Dean Shih-Fu Chang addresses a group of guests from a podium in a brightly lit event space.
Dean Shih-Fu Chang greets guests at the Faculty Excellence event in Carleton Commons.

Image credit: Timothy Lee/Columbia Engineering.
 
Dean Shih-Fu Chang greets guests at the Faculty Excellence event in Carleton Commons.

Image credit: Timothy Lee/Columbia Engineering.

Faculty & Staff

Celebrating Faculty Excellence and New Faculty

A celebration of faculty excellence, new beginnings, and the achievements shaping Columbia Engineering.

October 28, 2026

On September 16, Columbia Engineering faculty gathered to celebrate their colleagues’ awards and honors of the past year and to welcome the newest faculty members. 

Dean Shih-Fu Chang, Senior Vice Dean of Research George Deodatis, and Senior Vice Dean of Faculty Affairs and Advancement Helen Lu called out the year’s top honors in teaching, research, and leadership, as well as recently tenured professors and new faculty. 

Following the slideshow is a full list of faculty honors. 

Celebrating our Faculty

Photos by Timothy Lee

Jae Lee and Dean Shih-Fu Chang hold a tote bag together.
Jae Lee (right) from computer science was recognized as one of three new Teaching Professors, a University honor for outstanding teaching faculty with a long history of teaching excellence and innovation.
Paul Blaer and Dean Shih-Fu Chang hold a tote bag together.
Paul Blaer (right) from computer science was recognized as a Teaching Professor.
Ibrahim Odeh and Dean Shih-Fu Chang hold a tote bag together.
Ibrahim Odeh (right) from civil engineering and engineering mechanics was recognized as a Teaching Professor.
Keren Bergman poses with Dean Shih-Fu Chang while holding a tote bag.
Keren Bergman, Charles Batchelor Professor of Electrical Engineering, was recognized for her induction into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Qiang Du shakes hands with Dean Shih-Fu Chang while holding a Columbia Engineering tote bag.
Qiang Du, Fu Foundation Professor of Applied Mathematics, was recognized for his induction into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Elisa Konofagou and Dean Shih-Fu Chang hold a tote bag together.
Robert and Margaret Hariri Professor of Biomedical Engineering Elisa Konofagou was recognized for her induction into the National Academy of Inventors.
Gil Zussman and Dean Shih-Fu Chang hold a tote bag together.
Gil Zussman, Kenneth Brayer Professor and chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering, was elected to the American Academy of Sciences and Letters.
Lauren Marbella and Drew Youngren hold tote bags as they pose with Alexander Potulicki and Dean Shih-Fu Chang.
Lauren Marbella (chemical engineering) and Drew Youngren (applied physics and applied mathematics) received the Columbia Engineering Alumni Association 2026 Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award. Far left: Former CEEA President Alexander Potulicki MS'10.
Harry West shakes hands with Dean Shih-Fu Chang while holding a Columbia Engineering tote bag.
Harry West from industrial engineering and operations research was recognized as the 2026 winner of the Great Teacher Award from the Society of Columbia Graduates.
Helen Lu, George Deodatis, and Dean Shih-Fu Chang pose together as Deodatis holds a Columbia Engineering tote bag.
George Deodatis (middle), Santiago and Robertina Calatrava Family Professor of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, received the Faculty Mentoring Award from the Provost’s Office. Senior Vice Dean Helen Lu (left) and Dean Shih-Fu Chang (right).
George Deodatis, Daniel Esposito, and Dean Shih-Fu Chang pose together, as Esposito holds a Columbia Engineering tote bag.
Daniel Esposito from the Department of Chemical Engineering was the 2026 winner of the Edward and Carole Kim Award for Faculty Involvement and Student Engagement.
George Deodatis, Treena Arinzeh, and Dean Shih-Fu Chang pose together.
Treena Arinzeh from the Department of Biomedical Engineering won the 2026 Janette and Armen Avanessians Diversity Award.
Biomedical Engineering faculty talk with one another at the Welcome Back Faculty and Honors event.
Biomedical Engineering faculty mingle at the event. From L to R: Treena Arinzeh, José L. McFaline-Figueroa, Santiago Correa, Grace McIlvain.
Four faculty members gather in conversation at the Welcome Back Faculty and Honors event.
Qiang Du (far left) speaks with (left to right) Steve Waiching Sun from civil engineering and engineering mechanics and, from industrial engineering and engineering mechanics, Kaizheng Wang and Agostino Capponi.
Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics faculty talk around a table at the Welcome Back Faculty and Honors event.
From the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, George P. Livanos Professor Liliana Borcea speaks with (left to right) Qiaho Ye and Ju Tang Chu and Wui Ping Chu Assistant Professor Curtiss Lyman.
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2026 Honorees:

