Annual teaching awards recognize passion, dedication and lasting impact

Three women stand together; the woman in the center is holding an award plaque.

Engineering students recognized outstanding educators at the annual Teaching Awards ceremony. Here, award recipient Megan Thies (center), a graduate student in chemical and biological engineering, poses with undergraduate engineering council members Ella Afshari (left) and Jessica Wang (right). Photos by Tori Repp/Fotobuddy

Engineering students celebrated the inspiration, generosity and commitment of professors and graduate instructors at the annual School of Engineering and Applied Science Excellence in Teaching Awards.

“These awards come directly from students and reflect the deep appreciation of the engineering community,” said Yiling Li, a senior in electrical and computer engineering and president of the undergraduate engineering council, in opening remarks at the April 10 ceremony. “Today’s honorees have left a lasting impact both in and beyond the classroom.”

A woman standing at a podium with a laptop, speaking to an audience. — Yiling Li, president of the undergraduate engineering council, addressed students, award recipients and guests gathered at the Friend Center.

The teaching awards, overseen by the undergraduate engineering council, recognized outstanding instructors in courses held during the spring semester 2024-25 and the fall semester 2025-26.

Hossein Valavi, a senior lecturer in electrical and computer engineering, received a lifetime achievement award, given to faculty members for receiving five or more Excellence in Teaching Awards.

Two men with their arms around each other holding an award plaque. — First-year student Toni Ferreira Velosa, left, presented a lifetime achievement award to Hossein Valavi, a senior lecturer in electrical and computer engineering.

First-year student Toni Ferreira Velosa called Valavi “a patient explainer who went out of his way to find resources” for his students. Valavi spent many hours in the lab answering students’ questions — “a selfless role which has saved many a student, including myself, especially when there is an assignment due the next day and you just can’t get your code working,” said Ferreira Velosa.

John Boerchers, a graduate student in mechanical and aerospace engineering, was honored for serving as a teaching assistant in MAE 427, a course on energy conversion and transportation. In presenting the award, senior Jonathan Leadingham said that Boerchers made the most difficult material comprehensible.

Two men pose together holding an award plaque. — Senior Jonathan Leadingham, left, presented an award to John Boerchers, a graduate student in mechanical and aerospace engineering.

“When you didn’t get a concept the first, the second, or even the fifth time, John was always able to explain the concept from another angle,” Leadingham said. “He sets the standard for what a preceptor should be.”

Serena Zhang, a sophomore in operations research and financial engineering, praised Daniel Deza, a graduate student in the department, for his work as a teaching assistant in a foundational course on optimization.

“Daniel made every student feel heard and personalized the learning experience to our needs,” she said. “Daniel’s efforts have made optimization really come alive for all of us and have inspired me to take more optimization classes.”

Sophomore Abhinav Devpura said that an introductory course with professor of electrical and computer engineering Sharad Malik “reaffirmed my desire to major in ECE.”

“He took a class that covered an astonishing amount of information and made it feel completely approachable and methodical,” said Devpura. “Because of the way he connects with students, at no point did I ever feel like there was a massive jump in complexity.”