Outstanding Alumni Awards 2026 : Riccio College of Engineering : UMass Amherst

The UMass Amherst Riccio College of Engineering is proud to announce the recipients of its 2026 Outstanding Alumni Awards (OAA).

Awardees represent the college’s five departments and include five Distinguished Alumni and six Outstanding Young Alumni.

These gifted alumni bring tremendous pride and distinction to the Riccio College of Engineering and the broader UMass community.

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Visionary leaders in their field, recipients of this honor have reached exceptional levels of professional and personal achievement. This award recognizes distinguished leadership, service, teaching, innovation, and other exemplary accomplishments that positively impact society and the engineering profession.

Alyssa Panitch '90BS ChE, '97PhD (Awarded by BME)

Cristina Thomas '92 PhD Chemical Engineering

Heather Gilmer '96 MA, '97 BS Civil Engineering

Steve Sanghi '78 MS Electrical Engineering

Fred Boelitz '86 Mechanical Engineering

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Emerging leaders in the early stages of their careers, recipients of this honor are generally no more than ten years out from receiving their UMass Engineering PhD or generally no more than fifteen years out from receiving their UMass Engineering undergraduate degree. This award recognizes outstanding professional and personal achievements and highlights the recipient’s ambitions and potential to positively impact UMass, the Commonwealth, the nation, and the world.