April 8, 2022
Engineering Graduate Research Symposium is April 14
The 2022 Engineering Graduate Research Symposium at Michigan State University returns to the Breslin Center on Thursday, April 14. The 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. event is free and open to the public and is the first in-person graduate symposium since 2019, due to the pandemic. The event follows current campus protocols related to the pandemic, and face coverings are not currently required at this symposium.

Katy Luchini Colbry, assistant dean for graduate student services in the College of Engineering, oversees the annual symposium, which is coordinated by Sandra Christlieb.
The event features posters and presentations that explore the connections between research and practice with faculty, students, alumni and industry professionals.
Read more on the symposium here: https://tinyurl.com/mr3dhea2
“We are excited to return to the Breslin Center this year for an in-person celebration of graduate research in the College of Engineering,” explained Luchini Colbry. “The symposium features the work of more than 160 poster presenters, and recognizes the most outstanding student researchers through the Fitch H. Beach and Outstanding Graduate Student awards.”

This year’s winners of the Fitch H. Beach Award for Outstanding Graduate Research are:
First Place Award: Julian Blank, Computer Science & Engineering
Second Place Award: Erik J. Amézquita Morataya, Computational Mathematics, Science & Engineering
Third Place Award: Hongyang Shi, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Honorable Mention Awards:
Kara Dean, Biosystems Engineering
Guangchen Shen, Mechanical Engineering
Kylie Smith, Biomedical Engineering
Apoorva Chandrakant Kulkarni, Chemical Engineering
Muhammad Munum Masud, Civil Engineering
Fitch H. Beach Award nominees are doctoral students selected by their department. Awards are determined based on a review of students’ academic and professional records and on an oral presentation of their research. Top prize is $2,000, a certificate, and a medal to be worn at graduation. The other nominees receive a stipend, certificate, and a medal to be worn at graduation.
In addition, 11 Ph.D. candidates will be honored as the Outstanding Graduate Student in their engineering program. Awards include a certificate, stipend, and medal to be worn at graduation. This year’s winners are:
Renming Liu, Computational Mathematics, Science & Engineering
Hoa Nguyen, Mechanical Engineering
Ian Kropp, Biosystems Engineering
Megat Johari, Civil Engineering
Brijen Miyani, Environmental Engineering
Quentin Whitsitt, Biomedical Engineering
Abdullah Karaaslanli, Electrical Engineering
Julian Blank, Computer Science
Nick Ivanov, Computer Science
Apoorva Chandrakant Kulkarni, Chemical Engineering
JoAnn Ballor, Materials Science
There will also be poster presentations by more than 160 graduate students, showing off innovative creations on the following topics. Click on the topics to see the list of presenters.
Advanced Manufacturing
AI & Big Data
Applied Electromagnetics
Biometrics
Energy, Environment & Sustainability
Health/Biomedical
Materials
Mobility
Smart AG
The symposium schedule on April 14 is:
8:15 – 9 a.m.: Registration, Poster Set Up
9 - 9:15 a.m.: Welcome remarks
9:15 - 10:15 a.m.: Poster Session A
10:15 - 11:15 a.m.: Poster Session B
11:15 to noon: Fitch H. Beach presentations
Noon – 12:30 p.m.: Awards
12:30 – 1 p.m.: Boxed Lunch Pick Up
Poster Tear Down
Questions about the symposium can be directed to Sandra Christlieb at: sandra@msu.edu.