Building Community Award

We invite you to nominate a member of our engineering community for a 2026 Riccio College of Engineering "Building Community" Award. 

This award recognizes individuals for their contributions towards building a supportive and engaged engineering community both within and outside of the university, especially those that go above and beyond their scholarly work.

We acknowledge the contributions of two community members annually, one at the faculty/staff level and one at the undergraduate/graduate student or postdoc level.

All faculty, staff, and students in the Riccio College of Engineering community are eligible. Self nominations are welcome.
 

Submission materials needed:

  • From the nominee:
    • Resume or short CV focused on your community-related work from the local to global levels.
    • Personal statement (2 pages maximum) discussing -
      • What community means to you?
      • What drives your commitment?
      • Any work you would like to highlight.
    • Submit the above materials as a pdf attachment via email to engindiversity [at] umass [dot] edu (engindiversity[at]umass[dot]edu).
  • Up to two, 1-page supporting letters. Letters may be from colleagues within and outside UMass. Authors should email letters directly to engindiversity [at] umass [dot] edu (engindiversity[at]umass[dot]edu).

Nomination deadline is extended to Tuesday, April 21st at 8 am. 

Recipients acknowledge on April 28th.


Please contact Paula Rees (rees [at] umass [dot] edu (subject: ) (rees[at]umass[dot]edu)) if you have any questions.
 

Past Recipients

2025

  • Vivian Ogechi Nwadiaru, Ph.D. student, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
  • Emily Krems, academic advisor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering 

2024

  • Yasra Chandio, Ph.D. student, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • Anna Marie LaChance, lecturer, Department of Chemical Engineering

2023

  • Jonisha Aubain, PhD student, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
  • Shannon Roberts, associate professor, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

2022

  • Rebecca Louisthelmy '22, Department of Biomedical Engineering
  • Jay Taneja, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

2021

  • Cielo Sharkus, doctoral candidate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Shelly Peyton, professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering

2020

  • Sanket Sabnis, PhD candidate, Department of Chemical Engineering