California State University, Northridge’s College of Engineering and Computer Science faculty and students are being recognized this week by the Engineers Council for their contributions to the fields of engineering and computer science.

Mechanical engineering professor C.T. Lin and the Red Raven. Photo courtesy of the Daily Sundial.

Nine CSUN faculty members and several students will be honored at the event’s annual Engineers Week Banquet on Saturday, Feb. 23, at the Sheraton Universal in Universal City.

“I am delighted that the Engineers Council is recognizing the outstanding contributions of our faculty and students with these awards during National Engineers Week 2013,” said S.K. Ramesh, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science. “The awards are a testament to their dedication, commitment and leadership, and we are really proud of them.”

The faculty honors include Distinguished Engineering Educator Awards, Outstanding Engineering Achievement Merit Awards, and a Distinguished Engineering Project Award for CSUN’s winning Red Raven Robotics team. The Distinguished Engineering Educator Award is given to individuals who are outstanding in professional qualities and have a top reputation for engineering education and leadership spanning a career. The Outstanding Engineering Achievement Merit Award is given to persons, who have achieved significant accomplishments in a particular area of engineering activity within the last year. The Distinguished Engineering Project award recognizes public or private organizations or consulting firms that during the past three years have brought to fulfillment engineering projects which, because of their unique scope and character, are outstanding and deserving of merit.

Distinguished Engineering Educator Awards:

• David Schwartz, professor emeritus in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

•  Shan Barkataki, professor of Computer Science

•  Nazaret Dermendjian, professor and chair of the Department of Civil Engineering and Construction Management

Outstanding Engineering Achievement Merit Awards:

•  Adam Kaplan, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science

•  Kourosh Sedghisigarchi, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

•  Vibhav Durgesh, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering

•  Jimmy Gandhi, assistant professor in the Department Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Management

•  Emad El- Wakil, assistant professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics

Distinguished Engineering Project Award:

•  C.T. Lin, professor from the department Mechanical Engineering and faculty adviser to the two time AUVSI International Robotics competition winner Red Raven team whose members include: Po-Jen Wang, Ara Mekhtarian, Garrett Leonard, Amiel Hartman, Nicholas Robert Keyawa, Alex Anikstein, Harout Markarian, Jimmy Mohan, David Prince, and Alfie Gil, will all be receiving the Distinguished Engineering Project Award.

Cal State Northridge’s College of Engineering and Computer Science is home to several nationally recognized programs through which students gain valuable hands-on experience working alongside faculty members and industry professionals on cutting edge research. The College offers a variety of ABET accredited undergraduate degree programs and contemporary graduate degree programs in engineering and computer science and was recognized by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) for having the fastest growing undergraduate engineering program in the nation in 2010.

Awards and Honors, College of Engineering and Computer Science