The department of Human Centered Design & Engineering annually recognizes outstanding graduating students with Awards of Excellence.
The HCDE Awards of Excellence honor students who have distinguished themselves by demonstrating greatness in Academic Excellence; Leadership and Engagement; Innovation; and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Awardees are recognized in the departmental graduation ceremony.
Award Descriptions
Innovation
The HCDE award for Excellence in Innovation recognizes students who have demonstrated excellence through the design and development of novel engineering and technology artifacts or practices that exemplify human-centered design principles.
Academic Excellence
The HCDE award for Academic Excellence recognizes students who have excelled academically. Throughout their coursework and their involvement with faculty, these students demonstrate intellectual inquisitiveness, insight, and growth. Often the students receiving this award have been top academic performers in their respective degree programs.
Leadership & Engagement
The HCDE award for Excellence in Leadership and Engagement recognizes students who have made a significant contribution to the HCDE community through their involvement and leadership. These students have taken key leadership roles, inspired others to contribute, developed new programs to support students, and built relations that enable and grow the broader HCDE community.
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
The HCDE award for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion recognizes students who have made significant commitments to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice either through outreach, research, or course work. This award category was established in 2022.
Research
The HCDE award for research is given based on excellence in research including contributions to the student's fields, innovation in research methods, and contributions to society, especially in areas of diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. This award category was established in 2024.
Teaching & Mentorshop
The HCDE award for Teaching & Mentorship recognizes students who exhibited excellence in organizing courses and DRGs, mentorship of peers and students in formal and informal settings, and/or exceptional contributions in educational outreach programs including a positive impact with respect to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. This award category was established in 2024.
2024
- Tyler Bartholomew, HCDE Student Award for Academic Excellence (undergraduate)
- Anna Beers, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Research (PhD)
- René Capella, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (undergraduate)
- Regina Cheng, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Research (PhD)
- Jay Cunningham, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement (PhD)
- Sam Ferguson, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation (undergraduate)
- Naomi Johnson, HCDE Student Award for Academic Excellence (Master's)
- Os Keyes, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement (PhD)
- Ava Lim, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement (undergraduate)
- Emma McDonnell, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Teaching & Mentorship (PhD)
- Kunal Mehta, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation (Master's)
- Mia Oscarsson, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (undergraduate)
- Prerna Rao, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement (Master's)
- Spencer Williams, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Teaching & Mentorship (PhD)
- Lily Yang, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement (Master's)
- Eileen Zhang, HCDE Student Award for Academic Excellence (undergraduate)
2023
- Rabiah Arshad, HCDE Student Award for Academic Excellence (Master's)
- Ashlyn B. Aske, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement (undergraduate)
- Dawit Simret Borrows, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation (undergraduate)
- John Fowler, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Research Impact (PhD)
- Jenna Frens, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Mentorship (PhD)
- Raina Langevin, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Research Innovation (PhD)
- Calvin Liang, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (PhD)
- Katrina Ma, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation (Master's)
- Kenya Mejia, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Educational Impact (PhD)
- Andy Moon, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (Master's)
- Emma Sadjo, HCDE Student Award for Academic Excellence (undergraduate)
- Tabby Safari, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement (Master's)
- Mina Zavary, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (undergraduate)
2022
- Alissa Acheson, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion undergraduate
- Xuny Haley, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement graduate
- Sam Kolovson, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement graduate
- Richard Lei, HCDE Student Award for Academic Excellence undergraduate
- Edgar Lopez, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation undergraduate
- Kai Lukoff, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation graduate
- Ed Paradis, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation graduate
- Kunlanit Pao Pongsala, HCDE Student Award for Academic Excellence undergraduate
- Wendy Roldan, HCDE Student Award for Academic Excellence graduate
- Dena Sabha, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement undergraduate
- Dena Sabha, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion undergraduate
- Kathlyne Taylor, HCDE Student Award for Academic Excellence graduate
- Jessie Zhang, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion graduate
Quilla Valdez Graves, Sean Horita, Honson Ling, Brayan Zavala (Service Design project team), HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation graduate
2021
- Jazz Ang, HCDE Student Award for Academic Excellence graduate
- Arpita B., HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement graduate
- Kari Bergstedt, HCDE Student Award for Academic Excellence undergraduate
- Lucas Colusso, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation graduate
- Vishaka Nirmal, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement undergraduate
- Lexi Leo Rohrer, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement undergraduate
- Kay Waller, HCDE Student Award for Academic Excellence undergraduate
- Jordan Yoon-Buck, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation undergraduate
- Shelby Zink, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation graduate
- Honson Ling, Ethel Xu, Patriya Wiesmann, Xuan Song, Shelby Zink, Taylor Honda, Jay Cunningham, Susanne Kirchner, and Neilly Herrera Tan (2020-2021 Graduate Student Association Officer Team), HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement graduate
