Duke Engineering Celebrates Class of 2015

Adding to students who graduated in September and Fall of 2014, this brings the total engineering Class of 2015 up to 644. Watch the 2015 engineering diploma ceremony.

Humanitarian and 1982 Duke graduate Paul Farmer delivered the University’s commencement address, while Pratt Dean Tom Katsouleas and Morgan Simons, senior class president, spoke at the undergraduate engineering school ceremonies on Sunday. Students Lian Liu, Bradley Echols, Igor Tregub and Joel Ayala addressed the MEM and MEng graduates at the Diploma Ceremony on Saturday.

Katsouleas awarded Bachelor of Science in Engineering diplomas to 285 students (295 total for the Class of 2015). He also presented diplomas to 63 Master of Science and 32 PhD engineering graduates (a Class of 2015 total of 106 and 66 total, respectively). Watch the 2015 Master of Science degree hooding ceremony.

Forty-three Master of Engineering Management and 18 Master of Engineering degrees were awarded on May 10 (total graduates of those programs for the academic year, including September and Fall 2014, were 137 and 40, respectively). Watch the 2015 MEM hooding ceremony.

Overall, Duke awarded degrees to about 5,100 undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees to students who are graduating this spring. Students who graduated in September or December 2014 were invited to participate in Sunday's commencement.

The university Class of 2015 posed for a high-detail photo taken with a 250-megapixel camera developed by a team led by David Brady, Michael J. Fitzpatrick Professor of Photonics:

Many Pratt graduates received special prizes or awards:

Katherine Elizabeth Brock, Zhiyu Jiang and Logan Wang Su – The Walter J. Seeley Scholastic Award
The Walter J. Seeley Scholastic Award is presented annually by the Engineering Student Government to the member of the graduating class of the School who has achieved the highest scholastic average in all subjects, and who has shown diligence in pursuit of an engineering education. The award was initiated to honor the spirit of academic excellence and professional diligence demonstrated by the late Dean Walter J. Seeley. The ESG hopes that this award will serve as a symbol of the man and the ideals for which he stood.

Isa Louise Ferrall and Benjamin French Spilsbury –The Otto Meier, Jr. Tau Beta Pi Award
The Otto Meier, Jr. Tau Beta Pi Award is presented in recognition of Dr. Meier’s leader ship in establishing the North Carolina Gamma Chapter on January 10, 1948, and his continuous service until April 19, 1975, as Chapter Advisor. This award is given annually to the graduating Tau Beta Pi member who symbolized best the distinguished scholarship and exemplary character required for membership.

Anna Elizabeth Knight – Pratt School of Engineering Student Service Award
Established in 1978, the Pratt School of Engineering Student Service Award is given to graduating seniors who, by contributions of time, effort and spirit, have significantly benefitted the community of the School of Engineering.

Kevin Francis Keppel and Kevin J. Liang – The da Vinci Award
The da Vinci Award is presented to the Biomedical Engineering student with the most outstanding academic record as determined by a faculty committee. The award commemorates the contribution of Leonardo da Vinci in laying the foundations of the mechanistic study of human life.

Samantha Melinda Perez – The Helmholtz Award
The Helmholtz Award is given to graduating seniors who present the best research projects as judged by the departmental faculty. The award commemorates the work of Hermann von Helmholtz in laying the foundation of Biomedical Engineering.

Natalie S. Fahey – The Theo C. Pilkington Memorial Award
The Theo C. Pilkington Memorial Award was established in 1993 by the Whitaker Foundation as an endowment award in memory of Dr. Theo C. Pilkington, founding chairman of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University. The recipient is selected at the end of the junior year and the award is given in recognition of outstanding perseverance and accomplishment in the study of biomedical engineering.

James Thomas Flynn and Zachary Samuel Wiener – The ASCE Outstanding Senior Prize
The ASCE Outstanding Senior Prize is presented annually by the North Carolina Section of ASCE to a graduating civil engineering senior, or seniors, in recognition of an exceptional, positive impact on the student chapter of ASCE and scholastic record.

Katherine Elizabeth Brock – The William Brewster Snow Environmental Engineering Award
The William Brewster Snow Environmental Engineering Award, established in 1979, is presented annually to seniors who have demonstrated academic excellence, interest, and enthusiasm in the study of environmental engineering.

