On Thursday, April 23, 2026, the Lehigh Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) Department held its annual Awards Ceremony in Mohler Laboratory. It is our pleasure to announce and celebrate the achievements of our students, alumni, staff, and faculty.
The first six honors listed below were awarded by the Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, at its annual Awards Ceremony, on Monday, May 4, 2026.
2026 Rossin Stout Dissertation Award
Lehigh ISE Ph.D. student Man Yiu (Tim) Tsang has won the 2026 P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science Elizabeth V. Stout Dissertation Award. The title of Tim's thesis was “Optimization under Uncertainty: Methodologies and Applications”, developed under the supervision of Dr. Karmel S. Shehadeh. Tim is now an assistant professor in the Department of Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering (IMSE) at Texas Tech University. His dissertation introduced innovative uncertainty modeling frameworks, decomposition algorithms, and stochastic and (distributionally) robust optimization approaches for modeling and solving emerging real-world problems in healthcare. Congratulations, Tim!2026 Rossin Excellence in Research Scholarship & Leadership Award
ISE Associate Professor Aida Khajavirad has won the 2026 Rossin Excellence in Research Scholarship & Leadership Award, which recognizes a Rossin College faculty member who has demonstrated outstanding scholarship and is considered to be a prominent research leader in their field. Aida works in mathematical optimization and is internationally recognized as a leading scholar in the field of mixed-integer nonlinear optimization. Her research is consistently featured in top-tier optimization journals and conferences and attracts substantial support from governmental funding agencies. Congratulations, Aida!
2026 Rossin Experiential Learning Excellence Award
ISE Professor of Practice Ana-Iulia Alexandrescu-Anselm has won the 2026 Rossin Experiential Learning Excellence Award, which recognizes a Rossin College faculty member who champions experiential learning activities, whether through innovative class projects, serving as a team mentor, or engaging undergraduate students in research. Ana-Iulia has worked creatively and tirelessly to advise hundreds of students on applied projects in the Health Systems Engineering and ISE Outreach programs she directed, enabling them to understand and address real-world problems. Congratulations, Ana!
2026 Rossin Outstanding Doctoral Student Advising Award
ISE Professor Daniel P. Robinson has won the 2026 Rossin Outstanding Doctoral Student Advising Award, which recognizes a Rossin College faculty member who demonstrates tireless commitment to engineering education at the doctoral level.As shared by a student at the ceremony: “During a challenging period in my Ph.D., Professor Robinson restored my confidence through insightful encouragement grounded in deep understanding of my work. His mentorship combines intellectual rigor with genuine care, empowering students to recognize their potential and grow as researchers and individuals.” Congratulations, Daniel!
2026 Rossin Community Builder Award
ISE Professor Frank E. Curtis has won the 2026 Rossin Community Builder Award, which recognizes a Rossin College faculty member who actively cultivates a strong and connected community within the college and their department.Frank has been an outstanding mentor to our junior faculty, an exceptionally dedicated director of our Ph.D. Program, and a generous and engaged citizen of the department. Congratulations, Frank!
2026 Rossin Excellence in Undergraduate Student Support Award
ISE Undergraduate Coordinator Sheila Dorney has won the 2026 Rossin Excellence in Undergraduate Student Support Award, which recognizes a Rossin College staff member who is committed to providing outstanding support and guidance to our undergraduate students.
Sheila is an exceptional undergraduate student support coordinator, deeply engaged in student professional development. She organizes awards, mentoring, student councils, career fairs, alumni engagement, and departmental events, while fostering a welcoming environment that students deeply appreciate. Congratulations, Sheila!
2026 Lehigh ISE Distinguished Alumni Award
Mingzhou Jin is the recipient of the 2026 Lehigh ISE Distinguished Alumni Award in Academia. Dr Mingzhou Jin is the John D. Tickle Professor and head of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). Mingzhou directs the Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment, ISSE for UTK, and is the PI for the Center for Freight Transportation for Efficient & Resilient Supply Chain (FERSC), a $10M DOT/UTC tier-1 center. He also co-leads a new $20M initiative at UTK and Oak Ridge National Lab for advanced manufacturing for affordable building construction. His research interest includes operations research, sustainability, supply chain, logistics, building environment, additive and smart manufacturing, energy efficiency, transportation, and data analytics.
He is a fellow of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers. Currently, he is the Editor-in-Chief of the Engineering Economist, the Editor-in-Chief of Cleaner and Circular Bioeconomy, and the Executive Editor of the Journal of Cleaner Production. He received his Ph.D. from Lehigh University in 2001. Congratulations, Mingzhou!