National Honors and Academies

Keren Bergman, Electrical Engineering, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Qiang Du, Applied Physics & Applied Mathematics, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Tim Roughgarden, Computer Science, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Michael Weinstein, Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Elisa Konofagou, Biomedical Engineering, National Academy of Inventors

Gil Zussman, Electrical Engineering, American Academy of Sciences and Letters

Teaching Professors

Jae Lee, Computer Science

Paul Blaer, Computer Science

Ibrahim Odeh, Civil Engineering & Engineering Mechanics

Teaching Awards

Lauren Marbella, Chemical Engineering, Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award

Drew Youngren, Applied Physics & Applied Mathematics, Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award (DFTA)

Harry West, Industrial Engineering & Operations Research, Great Teacher Award

Adam Elmachtoub, Industrial Engineering & Operations Research, Columbia Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching

George Deodatis, Civil Engineering & Engineering Mechanics, Faculty Mentoring Award

Daniel Esposito, Chemical Engineering, Edward and Carole Kim Award for Faculty Involvement

Treena Arinzeh, Biomedical Engineering, Janette and Armen Avanessians Diversity Award

Newly Tenured

Greeshma Gadikota, Earth & Environmental Engineering

Marco Giometto, Civil Engineering & Engineering Mechanics

Asaf Cidon, Computer Science; Electrical Engineering

Christian Kroer, Industrial Engineering & Operations Research

Associate Professor Without Tenure

Sanja Vickovic, Biomedical Engineering

Wenpin Tang, Industrial Engineering & Operations Research

Kaizheng Wang, Industrial Engineering & Operations Research

Senior Lecturer

Hyoseon (Sophia) Lee, Industrial Engineering & Operations Research

Yev Yesilevskiy, Mechanical Engineering

Full Professor with Tenure

Steve WaiChing Sun, Civil Engineering & Engineering Mechanics

Chris Wiggins, Applied Mathematics

Early Career Awards

Josh Alman, Computer Science, 2026 Benjamin Franklin NextGen Award

Elham Azizi, Biomedical Engineering, 40 Under 40 in Cancer Award

Santiago Correa, Biomedical Engineering, 2026 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award

Santiago Correa, Biomedical Engineering, Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Prize

Savannah Eisner, Electrical Engineering, NSF CAREER Award

Kaizheng Wang, Industrial Engineering & Operations Research, NSF CAREER Award

Kaizheng Wang, Industrial Engineering & Operations Research, 2026 IMS Tweedie New Researcher Award

Election to Professional Societies

Elias Bareinboim, Computer Science, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI)

Luca Carloni, Computer Science, Association for Computing Machinery

Julia Hirschberg, Computer Science, Austrian Academy of Engineering

Addis Kidane, Civil Engineering & Engineering Mechanics, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)

Kui Ren, Applied Physics & Applied Mathematics, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM)

Steve Waiching Sun, Civil Engineering & Engineering Mechanics, ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI)

Rebecca Wright, Computer Science, Association for Computing Machinery

Junfeng Yang, Computer Science, Association for Computing Machinery

Other Honors

Dimitris Anastassiou, Electrical Engineering, IEEE Arun N. Netravali Video Analytics, Technology & Systems Award

Keren Bergman, Electrical Engineering, HPCWire 35 Legends Class of 2026

Mary C. Boyce, Mechanical Engineering, Honorary Doctorate and Graduate Commencement Speaker - Notre Dame