Katherine Elizabeth Brock and Zhiyu Jiang – The Aubrey E. Palmer Award
The Aubrey E. Palmer Award, established in 1980, is presented annually to a civil engineering senior in recognition of outstanding academic achievement. Selection is made by the faculty of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Stephanie Nicole Laughton – The Eric I. Pas Award
The Eric I. Pas Award, established in 1998 in memory of Dr. Eric Pas, former Director of Undergraduate Studies in Civil and Environmental Engineering, is presented to the graduating civil engineering senior judged by the faculty to have conducted the most outstanding independent study project.

Ryan Elliott Fishel and Alex Cameron Morrill – The David Randall Fuller Prize
The David Randall Fuller Prize for Achievement in Electrical and Computer Engineering is presented annually to the graduating senior who has shown the most improvement in academic performance over the first three years.

Kevin J. Liang and Logan Wang Su – The George Sherrerd III Memorial Award
The George Sherrerd III Memorial Award in Electrical and Computer Engineering is awarded annually to the senior in electrical and computer engineering who, in the opinion of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty, has attained the highest level of scholastic achievement in all subjects and simultaneously has rendered significant service to the School of Engineering and the University at large. The award was established in 1958 by the parents of George Sherrerd III, a graduate of the Class of 1955, to recognize outstanding undergraduate scholarship.

Yaqi Zhang – The Charles Ernest Seager Memorial Award
The Charles Ernest Seager Memorial Award recognizes the most outstanding undergraduate research project and presentation as judged by the faculty in Electrical and Computer Engineering as part of the Graduation with Distinction presentation session. The award was established in 1958 by the widow and friends of Charles Ernest Seager, a graduate of the Class of 1955.

Xavier de Gunten and Leeviana Peng Gray – The Charles Rowe Vail Memorial Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award
The Charles Rowe Vail Memorial Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award, established in 1997 by former students and colleagues of Charles Vail, a graduate of the class of 1937, professor from 1939-1967, and chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering from 1956-1964, recognizes the most outstanding undergraduate teaching assistant in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

David Thomas Rosenberg – The Pi Tau Sigma Scholarship Award
The Pi Tau Sigma Scholarship Award in memory of T.C. Heyward, Sr., is presented annually by Pi Tau Sigma to an outstanding senior in Mechanical Engineering at Duke University. Selection is based on academic excellence, engineering ability, and leadership, and is chosen by a committee of the engineering faculty.

Alexander Mieszko Radek – The Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Faculty Award
The Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Faculty Award is presented annually in recognition of academic excellence to the graduating Mechanical Engineering seniors who have attained the highest level of scholastic achievement as determined by the faculty.

Students Graduating with Departmental Distinction Awards

Biomedical Engineering

• Yeong-Ran Ahn*
• Dillon Tanner Arey*
• Bianca Bracht
• Samuel David Butensky
• Kendall Marie Covington
• Justin Jeng-Young Fu*
• Anna Elizabeth Knight
• Lin Liao*
• Mengyun Lu
• Andrew David Lynch
• Samuel Spence McCachren III*
• Matthew Robert Morgan*
• Michael Marvin Rees*
• Liangbo Shen**
• Morgan Geraghty Simons
• Claire Marie Regan Vannelli
• Vignesh Vudatha
• Taylor Doores Waanders*
• Jenny Yao*
• Ananya Zutshi*

*The Howard G. Clark Award
**Edward D. Light “Ned” Memorial Award

Civil Engineering

• Mona Qi Dai
• Stephanie Nicole Laughton
• Mahkayla Mariah McKenzie
• Clay Michael Sanders

Electrical and Computer Engineering

• Brian Emmett Bolze
• Gregory Humberto Canal
• Minhazul Islam
• Paul Hyung Suk Kim
• Thomas Philip Klebanoff
• Kevin J Liang
• Gift Nyikayaramba
• Anshuman Prasad
• Yaqi Zhang

Mechanical Engineering

• EeShan Chetan Bhatt
• Emily Fitch Briere
• Danielle Leigh Colson
• Isa Louise Ferrall
• Lucas Andrew Johnston
• Taylor Rose Laub
• Kevin Hao Ma
• Kevin Michael Nikolaus
• Crystal Elaine Owens
• Lauren Joy Silverstein
• Mikayla Margaret Wickman

Diploma Ceremony Videos