VIP Award Nominations - Spring 2026

VIP Award Nominations

Nominations recognize the outstanding contributions, leadership, and impact of members of the VIP community.

Anyone may submit a nomination for a member of their VIP team, provided the nominee meets the criteria for the selected award.

Nominators are encouraged to carefully review the description and intent of each award prior to submission. Successful nominations clearly address the award criteria and include specific examples, supporting evidence, and/or documentation that demonstrate the nominee’s contributions and impact.

Thank you for helping recognize excellence and achievement within the VIP program.


Faculty/staff mentor award

The “VIP Faculty/Staff Mentor Award” recognizes faculty mentors who demonstrate outstanding leadership and guidance as mentors to VIP undergraduate research teams. This award celebrates individuals who foster an inclusive and collaborative environment, empower team members to succeed, and contribute significantly to the growth and development of team members through mentorship.

2026 Winner

  • Jamie Davis (Pre-Trained Models)

Instructor of record award

The “VIP Instructor of Record Award” recognizes instructors who demonstrate outstanding leadership and guidance as mentors to VIP undergraduate research teams. This award celebrates individuals who foster an inclusive and collaborative environment, empower team members to succeed, and contribute significantly to the growth and development of team members through mentorship.

2026 Winner

  • Siddeshwar Raghavan (IPAA)

Grad mentor award

The “VIP Grad Mentor Award” recognizes graduate students who demonstrate outstanding leadership and guidance as mentors to undergraduate research teams. This award celebrates individuals who foster an inclusive and collaborative environment, empower team members to succeed, and contribute significantly to the growth and development of team members through mentorship.

2026 Winners

  • Cole Nelson (SoCET)
  • Sooraj Chetput Venkataraghavan (SoCET)

Leadership award

The "Leadership Award" honors VIP students who demonstrate exceptional leadership qualities, inspiring and empowering others to achieve shared goals. This award recognizes individuals who exhibit vision, resilience and the ability to cultivate collaboration and positive change within their VIP teams and who have a significant positive impact on the team’s success.

2026 Winners

  • Arjun Gupte (Pre-trained Models)
  • Chris Butler (PURT-UAS)
  • Donny Weintz (IPAA)
  • Mikhail Golovenchits (SoCET)
  • Satish Patel (ASME Wind Energy)
  • Ying-Wei Lin (Semiconductors@Birck)

Outstanding first-year/sophomore award

The “Outstanding First-Year Student Award” celebrates exceptional contributions made by first-year or sophomore students to their VIP teams. This award celebrates individuals who go above and beyond in embracing opportunities and demonstrate dedication, initiative and have a positive impact within VIP.

2026 Winners

  • Adam Zhang (AIDA3 Research)
  • Alan Yi (AIDA3 Research)
  • Joseph Wang (AutoIC)

External mentor award

The “VIP External Mentor Award” recognizes mentors outside of Purdue who demonstrate outstanding leadership and guidance as mentors to VIP undergraduate research teams. This award celebrates individuals who foster an inclusive and collaborative environment, empower team members to succeed, and contribute significantly to the growth and development of team members through mentorship.

2026 Winner

  • Benjamin Nold (ERS)