2026 Lawrence E. White Fellowship
Helen Gervacio is the recipient of the 2026 Lawrence E. White Fellowship for a Master of Science at Lehigh’s ISE Department. This fellowship is made available through the generosity of Lehigh ISE alumnus Lawrence E. White (’64, ’65, ’69) for a full tuition towards 30 credits of master’s degree study. Helen is a Computer Science student at East Stroudsburg University, graduating in May 2026 with a certification in Data Science. She is a member of the National Science Foundation-funded Clear Path Program. She has held internships with ArtsQuest in database management and with Mack Trucks in IT & Digitalization, where she applied data analytics skills to improve business operations. Helen aspires to pursue a career where she can use technology and data to drive innovation and efficiency. She is grateful to be selected for the ISE Fellowship Award. Congratulations, Helen!
2026 Van Hoesen Family Best Publication Competition
Lingjun Guo is the Award Winner of the 2026 Van Hoesen Family Best Publication Competition. This award inspires students to publish influential research, software tools, and applications, and was made available through a generous gift of Everett Van Hoesen ‘55.Lingjun will receive a $1,500 monetary prize for his paper titled “Progressively Sampled Equality-Constrained Optimization” co-authored with Professors Frank E. Curtis and Daniel P. Robinson. Lingjun is a third year PhD student in ISE. Congratulations, Lingjun!
Lara Zebiane received a Van Hoesen Family Best Publication Competition Honorable Mention for her paper titled “Active-Set Identification in Noisy and Stochastic Optimization,” co-authored with Professors Frank E. Curtis and Daniel P. Robinson.Lara is a third year PhD student in ISE. Congratulations, Lara!
2026 Lehigh ISE Community and Culture Award
The Culture and Community Award recognize members of the Lehigh ISE Community who actively cultivate a strong and connected community within the ISE department and beyond. Deserving nominees bring people together, create meaningful engagement opportunities, and inspire a culture of support and shared purpose. Through their efforts—such as mentoring, organizing initiatives that enhance connection, and championing a welcoming environment—they help shape a vibrant and engaged academic community. Our 2026 awardee is:
Nathan Balderas (IBE: ISE and Finance) Nathan has demonstrated exceptional dedication, initiative, and generosity in advancing the Lehigh ISE Outreach Program since Fall 2025. He has played a key role in strengthening alumni engagement by enhancing the ISE Alumni webpage, identifying distinguished alumni candidates, and proactively building connections through extensive outreach. Nathan consistently goes above and beyond expectations—from sourcing advisory council prospects and revitalizing the department’s LinkedIn presence to rapidly supporting program needs with thoughtful, thorough work. His enthusiasm, humility, and unwavering commitment to fostering a strong and connected ISE community make him highly deserved of the Lehigh ISE Community and Culture Award. Congratulations, Nathan!
MIT Supply Chain Excellence Award
Each year MIT presents its Supply Chain Excellence Award to outstanding graduating seniors from Lehigh. The awards recognize students’ potential for leadership in supply chain management and provide tuition scholarships to the MIT Supply Chain Management Master’s Program after a minimum of two years’ work experience in the supply chain sector. Winners were selected based on personal statements and on their academic excellence at Lehigh.
This year Lehigh ISE seniors Katrina Bui and Lucas Koranda were recognized as the 2026 MIT Supply Chain Excellence Winners. Congratulations, Katrina and Lucas!
2026 Lehigh ISE Student and Faculty of the Year Awards
Lehigh ISE is honored to announce the following awards in recognition and appreciation of students, staff, and faculty, for their achievements throughout the 2025-2026 academic year. The department congratulates these students and faculty and thanks them for their contributions and dedication to the Lehigh ISE Department.• Industrial and Systems Engineering Sophomore of the Year: Charlotte Witmer-Rich
• IBE Industrial and Systems Engineering Sophomore of the Year: Juan Diego Cisneros
• IBE Financial Engineering Sophomore of the Year: Ben Andresen
• Industrial and Systems Engineering Junior of the Year: Emma Tsujimoto
• IBE Industrial and Systems Engineering Junior of the Year: Dylan Ferguson
• IBE Financial Engineering Junior of the Year: Derek Walasavage
• Industrial and Systems Engineering Senior of the Year: Olivia Newman
• IBE Industrial and Systems Engineering Senior of the Year: Ruhi Tawde
• IBE Financial Engineering Senior of the Year: Akanksha Gavade
• Industrial Engineering and Operations Research Master’s Student of the Year: Barbara Perevalov
• Health Systems Engineering Master’s Student of the Year: Lisa Flores
• Financial Engineering Master’s Student of the Year: Nate Songstad
• Industrial and Systems Engineering Ph.D. Student of the Year: Pouya Sampourmahan
• Staff Member of the Biennium: Mike MacDougall
• Undergraduate Faculty Member of the Year: Professor Rafael Paredes
• Master’s Faculty Member of the Year: Professor Eugene Perevalov
• Ph.D. Faculty Member of the Year: Professor Tamás Terlaky
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