Each year, the University of Virginia’s School of Engineering and Applied Science presents Achievement Awards to the most distinguished members of its community – engineering alumni, faculty, staff, students and supporters who have made significant contributions to the school, the community or the professional world.
This year’s UVA Engineering Achievement Award ceremony took place on November 22 at the 2024 Thornton Society Dinner. This annual event recognizes and thanks leading Engineering donors for the generous investments they are making to empower the school to advance its mission to make the world a better place.
The awards, and their 2024 recipients, include:
Robert A. Bland Award
The Robert A. Bland Award is given in honor of Mr. Bland, a 1959 alumnus of the Department of Electrical Engineering and the first African American student to receive an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia.
The 2024 Bland Award winner is Leland Melvin (M.S. in materials science and engineering ’89). Melvin is an astronaut and educator whose remarkable journey has served as a model reminder that all people are welcome in the STEM community and has done much to increase the participation of the Black community in the space race. Mr. Melvin has held multiple positions at NASA’s Langley Research Center and as a member of the Astronaut Corps completed two missions to the international space station. Throughout his time at NASA and beyond, Mr. Melvin has worked tirelessly to broaden participation in the STEM field and increase public awareness of space in educational spaces. Most notably, Mr. Melvin’s story was depicted in a National Geographic documentary, “The Space Race,” which depicts the life stories of Black astronauts who worked to dismantle systematic oppression and injustice while also working to propel our country into space. Not only was Mr. Melvin’s story honored in the movie, but he also served as executive producer on the project.
Distinguished Alumni Career Award
The Distinguished Alumni Career Award is given to a member of the alumni community who has positively impacted the world through their professional accomplishments as well as their personal values.
The recipient of the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award is Rob Wadsworth (B.S. in systems engineering ’82). After completing his B.S. at UVA Engineering, Mr. Wadsworth earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and went on to become a Founding Partner of HarbourVest, a leading global private equity firm that now has over $140 billion in assets under management and 1000 employees. In addition to his professional success, Mr. Wadsworth has also served in numerous civic and volunteer leadership positions, including at UVA and the Engineering School as a Trustee for University of Virginia Engineering Foundation (UVEF) and Co-Chair of the Engineering Campaign Cabinet. He currently serves as a Pro Tempore Advisor to the Trustees and an advisor to the Engineering Business and Entrepreneurship educational programs, providing valuable insights that benefit our students while also inspiring and instilling core values of work ethic, service to others, and an unyielding curiosity about the world.
Distinguished Alumni Engineering Award
The Distinguished Alumni Engineering Award is presented to a member of the alumni community who has made significant contributions to the community or profession.
The recipient of the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Engineering Award is Dr. Jose Tabora (Ph.D. in chemical engineering, ’96). Dr. Tabora is the Senior Scientific Director at Bristol Myers Squibb and has had an extraordinary impact on the pharma industry, the engineering field and human global health. Dr. Tabora has contributed to the development of approximately 60 small molecule drug candidates, of which 7 have been approved and marketed. He has been recognized by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, including the Industrial Research & Development Award and the Pharmaceutical Discovery, Development & Manufacturing Forum’s Quality by Design Award. In 2024, Dr. Tabora was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for pharmaceutical process development through innovations in modeling, design of experiments and data analysis. Dr. Tabora has been a key thought leader in the pharmaceutical development community, driving new approaches in modeling for process development to accelerate the development cycle for new medicines. He represents UVA to the highest degree possible in all aspects of his career and personal life.
Distinguished Service Award
The Distinguished Service Award is presented to a faculty or staff member who exemplifies the spirit of service, leadership and commitment.
The recipient of the 2024 Distinguished Service Award is Professor Katherine (Kay) Neeley. Professor Neeley’s three decades of contributions to the School of Engineering have shaped the future of countless students and colleagues. Her work in ethical engineering, technical writing, and communication, as well as mentorship in the Rodman Scholars program, distinguishes her. Her leadership in curriculum design, advocacy for quality writing instruction and role in maintaining and improving educational outcomes have made a lasting impact on the school. She fosters a sense of community and commitment to excellence in all that she does and has received UVA’s Raven Award, one of the highest honors given by the University.
Outstanding Young Engineering Graduate Award
The Outstanding Young Engineering Graduate Award is presented to a member of the alumni community who has made impactful contributions to the field during their early career.
The recipient of the 2024 Outstanding Young Engineering Graduate Award is Dr. Elizabeth B. Connelly (M.S. in Systems Engineering ’13 and Ph.D. in Systems Engineering ’16). Her work in sustainable energy and clean technologies, including her current role with the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris, France, demonstrates her remarkable leadership. She leads initiatives on zero-emission vehicle adoption and is the lead author f the 2024 Global EV Outlook, a leading assessment of electric vehicle technology. Her work informs policy and guides strategies for sustainability on a global scale, and her leadership has placed her alongside worldwide experts, influencing critical discussions about net-zero emissions and resilient energy systems. She has also made substantial contributions through scholarship and is the author/co-author of 42 publications with nearly 900 citations.
Distinguished Faculty Award
The Distinguished Faculty Award is presented to a member of the faculty who has made significant contributions to the field and the University.
The recipient of the 2024 Distinguished Faculty Award is Dr. Kevin Skadron, the Harry Douglas Forsyth Professor of Computer Science. Skadron joined UVA after completing his Ph.D. from Princeton and for twenty-five years has built a reputation for seminal research in computer architecture, building influential research tools and benchmark suites that are widely adopted by the research community and leading large collaborative multi-disciplinary projects with high impact. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and the ACM, a recipient of the 2011 ACM SIGARCH Maurice Wilkes Award for “For outstanding contributions to thermal-aware computer architecture modeling and design.” He also received the 2023 SRC-SIA University Research Award established in 1995 by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) to recognize lifetime research contributions to the U.S. semiconductor industry by university faculty. Additionally, he is an outstanding contributor to the University through his leadership as chair of the department from 2012-2021, his role in helping shape school policy, and his influential role in the formation of the Link Lab and the School of Data Science, and in the attraction of the Biocomplexity Institute to UVA.
Invention of the Year Award
The Invention of the Year Award recognizes an invention that demonstrates significant potential impacts on society and inventors that have made meaningful progress toward realizing those impacts. UVA Engineering inventors who have been named on a U.S. patent issued within the last five years are eligible.
The 2024 Invention of the Year is awarded to Professor Patrick Hopkins, Dr. John Gaskins and Dr. Brian Foley, co-inventors of a “Fiber-optic based thermal reflectance material property measurement system and related methods.” This invention has enabled an entire new category of microscope, which is driving innovation by a host of government and industry customers in the development of everything from semiconductor chips to batteries, computer packaging to satellites. This IP has further served as the launching point for Laser Thermal, a small business in Charlottesville, VA that was co-founded by Professor Hopkins and Dr. Gaskins and to date has generated nearly $10M in funding and revenue. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and Charlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook have both identified Laser Thermal, with its 18 current employees and 28 new jobs planned, as an important part of the economic development plans of our city and the Commonwealth.
