Category: Awards and Honors

Yun Hang Hu Receives Morris Cohen Award for Pioneering Contributions in Materials Science

Yun Hang Hu stands in a hallway lined with windows showing snow-covered hills wearing a blue shirt.
University Professor Yun Hang Hu has received the TMS Morris Cohen Award for his contributions to the field of materials science.

Yun Hang Hu, University Professor and the Charles and Carroll McArthur Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, received the prestigious Morris Cohen Award for outstanding contributions to the science and/or technology of materials properties. Awarded by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS), the Morris Cohen Award honors one individual worldwide each year and is widely regarded as one of the most distinguished honors in the field.

“The previous recipients of the Morris Cohen Award are distinguished pioneers whose groundbreaking contributions have profoundly shaped the field,” said Hu. “I am deeply honored to join their ranks in receiving this prestigious award.”

Two individuals stand on a stage holding a triangular glass trophy under a sign that reads “The World Comes Here, TMS 2026, Annual Meeting and Exhibition.”
University Professor Yun Hang Hu received the Morris Cohen Award at the 155th TMS Annual Meeting on March 18, 2026. (Photo courtesy TMS)

In Michigan Tech’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Hu teaches courses in thermodynamics and conducts extensive research on a wide range of topics, including superstructure materials, nanomaterials, electrocatalysis, biodegradable plastics, advanced energy devices, and more. Hu is also an affiliated professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering.

Hu’s previous awards and honors include more than 20 national and international accolades. In 2017, Hu was the first MTU faculty member to receive both the Michigan Tech Research Award and the Bhakta Rath Research Award in the same year.

He has been elected to the Canadian Academy of Engineering and is a fellow of six major professional societies:

Hu, who is also a past recipient of the Rudolf A. Erren Award from the International Association for Hydrogen Energy, expressed his gratitude to those who have contributed to his latest career achievement.

“This recognition would not have been possible without the dedication of my graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, and the unwavering support of my wife and children.”

MTU Alumna Teresa Karjala Elected to the National Academy of Engineering

Black Michigan Technological University sign that reads “Chemical Sciences and Engineering Building” surrounded by yellow daffodils in bloom.
Chemical engineering alumna Teresa Karjala ’87 has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

Teresa Plumley Karjala ’87, a Michigan Tech chemical engineering alumna, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), one of the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Karjala is recognized for her leadership in the field of polyolefin production development, production, and commercialization. The NAE Class of 2026 will be formally inducted at the NAE Annual Meeting this fall.

“Being elected to the National Academy of Engineering is a great honor, and I am truly humbled to be elected to such an esteemed organization,” said Karjala. “This recognition reflects not only my individual contributions but also the collective efforts of the teams, collaborators, and mentors I’ve had the privilege to work with throughout my career.”

Portrait of Teresa Karjala wearing a white shirt, black jacket, and black and silver necklace.
After receiving her BS in chemical engineering from Michigan Tech in 1987, Teresa Karjala earned her PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware in 1992 and began her career at Dow.

Karjala is a Senior R&D Fellow in the Packaging and Specialty Plastics division of the Dow Chemical Company. She graduated from Michigan Tech in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and received her doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware in 1992.

MTU’s College of Engineering Presents Pathway to PhD Awards to Strengthen Doctoral Pipeline

Zachary Elmore, Zander Worm, Purity Angwenyi and Seth Eacker pose together in front of windows with views of snowy campus.
This year’s Pathway to PhD cohort includes, from left, Zachary Elmore, Zander Worm, Purity Angwenyi, and Seth Eacker. (Not pictured: Abhilash Arjan Das and Elijah Sierra)

When it comes to recruiting talented doctoral candidates, Michigan Tech’s College of Engineering is starting with our own students!

Hoda Hatoum Selected for Deans’ Teaching Showcase

Hoda Hatoum
Hoda Hatoum, assistant professor of biomedical engineering and affiliated assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, has been selected for the Deans’ Teaching Showcase.

