Current and Past Group Members’ Awards and Distinctions

2025

• Javier Chavarrio awarded Kokes Travel Award from North American Catalysis Society.
• Evangelos Smith awarded Kokes Travel Award from North American Catalysis Society.
• Evangelos Smith awarded best oral presentation at the Catalysis Club of Chicago’s 2025 Young Scientist Symposium.

2024

• Evangelos Smith awarded Bird-Stewart-Lightfoot Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship.
• Dr. Kostas Papanikolaou wins the Young Investigator Best Paper Award from Surface Science, for his paper titled “CO–induced roughening of Cu(111): formation and detection of reactive nanoclusters on metal surfaces.
• Blake Dallmann awarded NSF Graduate Fellowship Honorable Mention.

2023

• Evangelos Smith awarded Roland A. Ragatz TA Award – First Place (Fall 2023).
• Alex von Rueden awarded a DOE fellowship at PNNL.
• Evangelos Smith awarded Roland A. Ragatz TA Award – Third Place (Spring 2023).

2022

• Evangelos Smith awarded Roland A. Ragatz TA Award – First Place (Fall 2022).
• Srinivas Rangarajan promoted to Associate Professor with tenure at Lehigh University.
• Alex von Rueden awarded Roland A. Ragatz Discussion Award – Second Place (Spring 2022).

2021

• Jeff Greeley named the Charles D. and Nancy G. Davidson Professor of Chemical Engineering. Read More: Purdue University News
• Lisa Je awarded an NSF Graduate Fellowship.
• Michael Rebarchik awarded Bird-Stewart-Lightfoot Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship.
• Manos Mavrikakis awarded the 2021 Robert Burwell Lectureship in Catalysis by the North American Catalysis Society.

2020

• Lars Grabow promoted to Full Named (Dan Luss) Professor at the University of Houston.
• Srinivas Rangarajan becomes the P.C. Rossin Assistant Professor at Lehigh University.
• Ye Xu becomes the Leon M. Pliner Distinguished Professor at Louisiana State University.

2019

• Lars Grabow becomes the inaugural recipient of the Dan Luss Professorship at the University of Houston.
• Fuat Celik promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure.
• Ye Xu promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure.
• Manos Mavrikakis receives UW-Madison faculty award.
• Manos Mavrikakis receives the Pines Award from the Catalysis Club of Chicago.
• Manos Mavrikakis receives the Somorjai Award from the American Chemical Society for Creative Research in Catalysis for creative catalysis research.

2018

• Jeff Greeley promoted to Full Professor.
• Manos Mavrikakis awarded a Visting Miller Professorship Award (Chemistry Department, UC-Berkeley, 2018-19)

2017

• Benjamin Chen awarded Best Paper Award in Fundamentals of Surface Reactivity Session at Annual AIChE Meeting in Minneapolis 2017
• Lars Grabow promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure.
• Ahmed Elnabawy awarded Catalysis and Reaction Engineering (CRE) Division Travel Award from AIChE.
• Duygu Gerceker awarded best poster award at the AVS Prairie Chapter annual symposium.
• Thomas Kropp awarded Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship from Humboldt Foundation.
• Lang Xu awarded Kokes Travel Award from North American Catalysis Society.
• Sean Tacey awarded Roland A. Ragatz Discussion Award – Second Place.
• Daniel Vigil awarded an NSF Graduate Fellowship.
• Jonathan Glasgow awarded an Ellis C. Riplinger Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Scholarship.
• Manos Mavrikakis recognized by the American Vacuum Society with the Prairie Chapter Outstanding Researcher Award.
• Manos Mavrikakis receives research award from the Michigan Catalysis Society.

