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Michael Bartlett
Photo by Alex Parrish

2021 Early Career Awards

In the 2021 fiscal year, eight faculty members in the College of Engineering received early career recognition for their pioneering work in research and education. In addition to the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious award for junior faculty, the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award, faculty also received awards from the Department of Energy’s Early Career Research Program and the Office of Naval Research’s Young Investigator Program.

Their impressive array of projects covers topics that are both timely and imperative in supporting sustainability and development efforts for the next generation of technical problems. Project goals range from understanding and quantifying major air pollutants like ozone and particulate matter to developing a new generation of power devices for electric vehicles, data centers, and renewable energy processing. Others examine more fundamental questions about access and equity in the field of engineering – who gets to be an engineer? – or take inspiration from horseshoe crabs to develop an electronic sensory system for inclusion in a series of soft electronics to be worn by humans.

Get to know this year’s awardees and hear more about their research paths and curiosities, along with their hopes for impact, outcomes, and student involvement.

2021 Winners

If you want to have an impact on our students and faculty like those featured in this magazine, go here to support the College of Engineering. For more information, call (540) 231-3628.