For her student-centric approach to teaching, College of Engineering Dean Michelle Scherer has selected Hoda Hatoum, assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and assistant affiliated professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, as the final instructor in this year’s Deans’ Teaching Showcase.

William Endres Selected for Deans’ Teaching Showcase

Headshot of William Endres wearing a tan shirt in a graphic with a photo of Michigan Tech’s campus.
William “Bill” Endres, the Richard and Elizabeth Henes professor of mechanical engineering, has been selected for the Deans’ Teaching Showcase.

College of Engineering Dean Michelle Scherer has selected William “Bill” Endres, professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE), as the featured instructor in this week’s Deans’ Teaching Showcase.

Endres will be recognized at an end-of-term event with other spring showcase members and is a candidate for the CTL Instructional Award Series.

Michigan Tech’s Clean Snowmobile Team Takes First Place in SAE International Competition

A Michigan Tech-branded snowmobile is driven by an SAE Clean Snowmobile team member in the annual challenge in Eagle River, Wisconsin.
The SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge team took home first place in the sparked ignition snowmobile challenge. (Images courtesy of Michigan Tech Advanced Motorsports Enterprise)

Michigan Tech’s sparked ignition (SI) team took home first place overall as well as first place in the design phase of competition in the SAE International annual Clean Snowmobile Challenge earlier this month. Michigan Tech’s Clean Snowmobile Challenge team entered two sleds in this year’s competition at the World Championship Derby Complex in Eagle River, Wisconsin: one in the SI category and one in the compression ignition diesel utility snowmobile (CI) competition. 

The Michigan Tech team came in second in the CI category, which is being phased out. This year’s challenge included 14 teams from the United States and Canada. 

Jon Herlevich Selected for Deans’ Teaching Showcase

John Herlevich
Jon Herlevich ‘94 ‘97, a Michigan Tech College of Engineering alumnus, has been selected for the Deans’ Teaching Showcase.

College of Engineering Dean Michelle Scherer has selected Jon Herlevich ‘94 ‘97, professor of practice in the Department of Chemical Engineering (ChE), for the Deans’ Teaching Showcase.

Herlevich will be recognized at an end-of-term event with other spring showcase members and is a candidate for the CTL Instructional Award Series.

Kerri Sleeman Selected for Deans’ Teaching Showcase

Kerri Sleeman with campus in the background.
Kerri Sleeman ‘95 ‘08, a Michigan Tech College of Engineering alumna, has been selected for the Deans’ Teaching Showcase.

College of Engineering Dean Michelle Scherer has selected Kerri Sleeman ‘95 ‘08, professor of practice in construction engineering with a joint appointment in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering (CEGE) and the College of Business, for the Deans’ Teaching Showcase.

Sleeman will be recognized at an end-of-term event with other spring showcase members and is a candidate for the CTL Instructional Award Series.

Shane Oberloier Selected for Deans’ Teaching Showcase

Shane Oberloier with a Van De Graaf generator and a yellow explosion graphic that says “ZAP!”
Shane Oberloier’s enthusiasm for the maker community engages students in the classes he teaches, the Makerspace he directs, and beyond! (Photo courtesy Shane Oberloier)

College of Engineering Dean Michelle Scherer has selected Shane Oberloier, assistant teaching professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, for this spring’s Deans’ Teaching Showcase.

Oberloier will be recognized at an end-of-term event with other spring showcase members and is a candidate for the CTL Instructional Award Series.

Sustainability and Collaboration Motivate Midyear Commencement Undergraduate Student Speaker

: Aliyah Maxwell-Abrams in their graduation gown standing in front of Dillman Hall
Aliyah Maxwell-Abrams is ready for their next challenge thanks to the Michigan Tech community.

On the road to graduation, Aliyah Maxwell-Abrams left their mark on the Tech community, just as the Tech community left a lasting impression on them.

This December, they are graduating with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, a minor in mathematics, and will address fellow graduates at Michigan Tech’s mid-year commencement.