design Competition and qualified for the WEFTEC Annual Conference.

Celebrating Scholarship Recipients

Dozens of students were recognized for academic excellence through undergraduate scholarships, including the Presidential, Trustees, SAIL, Purdue National Recognition, and other awards.

Named Scholarships and Special Recognition

Several students received prestigious named scholarships, including:

• Richard and Jill Piasecki Scholarship: Olivia Chowdhury and Jennifer R. Patterson
• College of Engineering Undergraduate Ambassadors: Hailey Benfield and Cassy Shelhamer
• Partners for Sustainability Scholarship: Robyn M. DeJoan
• SEE External Advisory Council Scholarships: Sophia K. Grigsby, Jane F. Schroeder, and Grace N. Smith
• SEE Undergraduate and Graduate Support Scholarship: Annette C. Winterland
• Spill Control Association of America Scholarship: Hailey Benfield
• 2025 LyondellBasell Scholar: Kiera Keegan

SEE Undergraduate Awards

Recognition Night celebrated individual achievements through major awards:

• Rachel Carson Award: Olivia Chowdhury
• Wangari Maathai Award: Rajan Joshi 
• Gaylord Nelson Award: Mira Rosario

Additional recognition included the SEE Professional Experience of the Year Award, presented to Alyssa Rizzardo for her outstanding internship contributions.

SEE students Christopher Scott Dunlap, Reagan Vandermark, Jillian Hirsch, and Annette Winterland were also recognized for earning fourth place in the WEFTEC Student Design Competition.

The Environmental and Ecological Engineering Outstanding Senior Award was presented to Hailey Benfield. Selected by a vote of SEE faculty, the award recognizes one senior for excellence in academics, leadership, service, and professional achievement.

Benfield distinguished herself as a multi-year EEE and College of Engineering Ambassador, a leader within the Society of Environmental and Ecological Engineers, and a peer teaching assistant for four semesters. She also completed internships with LyondellBasell focused on sustainability benchmarking and has accepted a full-time role with the company following graduation.

Graduate Student Awards and Honors

• Estus H. and Vashti L. Magoon Award for Research Excellence and Department of Energy E-SCRAP Award: Xiaohan Wu
• College of Engineering Outstanding Service Scholarship: Clarreese Greene
• Estus H. and Vashti L. Magoon Award for Excellence in Teaching, Teaching Academy Graduate Teaching Award, and 2026 ESE Teaching Award: Troy Weber
• Presidential Excellence Award: Erick Joel Negrón Álvarez
• Presidential Excellence Award and Reilly Effective Graduate Engineering Scholarship: Jenny Kwak
• Reilly Effective Graduate Engineering Scholarship and College of Engineering GradTrack Program Mentor: Ritbik Kumar
• Department of Energy E-SCRAP Award: Venkat Roy
• Third Place, 2026 Environmental Engineering and Science Symposium (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) and John Martinson Honors College Future Mentors Program: Camila Catherine De Morais Cassunde

Faculty, Staff, and Alumni Recognition

Faculty and staff achievements were also honored:

• 2025 ACLCA Michael Levy Rising Star Award: Heather Liddell
• Bravo+ Awards: Nina Robinson and Michelle Indarjit
• Dean H. T. Yang Faculty Excellence Award for Leadership in Service: Inez Hua
• Faculty Excellence Award for Engagement: Andrew Whelton
• Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award: Caitlin Proctor
• Robert G. Wetzel Award for Water Quality (American Institute of Hydrology): Zhi (George) Zhou
• Professional Practice Hall of Fame: Angela Jenkins (SEE alumna)
• Named president of the International Ultraviolet Association: Ernest (Chip) Blatchley
• National Science Foundation grant: Xinyu Zhang

The Society of Environmental and Ecological Engineers (SEEE) Instructional Excellence Award, selected by undergraduate students, recognized a faculty member for outstanding commitment to student success, excellence in teaching, and the ability to inspire and engage students. The award was presented to Margaret (Meg) Whelton, PE.

Community and Leadership Recognition

The evening also highlighted the contributions of SEE’s External Advisory Council, recognizing members who support the school’s continued growth and industry engagement.

Advancing Research and National Recognition

The evening highlighted major national honors earned by SEE faculty:

• Amisha Shah, recipient of the 2026 ACS ENVR Dionysios Dionysiou Established Investigator Award
• Zhi (George) Zhou, elected Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers

These recognitions underscore SEE’s leadership in advancing sustainable engineering solutions.

Looking Ahead

Recognition Night also celebrated SEE’s continued national prominence, including its ranking as the No. 10 undergraduate environmental engineering program (2026) and No. 11 graduate program (2025) by U.S. News & World Report.

The evening concluded with a final moment honoring all graduating students, as undergraduate and graduate candidates from summer 2025 through spring 2026 stood together in recognition of their achievements. Faculty reflected on the students’ growth—from their early days on campus to becoming engineers prepared to address complex global challenges—and encouraged the Class of 2026 to embrace their responsibility as leaders in sustainability.

As they look ahead, graduates were challenged to make meaningful contributions both locally and globally, reinforcing SEE’s mission to develop engineers equipped to address the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.

The community also looks forward to celebrating another milestone year, including SEE’s 20th anniversary celebration on October 15, 2026.

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