ECE Undergrads Honored

The A. James Clark School of Engineering held its annual undergraduate Honors and Awards Ceremony on April 19, 2011, recognizing excellence in academics, leadership, and service across all disciplines of the college. Six students in the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department were presented with awards.

The ECE Outstanding Academic Performance Award, which is presented to a junior for academic excellence, was awarded to Zachary Boblitt.

Zachary Boblitt
is a junior electrical engineering major with a 4.0 GPA. He has had internships at NAVAIR working with V22 Osprey, and the university’s physics department, modeling high-intensity laser-plasma interactions for cancer research. Currently employed by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, he hopes to continue there after graduation. In his free time he works with Dr. Bruce Jacob and his start-up company, Coil Guitars, developing and playing new products.

The ECE Service Award, which is is presented to students who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and service to both their fellow students and the department, was awarded to Kathryn Marcotte and Peter Phelps.

Kathyrn Marcotte
is an electrical engineering major with a 4.0 GPA. She completed the University Honors program and is president of Eta Kappa Nu. She has worked as an intern for Engenium Technologies Corporation and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Upon graduation, she will join Thales Communications as an associate engineering in the digital signal procession group, while pursuing her graduate degree. She serves as one of two student representatives on the ECE undergraduate affairs committee.

Peter Phelps is a double major in computer and mechanical engineering. He is vice president of Eta Kappa Nu and IEEE vice president of internal affairs. For his fellow students he has led free tutoring sessions and organized various academic events and has been highly involved in the combined HKN-IEEE Maryland Day presentations. He serves as a student representative on the ECE undergraduate affairs committee and is actively involved in ASME and Pi Tau Sigma.

The ECE Chair’s Award, which is presented to seniors for outstanding academic performance, was awarded to Nicole Bohannon, Peter Enns and Kathryn Marcotte.

Nicole Bohannon
is an electrical engineering major with a minor in engineering leadership development. She maintains a 4.0 GPA, is completing the Hinman CEO’s program, serves as the vice president of external affairs for IEEE, and chairs the university student judiciary. Nicole was also selected to speak at the May 2011 Clark School Commencement Ceremony. She has worked on various undergraduate research projects, served as an undergraduate teaching fellow and had an internship at Microsoft. She plans to attend graduate school.

Peter Enns is majoring in computer engineering and ha a 3.98 GPA. He completed to University Honors program as well as the ECE Honors program. He was a member of the Robotics@Maryland Club that won the 11th UAVSI International Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Competition in 2008. He has also been an undergraduate teaching fellow. He currently researches non-volatile memory systems.

ECE students were also honored by the Department for other achievements.

This year’s International Engineering Consortium (IEC) William L. Everitt Award of Excellence recipients were Nicole Bohannon and Yuchen Zhou. The Everitt award is given each year to outstanding seniors at universities affiliated with the IEC.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Outstanding Student Award was presented to Jason C. Arora and Phillip A. Sandborn. This award is given to an IEEE Member who has shown outstanding commitment to the organization and to the ECE Department.

The Eta Kappa Nu Outstanding Senior Award was presented to Yuchen Zhou and Andy J. Zheng for outstanding scholastic achievement and service to the Eta Kappa Nu Society and the ECE Department.

The Eta Kappa Nu Outstanding Electee Award was presented to Sean C. Weerakkody and Nicholas M. Kratzmeier for outstanding performance in the electee program and participation in student activities.

Published May 2, 2011