2016

• Ellen Murray awarded Roland A. Ragatz Discussion Award – First Place.
• Jonathan Glasgow awarded a Thomas Edward Gensler Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Scholarship.
• Lang Xu awarded Catalysis and Reaction Engineering (CRE) Division Travel Award from AIChE.
• Sean Tacey awarded Grainger Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship.
• Jonathan Glasgow awarded a UW-Madison Undergraduate Award for Summer Study.
• Ahmed Elnabawy awarded Roland A. Ragatz Discussion Award – First Place.
• Ahmed Elnabawy nominated as a Future Faculty Partner to UW-Teaching Academy.
• Daniel Vigil awarded Hilldale Undergraduate/Faculty Research Fellowship.
• Manos Mavrikakis among the most cited researchers in Chemical Engineering.
• Manos Mavrikakis named a fellow of the American Vacuum Society.
• Manos Mavrikakis is recognized as one of the 25 Chemical Engineering Professors You Should Know by the blog of onlineengineeringprograms.com.
• Manos Mavrikakis selected as a Vilas Associate.

2015

• Saurabh Bhandari awarded Donald E. Baldovin Graduate Fellowship.
• Anthony Plauck awarded Kokes Travel Award from North American Catalysis Society.
• Ahmed Elnabawy awarded Roland A. Ragatz Discussion Award – First Place.
• Anthony Plauck awarded R. Fenton-May Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship.
• Luke Roling awarded Catalysis and Reaction Engineering (CRE) Division Travel Award from AIChE.
• Daniel Vigil awarded a Wisconsin Sophomore Research Fellowship.
• Brandon Foley awarded a University Book Store Academic Excellence Award.
• Brandon Foley awarded an NSF Graduate Fellowship.
• Manos Mavrikakis selected for a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professorship.

2014

• Luke Roling awarded Roland A. Ragatz Laboratory Award.
• Lang Xu awarded Roland A. Ragatz Discussion Award.
• Lars Grabow (PhD 2008) awarded DOE Office of Science Early Career Research Award.
  Read More: University of Houston News, EurekAlert
• Brandon Foley selected for REU at Harvard University.
• Brandon Foley awarded a Hilldale Undergraduate/Faculty Research Fellowship.
• Manos Mavrikakis elected Fellow to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
• Manos Mavrikakis selected by the AIChE for the 2014 R. H. Wilhelm Award in Chemical Reaction Engineering .
• Manos Mavrikakis selected for the Byron Bird Award for Excellence in a Research Publication.
• Manos Mavrikakis awarded a Kellett Mid-Career Faculty Researcher Award.

2013

• Yunhai Bai awarded Air Products and Chemical, Inc. Graduate Fellowship.
• Suyash Singh awarded Kokes Travel Award from North American Catalysis Society.
• Luke Roling awarded Roland A. Ragatz Laboratory Award.
• Carrie Farberow awarded Catalysis and Reaction Engineering (CRE) Division Travel Award from AIChE.
• Brandon Foley awarded UW College of Engineering Fahien Scholarship.
• Brandon Foley named finalist for Astronaut Scholarship Foundation Award.
• Brandon Foley selected for REU at University of Houston – Cullen College of Engineering.
• Manos Mavrikakis named a fellow of the American Physical Society.

2012

• Suyash Singh awarded Catalysis and Reaction Engineering (CRE) Division Travel Award from AIChE.
• Suyash Singh awarded Polygon Engineering Council Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award.
• Winny Budiman awarded a Holstrom Environmental Scholarship.
• Yunhai Bai’s presentation selected as the Best Presentation of the Computational Catalysis III session at the 2012 AIChE Annual Meeting.
• Brandon Foley awarded BP Undergraduate Research Scholarship.
• Brandon Foley awarded UW College of Engineering Grensler Scholarship.
• Brandon Foley selected for REU at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China.
• Manos Mavrikakis becomes Editor-in-Chief of Surface Science.