2020
- Elena Agapie, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement graduate
- Mitchell Fajardo, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation graduate
- Nikita Kovalovs, HCDE Student Award for Academic Excellence undergraduate
- David Rappaport, HCDE Student Award for Academic Excellence graduate
- Anna Schmitz, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation undergraduate
- Nicole Washington, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement undergraduate
- Khyree Watson, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement undergraduate
- Angel Vuong, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement graduate
- Ashley Boone, Jamie Vanderwall, and Maya Klitsner, HCDE Team Award of Excellence for Innovation undergraduate
2019
- Alaa Amed, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation undergraduate
- Cynthia Bennett, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation graduate
- Hayley Bierbaum, HCDE Student Award for Academic Excellence graduate
- D’Marcus Butler, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement graduate
- Ritika Gupta, HCDE Student Award for Academic Excellence undergraduate
- Kiley Sobel, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement graduate
- Blake Tsuzaki, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation graduate
- Emily Wong, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement undergraduate
2018
- Josh Baker, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement graduate
- Kate Cowley, HCDE Student Award for Academic Excellence undergraduate
- Sarah Fox, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation graduate
- Yuliana Flores, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement undergraduate
- Madison Holbrook, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement undergraduate
- Bonnie Tran, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation undergraduate
- Tess Wolfe-Stelzer, HCDE Student Award for Academic Excellence graduate
2017
- Joseph P. Bernstein, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement graduate
- Sol Choi, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Academic Excellence undergraduate
- Alexis Hiniker, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Academic Excellence graduate
- Sara Elizabeth Jennings, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement undergraduate
- Aaron Joya, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation undergraduate
- Kyle Aidan Musselwhite, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Academic Excellence undergraduate
- Taylor Scott, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement graduate
- Lydia Davison, Michael Ian Fernandes, Leyla M. Ibrahim, Valerie Najera, Karin Kendall Vaughan, Samantha Gil Vargas, Special Recognition for Community Engagement
- Sahil Ahmed Yousif Anand, John A. Luetke, Nikhil Venkatesh, Dorothy M. Wong, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation graduate
2016
- Gary Anderson, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Academic Excellence graduate
- Ankur Agrawl, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation graduate
- Yoanna De La Caridad Dosouto Guerra, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Academic Excellence undergraduate
- Toni Ferro, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement graduate
- Michael Gilbert, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation graduate
- Terri Lovins, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement graduate
- Daniel Rowland, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation undergraduate
- Samantha West, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement undergraduate
2015
- Michael Brooks, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Academic Excellence graduate
- Emily Greenberg, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Academic Excellence graduate
- Gabrielle Mehlman, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement graduate
- Daniel Perry, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation graduate
- Ron Piell, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Academic Excellence undergraduate
- Mark Stamnes, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation undergraduate
- Megan Taylor, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Academic Excellence undergraduate
- Gail Thynes, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement undergraduate
2014
- Julie Campbell, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Academic Excellence graduate
- Henrik Christensen, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation graduate
- Sheena Kapur, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation undergraduate
- John Robinson, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation undergraduate
- Christopher Rovillos, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Academic Excellence undergraduate
- Michael Sinkula, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement graduate
- Megan Torkildson, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement undergraduate
- Janelle Van Hofwegen, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Academic Excellence undergraduate
2013
- Dharma Dailey, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation graduate
- Thuy Than Duong, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Academic Excellence undergraduate
- Amado Guillermo Robancho, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement undergraduate
- Jonathan Morgan, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Academic Excellence graduate
- Josie Nutter, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation undergraduate
- Darivanh Vlachos, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement graduate
2012
- William Brian Espinosa, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation undergraduate
- Alexis Hope, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement graduate
- Natasha Jones, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Academic Excellence graduate
- Kristina Krause, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation graduate
- Julius Caesar S. Magsino, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement undergraduate
- Rachel W. Reynard, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Academic Excellence undergraduate
2011
- Doug Divine, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Academic Excellence graduate
- Steven Naranjo, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation undergraduate
- John Porter III, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Academic Excellence undergraduate
- Robert Racadio, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement graduate
- Emma Rose, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Innovation graduate
- Darivanh Vlachos, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Leadership & Engagement undergraduate
- Rebecca Walton, HCDE Student Award of Excellence for Academic Excellence graduate