Agostino Capponi, Industrial Engineering & Operations Research, Best Paper Award, Operations Research

Xi Chen, Computer Science, Best Paper Award, ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing

Tal Danino, Biomedical Engineering, 2026 Lotus Award

Adam Elmachtoub, Industrial Engineering & Operations Research, INFORMS Revenue Management and Pricing Section Prize

Maria Feng, Civil Engineering & Engineering Mechanics, DOE 2025 Vehicle Technologies Team Award

Steve Feiner, Computer Science, Best Research Demo Award (Honorable Mention), IEEE Virtual Reality 2026

Alexander Gaeta, Applied Physics & Applied Mathematics, 2026 Arthur L. Schawlow Prize in Laser Science

Oleg Gang, Chemical Engineering; Applied Physics & Applied Mathematics, 2025 Special Publication of Note, DOE Office of Science

Lauren Heckelman, Biomedical Engineering, Provost’s Teaching and Learning Innovative Course Design Grant

Clark Hung, Biomedical Engineering, Birnberg Research Medal Award

Garud Iyengar, Industrial Engineering & Operations Research, Iconic Papers — Editor’s Comments on the 50th Anniversary of Mathematics of Operations Research

Ethan Katz-Bassett, Electrical Engineering, 2025 ACM Internet Measurement Test of Time Award

Peter Kinget, Electrical Engineering, ECEDHA Innovative Program Award

Andrew Laine, Biomedical Engineering, 2026 IEEE EMBS Academic Career Achievement Award

Andrew Laine, Biomedical Engineering, Chair Elect of International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineers (IAMBE) 

Hoe Ling, Civil Engineering & Engineering Mechanics, Springer Nature Editor of Distinction Award 2026

Helen Lu, Biomedical Engineering, TERMIS-AM 2026 Senior Scientist Award 

Michael Massimino, Mechanical Engineering, 2026 Commonwealth Award of Distinguished Service for Science

Michael Massimino, Mechanical Engineering, John H. Glenn Lecture in Space History at the National Air and Space Museum 

Vishal Misra, Computer Science, Elected to Board of Directors of Procore Technologies Inc.

Christos Papadimitriou, Computer Science, 2026 Bodossaki Excellence Award

Rocco Servedio, Computer Science, Best Paper Award 2026, Symposium on Discrete Algorithms (SODA)

Rocco Servedio, Computer Science, Twenty Year Test of Time Award from the Foundations of Computer Science Conference (FOCS)

Henning Schulzrinne, Computer Science, 2026 IEEE INFOCOM Achievement Award

Michele Simoncelli, Applied Physics & Applied Mathematics, 2025 Charles Haenny Prize for Physics

Gordana Vunjak Novakovic, Biomedical Engineering, 2026 L’Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science International Award

Gordana Vunjak Novakovic, Biomedical Engineering, WELLCOME LEAP’S Visible Program on Microvascular Heart Disease in Women

Gordana Vunjak Novakovic, Biomedical Engineering, Forbes 50 Over 50: Innovation

Gordana Vunjak Novakovic, Biomedical Engineering, Regenerative Engineering Society’s 2026 Cato T. Laurencin Regenerative Engineering Founder’s Award 

Renata Wentzcovitch, Applied Physics & Applied Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences President’s International Fellowship Initiative (PIFI) Distinguished Scientist

Renata Wentzcovitch, Applied Physics & Applied Mathematics, American Geophysical Union Distinguished Lecturer of the College of Fellows

Chris Wiggins, Applied Physics & Applied Mathematics, CNN’s Head of Machine Learning and AI Science

Chris Wiggins, Applied Physics & Applied Mathematics, Advisor to the Dean for AI Strategy, Columbia College 

Junfeng Yang, Computer Science, 2025 Mark Weiser Award, ACM Special Interest Group in Operating Systems

Yan Yao, Earth & Environmental Engineering, Research Excellence Award in Electrochemical Energy Storage, American Chemical Society Energy & Fuels Division