Yue Cao Wins International Welding Award

ECE doctoral student and research assistant Yue Cao won the 2025 winner of the International Institute of Welding’s Henry Granjon Award in the “Human Related Subjects” category. Cao is advised by Professor YuMing Zhang. 

The Henry Granjon Award is an annual international competition among authors of papers devoted to research in welding technology or a related subject.

Paul Eberhart Awarded Outstanding Teacher

In his first year as a full-time faculty member, Dr. Paul Eberhart was awarded the department's Outstanding Teacher Award. He was honored, as well as several top students, at the Pigman College of Engineering Awards Banquet sponsored by Tau Beta Pi on April 21, 2025 at the Gatton Student Center Harris Ballroom.

Christopher Stephens and Erin Toon Win 2025 Robert L. Cosgriff Awards

Each year, the department presents the Robert L. Cosgriff Award to the outstanding senior who will be immediately pursuing graduate school following graduation. This year's winners were Christopher Stephens and Erin Toon.

Christopher Stephens graduated with his bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and will begin working full-time at Nucor Steel Gallatin. He plans to return to UK for graduate courses.

Erin Toon graduated with bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering and French and will start her graduate studies in electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern University in the fall.

Romanowitz Memorial Awards Go to Ethan Conrad and Bashar Issahaku

The department presents the H. Alex Romanowitz Memorial Award each year to the junior ECE student who has demonstrated both academic excellence and leadership ability. This year's Romanowitz award winners were Ethan Conrad and Bashar Issahaku.

Ethan Conrad is pursuing dual degrees in electrical engineering and computer engineering. He has been a First Year Engineering TA and a member the Lewis Honors SEAM program. Ethan is preparing for a Lockheed Martin internship this summer and intends to pursue an MBA at UK after graduation.

Bashar Issahaku is also an electrical engineering and computer engineering dual major. An active member of IEEE, he attended this year’s SoutheastCon in North Carolina, with his team placing 3rd in the Open Circuits Competition. Bashar's research interest is embedded systems and robotics. He plans to do research with Dr. Hank Dietz this summer in computational photography. 

Liam Murphy for Outstanding Senior in Electrical Engineering

Coleman Reed for Outstanding Senior in Computer Engineering

Jack Roof for Outstanding Junior Electrical Engineering

Alexander Dimayuga for Outstanding Junior Computer Engineering

The following students are the recipients of the IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) Plus Scholarship for 2024-25:

Grant Fischer

Lucas Gastineau

Spencer Goode-Kulchar

Sam Lowe II

David Stewart

UK is the school with the most students (5) awarded as PES Scholars, out of the total of 84 high-achieving undergraduates in electrical engineering, who have been selected from 55 universities across the USA, Canada & Puerto Rico. All the current awardees have been pursuing the undergraduate certificate in power and energy at UK, and are conducting their research under Professor Dan Ionel.

Spring 2025 Graduates

Commencement for Spring 2025 graduates was held Saturday, May 10th at Rupp Arena.

A FIRST for UK IEEE

UK IEEE Student Branch members debuted in the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics Competition, mentoring local high schoolers. Over three months, three engineering students guided 10 teens in building a robot for the Smoky Mountains Regional in Sevierville, TN (April 2–5).

Biyun Xie Hosts Girl Scout Robotics Badge Workshop

On May 9, Professor Biyun Xie hosted a hands-on robotics badge workshop for 15 girl scouts from local Troop 2626. The outreach event was held in Dr. Xie's Intelligent Robotics Arm (IRA) Lab and was co-hosted by Dr. Muhao Chen in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

Carey Buxton Inducted into College Hall of Distinction

The Pigman College of Engineering inducted Dr. Carey Buxton into this year's Hall of Distinction. Dr. Buxton earned her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Kentucky in 1994. She then earned a National Science Foundation Fellowship and went on to complete her master’s degree in 1996 and Ph.D. from Virginia Tech. Dr. Buxton is now a senior engineer at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and leads critical efforts supporting national security and is currently developing new nonlinear approaches to analyze and design antennas.