Month: April 2025

Caitlin Noonan Named Goldwater Scholar

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We are extremely proud of our junior, Caitlin Noonan ’26, for being named a Goldwater Scholar!

The Goldwater Scholarship is one of the most prestigious national scholarships for undergraduates in the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics. Established by Congress to honor the late Sen. Barry M. Goldwater, the scholarship recognizes students with exceptional promise and encourages them to pursue research careers.

This year, Caitlin is one of only 441 students selected nationwide from a pool of over 5,000 applicants—a remarkable achievement!

Caitlin works with Prof. Julia Valla on converting UConn’s food waste into activated carbon adsorbents for carbon capture, sequestration, and use. This summer, she will continue her impactful work as a Summer Undergraduate Research Fund (SURF) awardee through UConn’s Office of Undergraduate Research. We can’t wait to see the incredible impact she’ll make in the future of science and engineering.

Read more on UConn Today.

Burkey Recognized as the 2025 Outstanding Higher Education Professional by the UConn Neag School of Education and its Alumni Board

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Congratulations to Professor Daniel Burkey on being recognized as the 2025 Outstanding Higher Education Professional by the UConn Neag School of Education and its Alumni Board!

Prof. Burkey currently serves as the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education at the College of Engineering. With a background in chemical engineering and educational psychology, his work focuses on research methods and innovation in engineering education. He co-developed the College’s new Ph.D. program in Engineering Education and has led the way in introducing game-based teaching approaches at the undergraduate level.

Prof. Burkey holds a B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from Lehigh University, an M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from MIT, and an M.A. in Educational Psychology from UConn. His outstanding contributions have been recognized through numerous honors, including the 2024 Provost’s Award for Excellence in Community Engaged Scholarship, the 2018 University Teaching Fellowship, and multiple honors as AIChE Chemical Engineering Educator of the Year (2011–2014, 2019).

Read more on UConn Today.

Deniz Ipekci and Akanksha Majumder Rise to the Top at the College of Engineering Poster Competition

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Warmest congratulations to our graduate student, Deniz Ipekci, winning the 1st place in the department competition and 3rd place overall at the 11th Annual UConn College of Engineering Poster Competition! A special congratulations also goes to Akanksha Majumder, who won the People’s Choice Award!

Both students are advised by Prof. Jeffrey McCutcheon, and we are incredibly proud of their achievements. It was a fantastic event and wonderful to see our graduate students come together to present their exciting research. Their hard work and dedication continue to strengthen our department and the broader UConn engineering community.