Teaching, advising, research and staff awards announced at WVU’s Statler College

2023-2024 awardees from left to right: Brian Powell, Xinyu Zhang, Ron Reaser, Emily Garner, David LaSota, Donald Adjeroh, Kevin Orner, Soumya Srivastava, Yuxin Wang, Savanna Leech, Marie Owen, Leslie Hopkinson, Qingqing Huang, Hamed Khosravi, Raphael O. Oladokun, Anna Billey and Ahmed Shoyeb Raihan.

Pedro Mago, Glen H. Hiner Dean of the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia University, announced the winners of the College’s outstanding teaching, advising, faculty and graduate student researchers, staff and Dean’s fellowship awards for the 2023-2024 academic year on April 9, 2024. 

Story by Paige Nesbit, Director of Marketing and Communications
Photos supplied

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Brian Powell, teaching assistant professor in the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, has been named the College’s Outstanding Educator of the Year. Also recognized as Outstanding Educators were Xinyu Zhang teaching assistant professor from the Fundamentals of Engineering Program, Ronald Reaser teaching instructor in the Lane Department and Emily Garner Maurice and JoAnn Wadsworth Faculty Fellow and assistant professor in the Wadsworth Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. 

Donald Adjeroh, associate chair for faculty development and research, and professor in the Lane Department has been named the College’s Researcher of the Year and Outstanding Researcher at the senior level. Also recognized as Outstanding Researchers at the junior level were assistant professors Kevin Orner, Maurice and JoAnn Wadsworth Faculty Fellow in the Wadsworth Department, and Soumya Srivastava and Yuxin Wang both respectively from the chemical and biomedical engineering department. 

David LaSota, senior academic advisor from the Statler College Advising Center was named Outstanding Mentor of the Year.   

Recipients of the Outstanding Staff Awards were Savanna Leech, graphic arts designer for the marketing and communications office in the Statler College, and Marie Owen accounting assistant in the industrial and management systems engineering department. 

This year, the Statler College named one new Dean’s Fellows Awards and extended two. Reaser recently received the 2023 Glen H. Hiner Dean Pedro Mago Award for Academics. Leslie Hopkinson, associate professor in the Wadsworth Department was extended her term as the 2022 Glen H. Hiner Dean Pedro Mago Award for Dean’s Fellow for Academics as well as QingQing Huang, associate professor and Robert E. Murray chair of mining engineering, was extended her term for the Glen H. Hiner Dean Pedro Mago Award for Dean’s Fellow for Engagement.  

A new category celebrated and acknowledged on Honors Day recognizes excellence in research at the graduate student level. Industrial engineering PhD candidate Hamed Khosravi, and chemical engineering PhD candidate Raphael O. Oladokun received the Excellence in Research at PhD Level and industrial engineering graduate students Anna Billey and Ahmed Shoyeb Raihan were awarded the Excellence in Research at MS Level. 

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