2011

• Jeff Herron awarded Catalysis and Reaction Engineering (CRE) Division Travel Award from AIChE.
• Paper by Lars Grabow and Manos Mavrikakis (Mechanism of methanol synthesis on Cu through CO₂ and CO hydrogenation,  [DOI]) was among the Top 10 Most Read Articles in ACS Catalysis for 2011.
• Jeff Herron awarded a travel grant by the NSF-PIRE program to attend the “Energy and Materials from the Sun” Summer School.
• Carrie Farberow awarded a travel grant by the NSF-PIRE program to attend the “Energy and Materials from the Sun” Summer School.
• Carrie Farberow won a best poster award at the “Energy and Materials from the Sun” Summer School.
• Carrie Farberow awarded Roland A. Ragatz Discussion Award.
• Jeff Herron awarded Roland A. Ragatz Laboratory Award.
• Carrie Farberow awarded Kokes Travel Award from North American Catalysis Society.
• Jeff Herron awarded Kokes Travel Award from North American Catalysis Society.
• Carrie Farberow awarded student travel funding to attend GRC on Chemical Reactions at Surfaces.
• Jeff Greeley (PhD 2004) awarded DOE Office of Science Early Career Research Award.
• Manos Mavrikakis is among the top 100 Chemists for 2000-2010.

2010

• Jeff Herron awarded Air Products and Chemical, Inc. Graduate Fellowship.
• Jeff Herron awarded Roland A. Ragatz Award.
• Jeff Herron awarded East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes Fellowship from NSF.
• Carrie Farberow awarded NSF PASI Fellowship for travel to the Fifth San Luis Symposium on Surfaces, Interfaces, and Catalysis.
• Anand Nilekar (PhD 2008) awarded Chemicals Executive Vice President Award for excellence in the “Technology and Growth” category from Shell.

2009

• Carrie Farberow awarded PIRE International Graduate Research Internship at the Technical University of Denmark.
• Carrie Farberow awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.
• Yin Jin Lee awarded a Hilldale Undergraduate/Faculty Research Fellowship.
• Manos Mavrikakis selected for the 2009 Paul H. Emmett Award in Fundamental Catalysis.

2008

• Lars Grabow selected as student seminar speaker in the CBE Departmental Seminar Series.
• Peter Ferrin awarded PIRE-ECCI/ICMR Travel Award to UCSB.
• Peter Ferrin awarded Kokes Travel Award from North American Catalysis Society.
• Carrie Farberow awarded BP Graduate Fellowship.
• Carrie Farberow awarded NSEC Graduate Fellowship.
• Peter Ferrin awarded Catalysis and Reaction Engineering (CRE) Division Travel Award from AIChE.
• Shampa Kandoi (PhD 2006) awarded Senior Management Team Award for her contributions in developing  fuell cell technology at UTC Power.

2007

• Anand Nilekar awarded Catalysis and Reaction Engineering (CRE) Division Travel Award from AIChE.
• Amit Gokhale (PhD 2005) awarded BP / Tallow Chandlers Technology Award for contributions to paraxylene. technology.

2006

• Lars Grabow awarded Catalysis and Reaction Engineering (CRE) Division Travel Award from AIChE.
• Lars Grabow sponsored for PIRE-ECCI/ICMR Summer School in Santa Barbara, CA.

2005

• Lars Grabow awarded Kokes Travel Award from North American Catalysis Society.
• Peter Ferrin awarded Polygon Engineering Council Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award.
• Anand Nilekar awarded SC Johnson Distinguished Fellowship.
• Jeff Greeley awarded Hans Christian Ørsted Postdoctoral Fellowship – Technical University of Denmark.

2004

• Peter Ferrin awarded NSF Graduate Fellowship Honorable Mention.

2003

• Jeff Greeley awarded Catalysis and Reaction Engineering (CRE) Division Travel Award from AIChE.

2002

• Jeff Greeley awarded Catalysis and Reaction Engineering (CRE) Division Travel Award from AIChE.
• Bill Krekelberg awarded a Hilldale Undergraduate/Faculty Research Fellowship.

2001

• Jane Rempel awarded a Holstrom Environmental Scholarship.

2000

• Ye Xu awarded NSF Graduate Fellowship Honorable Mention.

1999

• Jeff Greeley awarded NSF Graduate Fellowship.