Link Lab Awards

The Link Lab has a number of awards to honor students in the Link Lab for their CPS research, service and leadership.

Distinguished Research Award

The Distinguished Research Award honors a Ph.D. student who showcases the highest quality research in cyber-physical systems happening in the Link Lab. This award is given twice per year to Ph.D. candidates who have defended their dissertation proposal and have conducted significant research toward their Ph.D. dissertation. This award is sponsored by Leidos.

  • Link Lab Ph.D. candidate who has not previously received the Distinguished Research Award
  • Post-proposal
  • Within two years of graduation
  • Emphasis on quality of their research and execution/findings/product
  • Emphasis on effort of work within Link Lab and with outside partners/stakeholders
  • Consideration for impact of research or potential for impact
  • Consideration for those who have received awards, accepted publications, presentations.
  • Consideration for graduating students.

 

  • Link Lab faculty may nominate up to two students.
  • If there are more than five nominees, then the Link Lab Leadership Committee will do an initial review and selection based on criteria.
  • Nominees are notified and submit their CV/resume and a one-page summary of their research.
  • Nomination packets (faculty nomination, student summary, student CV/resume) are consolidated and provided to Link Lab faculty to vote.
  • Link Lab Faculty cast vote for up to two nominees.
  • Aggregate vote determines awardee.

  • One student is selected per semester.
  • Student presents their research at a dedicated lecture presentation in the Link Lab.
  • Certificate
  • $500
  • Promotion on Link Lab website and social media
  • Recognized at Link Lab Research Day

  • Spring 2025: Muhammad Waseem - "Data-Driven Modeling, Control, and Energy Management in Smart Manufacturing Systems"
  • Fall 2024: Kayla Boggess - "Human-Centric Explanations for Autonomous Systems"
  • Spring 2024: Lauren Bramblett - "Epistemic Planning for Multi-Robot Systems"
  • Fall 2023: Xinjian Liu – “Nanowatt-scale Energy-Harvesting Systems-on-Chip for In-Textile Sensors” and Trent Weiss – “Motion Prediction & Trajectory Synthesis for Autonomous Racing” (two awardees due to tie)
  • Spring 2023: Md Mofijul Islam - "Multimodal and Multitask Representation Learning for Perceiving Embodied Interactions"
  • Fall 2022: Nurani Saoda - "Broadening the Capabilities of Self-Powered Energy-Harvesting Systems"
  • Spring 2022: Sonia Baee - "Modeling Human Behavior with Reinforcement Learning"
  • Fall 2021: Wenqiang (Winston) Chen - "Harnessing Vibrations for Intelligent Interactions for Real Users in the Real World"
  • Fall 2020: Esen Yel - "Runtime Monitoring and Predictive Planning for Safe Autonomous Robotic Operations"

Early-Stage Research Award

The Early-Stage Research Award honors Link Lab graduate students who have demonstrated excellence in research and scholarship during the early and mid-stages of their graduate studies. The Early-Stage Research Award is awarded once per year in the spring.

  • Link Lab Ph.D. students who have not previously received the Early-Stage Research Award (previously named the Link Lab Outstanding Graduate Research Award)
  • Within first three years of graduate program
  • Emphasis on quality of research
  • Emphasis on an outstanding year in research
  • Emphasis on effort of work within Link Lab and with outside partners/stakeholders
  • Consideration for impact of research or potential for impact
  • Consideration for those who have received awards, accepted publications, presentations.

  • Link Lab faculty may nominate up to two students.
  • Nominees are notified and submit their CV/resume.
  • Nomination packets (faculty nomination, student CV/resume) are consolidated and provided to Link Lab faculty for a vote.
  • Link Lab Faculty cast vote for up to two nominees.
  • Aggregate vote determines awardee.

  • Two students selected in the spring semester.
  • Certificate
  • $250
  • Promotion on Link Lab website and social media.

  • 2025: Megan Gunn & Rongxiang Wang
  • 2024: Kshitij (Horizon) Bhatta & Mehdi Taghizadeh
  • 2023: Kay Hutchinson & Md Mofijul Islam
  • 2022: Vaibhav Verma & Sirat Samyoun
  • 2021: Esen Yel & Ben Bowes
  • 2020: Meiyi Ma & Faysal Shezam

Outstanding Service and Leadership

The Outstanding Service and Leadership Award recognizes Link Lab graduate students who have gone above and beyond to lead in building a positive culture within the Link Lab by supporting others and fostering diversity, equity and inclusion within the Link Lab community. The Outstanding Service and Leadership Award is awarded once per year in the spring. 

  • Link Lab graduate student.
  • who has not previously received the Link Lab Outstanding Service and Leadership Award (previously named the Link Lab Outstanding Graduate Service Award)
  • Quality of the nominee’s service
  • Quantity of the nominee’s service
  • Impact of the nominee’s service

  • Faculty and/or students nominate up to two students with a one-page written endorsement.
  • Nominees are informed of nomination.
  • Nominations consolidated and provided to Link Lab Student Committee
  • Link Lab Student Committee casts vote for up to two students.
  • Aggregate vote determines awardee.

  • Two students selected in the spring semester
  • Certificate
  • $250
  • Promotion on Link Lab website and social media

  • 2025: Megan Gunn & Beatrice Li
  • 2024: Maral Zhiyanpour & Zack Landsman
  • 2023: Haley Green & Aya Yehia
  • 2022: Jake Nelson & Lahiru Wijayasingha
  • 2021: Luis Lopez & Lauren Bouchard
  • 2020: Minghui Sun & Arash Tavakoli