The Cornell Duffield College of Engineering celebrated faculty commitment to education at its 2026 Fall Faculty Reception, held Sept. 16 in the Statler Ballroom, honoring this year’s Teaching and Advising Award winners for their contributions to outstanding curriculum design, teaching methods, student mentoring and faculty development.

“It is inspiring to read the nominations, to learn about the really great work in teaching in the college and to be reminded just how much care and effort our colleagues are putting into supporting our students,” said Alan Zehnder, senior associate dean for undergraduate programs, who presented the awards.

This year’s Teaching Award recipients included junior and senior faculty, first-time winners and those with multiple awards. The winners were:

• Jeffrey Varner, professor in the R.F. Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, was recognized for outstanding contributions to core chemical engineering courses and leadership of curriculum change in the school.
• Alyosha Molnar, the Ilda and Charles Lee Professor of Engineering in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was nominated for his sustained impact on undergraduate and graduate education in integrated circuits, analog and mixed-signal design, radio frequency circuits and large-scale integration.
• Traci Nathans-Kelly, the Robert N. Noyce Director of the Engineering Communications Program, was recognized for her expanding access to communication education through online courses, professional-development offerings and published scholarship.
• Matthew Pritchard, the Sidney Kaufman Professor of Geophysics in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, was recognized for revamping field geophysics, adding active learning and community engaged learning, working with The History Center, a local farm and other partners.
• Yu Zhong, assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, joined the college in 2022 and quickly established himself as an exceptional teacher in the areas of polymers, organic electronics and other topics.
• Shane Henderson, the Charles W. Lake, Jr. Professor in Productivity in the School of Operations Research and Information Engineering, was nominated for his work in revamping ‘Operations Research Modeling for Real,’ which uses case studies based around his own research.
• Chris Schaffer, the Meinig Family Professor of Engineering in the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering, was honored for his outstanding classroom teaching in circuits, signals and systems and for his work with students in science communications via BME 4400 and the McClintock Letters science advocacy campaign.
• Carolina Munoz-Saez, assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, was lauded for her work to increase engagement between the students in EAS 2250: The Earth System and their wider community.
• Soroosh Shafiee, assistant professor in the School of Operations Research and Information Engineering, was recognized for outstanding teaching in mathematical programming, learning with big messy data and reinforcement learning.
• Eric Dufresne, professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Physics, was honored for his instruction in soft materials and for being an inspirational lecturer who challenges students to think rather than simply master course content.
• Perrine Pepiot, associate professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, was recognized for recently completing an extensive redesign of MAE 4272: Fluids and Heat Transfer Laboratories, into an integrated, open-ended, and authentic engineering experience.
• Guy Hoffman, associate professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, was recognized for modernizing the school’s core design course, MAE 2250: Introduction to Mechanical Design, introduced a machine learning course for mechanical engineering undergraduates and teaches in his research area of human root interactions.
• Christopher Batten, professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was recognized for incorporating active learning into lecture courses, and his outstanding teaching of digital logic to sophomores.
• Jacob Mays, assistant professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was honored for his integration of research and teaching in the areas of energy markets and renewable energy at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
• Ankit Disa, assistant professor in the School of Applied and Engineering Physics, was nominated in recognition of outstanding teaching of the school’s mathematical physics courses.
• Joseph Skovira, professor of practice in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was celebrated for his critical contributions to the school’s education through rigorous practice-oriented teaching, innovative project-based curriculum, sustained mentorship of Master of Engineering students, and ability to connect classroom learning with the realities of professional engineering practice.
• Alex Kwan, professor in the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering, was cited as one of the school’s most engaging and innovative instructors, bringing neurotechnology – a rapidly growing research area – into the curriculum.
• Anastasia Bizyaeva, assistant professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, has already distinguished herself as a highly effective and thoughtful instructor, despite only joining the Duffield Engineering faculty in 2025.

The Teaching Awards were made possible by the generous support of donors, including Robert ’55 and Vanne ’57 Cowie; James and Mary Tien; Dorothy and Fred Chau, M.S. ’74; Sonny Yau ’72; Douglas Whitney ’61; Kenneth A. Goldman ’71; Mr. and Mrs. Richard F. Tucker; John Swanson ’61 in honor of his mother, Dorothy G. Swanson; Michael Tien ’72; Daniel M. Lazar ’29; Fiona Ip Li ’78 and Donald Li ’75; Ralph S. Watts ’72; and Dennis G. Shepherd.

The Canaan Family Award for Excellence in Academic Advising, given in honor of the late K. Bingham Cady, a longtime professor of nuclear engineering and leader in the Cornell Engineering community, recognizes faculty members who excel in academic advising. This year’s recipients were:

• Brenda Dietrich, professor of practice in the School of Operations Research and Information Engineering, was honored for building relationships that shape the undergraduate experience.
• Mason Peck, the Stephen J. Fujikawa ’77 Professor of Astronautical Engineering in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, was recognized exemplifying the sustained availability, personal investment and individualized guidance that distinguish truly outstanding faculty advising.
• Mohamed Ibrahim, assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was honored for his work as an advisor to the Cornell Custom Silicon Systems student project team.

The James McCormick Family Advising Award recognizes outstanding advisors of first-year undergraduate students, with the award nominations coming from the students themselves. This year’s winners were:

• Eda Celik Akdur, senior lecturer in the R.F. Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, was recognized for providing excellent academic and career advice.
• Anne Bracy, associate teaching professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was honored for her friendly, welcoming and supportive advising of students and their goals.

The Albert R. George Endowed Faculty Award for Student Project Teams Mentorship was established in 2022 with a gift from Doug Deane. This year’s winner was:

• Tapomayukh Bhattacharjee, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, for advising three student project teams, Cornell Assistive Technologies, Mars Rover, and CUAir.