Engineering PhD Student Recognized for Service to Global Community

Doctoral student Titilayo Shodiya has received the William J. Griffith University Service Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Global Community.

The award is given annually by Duke’s UCAE Center for Leadership Development and Social Action to a select number of graduating students whose service and contributions to the Duke community and beyond have significantly affected the university.

Shodiya will graduate in May with a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and materials science. She earned an M.S. in electrical and computer engineering from Duke in 2012 and a B.S. in materials science and engineering from Penn State in 2010. She has accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan.

Shodiya was a recipient of the 2014 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring from The Graduate School. During her time at Duke, she has been heavily involved in the recruitment and development of future STEM graduate students at the elementary, middle, and secondary school levels. Her service to the university and global communities has included

• creating a workshop to help fellow engineering Ph.D. students prepare for their qualifying and preliminary exams;
• serving as director of outreach for the Materials Science Research Society, which aims to build a global community of materials researchers to advance technical excellence;
• serving as a convention leader at the National Society of Black Engineers to help increase diversity in The Graduate School and the Pratt School of Engineering;
• serving on the executive board of the Alexander Bouchet Society, which supports underrepresented graduate students in science research and promotes inclusion in the sciences for all students; and
• serving as founder and head of Project Y.E.S. Academy Inc. (Y.E.S. stands for youth in engineering and sciences), a nonprofit that collaborates with elementary, middle, and high schools in Hillsborough, North Carolina; Berkley, California; and the Washington DC metro area to increase the pipeline of students entering STEM fields.