2025 ECE Annual Award Winners

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Northwestern Engineering recognized 13 students and faculty during its annual awards ceremony on June 6.

“This event is a highlight of the year for me,” said Randall Berry, John A. Dever Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering. “It is a joy to get to acknowledge some of the great things ECE students and faculty have achieved.”

Best Teaching Assistant Award

Alexis Shuping, a PhD student in computer engineering advised by adjunct faculty member Josiah Hester, received the Best Teaching Assistant award for her support of the COMP_ENG 346: Microcontroller System Design course.

The Best Teaching Assistant award is based in part on nominations from students.

“Alexis has had a positive impact on CE346,” a nominator said. “She greatly improved the lectures and made significant adjustments that enhanced the digestibility of the material. She is a great teacher and mentor and is an outstanding teaching assistant."

Best Computer Engineering PhD Thesis Award

Stefany Cruz (PhD ’25) received the Best Computer Engineering PhD Thesis Award for “Equityware: Designing Responsible AI Driven Wearables for Safety, Health, and Well-being.” Her research interests focus on designing and implementing adaptive wearables that integrate on-device machine learning, embedded systems, and ubiquitous computing to enhance health, safety, and sustainability. Cruz was coadvised by Hester and Maia Jacobs, assistant professor of computer science at Northwestern Engineering and assistant professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

Best Electrical Engineering PhD Thesis Award

Julian Gamboa González (PhD ’25) earned the Best Electrical Engineering PhD Thesis Award. His thesis is titled “Digital & Analog Holography for Target Recognition and Free-Space Optical Communication.” A member of the Lab for Atomic and Photonic Technologies, Gamboa González was advised by Selim Shahriar, professor of electrical and computer engineering.

Best MS Thesis Awards

Qitong Li (MS ’25) won the Best Computer Engineering MS Thesis Award for “Phytobits: A Bioelectronic Sensor and Microcontroller Based Curriculum for Cam Photosynthesis Education.” Li, a member of the VAK Sustainable Computing Lab, was advised by Nivedita Arora, the Allen K. and Johnnie Cordell Breed Junior Professor of Design and assistant professor electrical and computer engineering and computer science.

Jack Thoene (MS ’25) and Zhuoyi Zhao (MS ’25) received Best Electrical Engineering MS Thesis Awards. Thoene, advised by Arora, investigated “A Novel Electrochemical IOT Sensor for Cheap, Scalable, And Real-Time Plant Metabolism Monitoring of Cam Plants.” Zhao, who was advised by assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering Igor Kadota, completed a thesis titled “Optimizing Age of Information in Real-World Networks.”

Best Undergraduate Researcher Awards

Grant Griffin (’25) and Andrew Habib earned Best Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Researcher Awards. Griffin was advised by Kadota. Habib collaborated with Thrasos Pappas, professor of electrical and computer engineering.

Katie Jiang, advised by Arora, received the Best Computer Engineering Undergraduate Researcher Award.

Outstanding Graduating Seniors

Outstanding Seniors are selected based on undergraduate academic performance. Lester Tai (’25) was named the Outstanding Graduating Electrical Engineering Senior. Andrew Liss (’25) and Colin Schilf (’25) were awarded Outstanding Graduating Computer Engineering Seniors.

Allen Taflove Best Teacher Award

Randy Freeman, professor of electrical and computer engineering, earned the student-nominated Allen Taflove Best Teacher Award.

“Professor Freeman is a super helpful teacher and has so much passion for the work he does,” a nominator said. “He demonstrates both deep knowledge of the subjects he teaches and consideration for his students. He is great at answering questions and structuring his classes for an ideal experience for his students.”