Mizzou Engineering honors outstanding faculty, staff, students and alumni

March 17, 2025

Clockwise from upper left: Mizzou Engineering Dean Marisa Chrysochoou with Filiz Bunyak Ersoy, Jim Noble, Matt Maschmann and Matthias Young

Mizzou Engineering recognized outstanding faculty, staff, students and alumni for their accomplishments and contributions as part of its 2025 awards banquet.

“These awards celebrate the many outstanding achievements of our scholars, researchers and supporters,” Dean Marisa Chrysochoou said. “Because of these bold innovators, Mizzou Engineering is a proud leader in shaping a better world.”

2025 Faculty Awards

Junior Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award: Filiz Bunyak Ersoy, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Bunyak teaches digital image processing, computer vision and the newly developed deep learning for advance computer vision course. Students praise her clear, engaging teaching style and deep knowledge. She fosters a supportive, accommodating environment, making her one of the best professors at Mizzou.

Senior Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award: James Noble, Industrial and Systems Engineering

Noble is the MU Site Director for the Center for Excellence in Logistics and Distribution. Students routinely praise him for being enthusiastic, caring and knowledgeable, and going the extra mile. He exemplifies the best qualities of an instructor-researcher.

Junior Faculty Excellence in Research Award: Matthias Young, Chemical and Biomedical Engineering

Young’s work focuses on electrochemical technologies and polymer thin films for applications in batteries, sensors and water treatment. He has published 17 journal articles and received prestigious awards such as the ACS-PRF Doctoral New Investigator Award and the NSF CAREER Award.

Senior Faculty Research Award: Matt Maschmann, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Maschmann is co-founder and co-director of the MU Materials Science and Engineering Institute. His commitment to advancing research, teaching excellence and university collaboration makes him a valued member of the Mizzou community.

2025 Staff Awards

Outstanding Staff Award: JoAnna Chandler, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Chandler excels in managing complex tasks such as the promotion and tenure process, graduate applications, event coordination, and supporting faculty and students. Her compassionate, approachable nature and dedication to excellence make her a key contributor to the department’s success.

Outstanding Staff Award: Robin Posey, Engineering and Information Technology

Posey excels in academic planning, course selection and career guidance, consistently going above and beyond to support student success. Her reliability, work ethic and passion for student success have earned her recognition and trust from both students and faculty.

2025 Outstanding Student Awards

Biological Engineering

  • Outstanding Junior: Josh Donaldson
  • Outstanding Senior: Dante Nguyen
  • Outstanding Master’s Student: Hunter Bushnell
  • Outstanding Doctoral Student: Joshua Shelton

Biomedical engineering

  • Outstanding Junior: Selby Chipman
  • Outstanding Senior: Mya Burken

Chemical engineering

  • Outstanding Junior: Abby Law
  • Outstanding Senior: Arren Mallot
  • Outstanding Master’s Student: Campbell Sweet
  • Outstanding Doctoral Student: Megan Shulte

Civil Engineering

  • Outstanding Junior: Genny Harline
  • Outstanding Senior: Blake Murr
  • Outstanding Master’s Student: Elli Castonguay
  • Outstanding Doctoral Student: Linlin Zhang

Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering

  • Outstanding Seniors: Kedzie Kratzer, Benjamin Peter, Amelia Truong
  • Outstanding Doctoral Students: Mohammed Almalaysha, Maruf Hossein, Yang Yue

Computer science

  • Outstanding Seniors: Eli Bollinger, Wen-Hsin Chen, Seohyun Jay Kim
  • Outstanding Master’s Students: Vamsi Pusapati, Bhanu Vangala
  • Outstanding Doctoral Students: Nabin Giri, Mauro Lemus, Alex Morehead

Information Technology

  • Outstanding Junior: Andy Cross
  • Outstanding Senior Award: Rianna Ellis

Industrial and Systems Engineering

  • Outstanding Juniors: Ella Swaters, Thomas Willerth
  • Outstanding Senior: Sophia Mclellan
  • Outstanding Master’s Student: Siddarth Mohanty
  • Outstanding Doctoral Student: Arash Alizadeh

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

  • Outstanding Junior: Max Vandeginste
  • Outstanding Senior: Leah Marie Selm
  • Outstanding Master’s Student: Naitik Darji
  • Outstanding Doctoral Student: Jeremy Spitzenberger
2025 Alumni Awards

The College also recognized three alumni with awards: