Duke Engineering Celebrates Class of 2016

Duke University awarded 515 degrees to undergraduate and graduate engineering students on Saturday and Sunday, May 15 and 16, in a weekend of commencement exercises that began with diploma ceremonies for professional masters degree students, continued with a university-wide ceremony at Wallace Wade Stadum and included Pratt School of Engineering celebrations at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

A special note for the Class of 2016 is that it contains the first Pratt School of Engineering graduates to earn bachelor of science degrees in environmental engineering – Jacob Feldman King and Samantha Rae Thomas.

Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski delivered the University’s commencement address, while Pratt Dean George Truskey and Emily Paige Bauman, senior class president, spoke at the undergraduate engineering school ceremonies on Sunday. Watch the undergraduate diploma ceremony.

Browse a collection of profiles of Class of 2016 students, including these new Duke Engineers:

• Matthew McCann: Adventures in Brain-Machine Interfaces
• Josh Miller: Facing the Fear Factor in Entrepreneurship
• Emily Bauman: Combining Engineering With Visual Arts 
• Hannah Vaughan, Yitaek Hwang, Noura Von Briesen, Minyoung Ryoo: Tackling Grand Challenges

Truskey awarded Bachelor of Science in Engineering diplomas to 263 students (273 total for the Class of 2016, which includes students who earned degrees during the fall semester). The Class of 2016 includes 87 Master of Science and 88 PhD engineering graduates. The 2016 Master of Science graduates include students who are continuing their studies toward doctoral degrees. Watch the 2016 Master of Science hooding ceremony.

Fifty-six Master of Engineering Management (MEM) and 21 Master of Engineering (MEng) degrees were awarded on May 15 (total graduates of those programs for the academic year, including September and fall 2015 graduates, were 180 and 43, respectively). Watch the 2016 MEM hooding ceremony, 2016 d-MEMP hooding ceremony and the 2016 MEng hooding ceremony.

All told, the Pratt Class of 2016 includes 671 students.

Overall, Duke awarded degrees to more than 5,300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees to students who are graduating this spring. Students who graduated in September or December 2015 were invited to participate in Sunday's ceremony.

Many Pratt graduates received special prizes or awards:

PHD Awards

Biomedical Engineering

• Pratiksha Thakore – Outstanding Dissertation Award
• Mark Juhas – Outstanding Dissertation Award

Civil and Environmental Engineering

• Anna Maria Wilson – Outstanding Scholar Award
• Xue Feng – Outstanding Scholar Award

Electrical and Computer Engineering

• Blake Wilson – Award for Distinguished Research in the Field
• Isvar Abraxas Cordova – Award for Service to the Department

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

• Jennifer M. Rinker – Outstanding Dissertation Award
• Nikolaos Chatzipanagiotis – Outstanding Dissertation Award

Master's Degree Awards

Biomedical Engineering

• Tushar Krishnan – Excellence in MS Studies Award

Electrical and Computer Engineering

• John McCrone – Outstanding Masters Student Award

Undergraduate Awards

Jinsu Kim, Chase Raj Singh Malik and Davis Reed Treybig – 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.

Xiping Cynthia Bai and Andrew Gordon Method –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.

Alexandra Noura-al Huda von Briesen – 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.

Jinsu Kim – 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.

Christopher Paul Eckersley and Henian Zhu – 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.

Lauren Nicole Heckelman – 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.

Anita Helene Brown and Eunice Ho In Leung – 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.

Jacob Feldman King – 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.

Jacob Feldman King and Eunice Ho In Leung – 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.

Jacob Feldman King – 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.

Craig Gerard Vincent – 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.

Chase Raj Singh Malik and Davis Reed Treybig – 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.

Dennis Edgar Lynch – 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.

Zachary Douglas Bears and Safkat Islam – 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.

Xiping Cynthia Bai and Kunyao Yu – 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.

Connor James Tinen – 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