The 2025 Engineering Graduate Research Symposium at Michigan State University (MSU) is set for Thursday, May 8, in the Engineering Building. The 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. event showcases the work of graduate students from across all college units. It is free and open to the public.
More than 100 registered poster presentations will offer students an opportunity to communicate their research story to industry representatives, alumni, faculty, staff and others, helping them gain valuable experience explaining their research and findings.
Thursday’s forum is also the setting for the 2025 Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition at 3 p.m. in 1345 Engineering Building. This annual contest helps graduate students cultivate their presentation and communication skills.
Faculty in each College of Engineering academic department selects one nominee based on nominees’ 3MT presentations. Winners receive stipends and a certificate.
The 2024-25 departmental nominees for the 3MT competition are:
- Colin O’Hern, biomedical engineering (Advisor: Aitor Aguirre)
- Narindra Randriamiarintsoa, biosystems engineering (Advisor: Bradley Marks)
- Joelle Eaves, chemical engineering and materials science (Advisor: Daniel Woldring)
- Farish Jazlan, civil and environmental engineering (Advisor: Ali Zockaie)
- Xinyi (Elena) Wang, computational mathematics, science and engineering (Advisor: Elizabeth Munch)
- Yiwen Hu, computer science and engineering (Advisors: Li Xiao and Guan-Hua Tu)
- Ankur Kamboj (Ankur), electrical and computer engineering (Advisor: Vaibhav Srivastava)
- Adam Chrzan, mechanical engineering (Advisor: Tamara Reid Bush)
2025 Graduate Student Award winners
This year’s winners of the top graduate student awards in MSU’s College of Engineering were recently announced.
Fitch H. Beach Award for Outstanding Doctoral Research
The Fitch Beach Award is the most prestigious graduate research prize in the College of Engineering. Established by Janet M. Beatty in honor of her uncle, Fitch H. Beach, this award recognizes the most outstanding PhD student researchers within the College of Engineering. The faculty within each department selects one nominee, and the award is judged based on nominees’ records and presentations. Winners receive stipends, a certificate, and a medal worn at graduation.
First Place Presentation Award: Yihua Zhang, computer science (Advisor: Sijia Liu); receives a $2,000 stipend, plus a certificate and medal to wear at graduation
Second Place Presentation Award: Aniwat Juhong, electrical and computer engineering (Advisor: Zhen Qiu); receives a $1,750 stipend, plus a certificate and medal to wear at graduation
Third Place Presentation Award: Ashiq Shawon, chemical engineering and materials science (Advisor: Alexandra Zevalkink); receives a $1,500 stipend, plus a certificate and medal to wear at graduation
Departmental Award Winners (listed alphabetically by program; each student receives a $1,000 stipend, plus a certificate and medal to wear at graduation)
- Kay Hadrick, biomedical engineering (Advisor: Taeho Kim)
- Anthony James Franco, biosystems engineering (Advisor: Evangelyn Alocilja)
- Poornachandra Vaddy, civil and environmental engineering (Advisor: Muhammed Emin Kutay)
- Avrajit Ghosh, computational mathematics, science, and engineering (Advisors: Saiprasad Ravishankar & Rongrong Wang)
- Aakash Khandelwal, mechanical engineering (Advisor: Ranjan Mukherjee)
Outstanding Graduate Student Awards
This annual award recognizes the most outstanding graduate student from each doctoral program in the College of Engineering. These outstanding PhD students were selected by the faculty within their program, and each receives a $1,000 stipend, certificate, and a medal worn at graduation. They are:
- Jacob Reynolds, biomedical engineering (Advisor: Brian Johnson)
- Kieron Moller, biosystems engineering (Advisor: Amirpouyan Nejadhashemi)
- Mayson Whipple, chemical engineering (Advisor: Robert Ferrier)
- Ehsan Kamjoo, civil engineering (Advisor: Ali Zockaie)
- Siddhant Gautam, computational mathematics, science & engineering (Advisor: Saiprasad Ravishankar)
- Minchul Kim, computer science and engineering (Advisor: Xiaoming Liu)
- Amit Bhuyan, electrical and computer engineering (Advisor: Subir Biswas)
- Francis Hanna, environmental engineering (Advisor: Annick Anctil)
- Yu-Hsiu Lin, materials science (Advisor: Jose Mendoza Cortes)
- Jiabin Liu, mechanical engineering (Advisor: Shaoting Lin)
For more information, contact Sandy Christlieb, sandra@msu.edu
2025 Engineering Graduate Research Symposium Sponsorship Flyer (PDF)
Graduate Research Forum website
Written by Pat Mroczek
MSU College of Engineering Media and Public Relations page