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Dear University Community, I am pleased to announce the recipients of the 2026 University of Houston Faculty Awards! We selected 29 honorees in 14 categories this year, including the University’s highest faculty honor, the Esther Farfel Award. The recipient of that particular honor is longtime faculty member and alumnus Venkat Selvamanickam. Dr. Selvamanickam—or “Selva” as he’s known around campus—also earned the Excellence in Innovation Award, one of the new categories that debuted this year. It has been quite the year for Selva, as he was recently named to the National Academy of Engineering. You can read more about him in this recent article. The complete list of award recipients is included below. These honorees will be celebrated at a special ceremony to be scheduled during the fall semester. Please join me in congratulating this year’s award recipients! They are examples of the outstanding faculty who are making an impact through service, teaching, and research. Sincerely, Diane 2026 University of Houston Faculty Award Cougar Spirit Award - Michael Cottingham, Professor, Health & Human Performance Excellence in Innovation Award - Venkat Selvamanickam, Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Excellence in Research: Assistant Professor - Pieremanuele Canepa, Assistant Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering Excellence in Research: Assistant Professor - Abdul Latif Khan, Assistant Professor, Engineering Technology Excellence in Research: Associate Professor - Venkatesh Balan, Associate Professor, Engineering Technology Excellence in Research: Associate Professor - Kerri Crawford, Associate Professor, Biology & Biochemistry Excellence in Research: Professor - Krešimir Josic, Professor, Mathematics Excellence in Research: Professor - Yashashree Kulkarni, Professor, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Esther Farfel Award - Venkat Selvamanickam, Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Global Faculty Award - Nikhil Celly, Instructional Associate Professor, Management Department Innovation in Teaching Award - Emese Felvegi, Professor of Practice, Decision & Information Science Innovation in Teaching Award - Russell Larsen, Instructional Professor, Chemistry Innovation in Teaching Award - Bradley Miller, Professor of Practice, Decision & Information Science Innovation in Teaching Award - Lan Chi Nguyen, Instructional Assistant Professor, Clinical Sciences Moores Professorship - Keliy Anderson-Staley, Professor, School of Art Moores Professorship - Karen Fang, Professor, English Moores Professorship - Sergey Shevkoplyas, Professor, Biomedical Engineering Moores Professorship - Vincent Tam, Professor, Pharmacy Practice & Translational Research Moores Professorship - Rakesh Verma, Professor, Computer Science Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award - Jose Guillermo De Los Reyes Heredia, Associate Professor, Hispanic Studies Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award - Ona Akinde, Graduate Teaching Assistant, English Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award - Jessica Kirschmann, Graduate Teaching Assistant, Health & Human Performance Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award - Zahra Rouzitalab, Graduate Teaching Assistant, Civil & Environmental Engineering Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award - Chelsea Sanchez, Graduate Teaching Assistant Outstanding Population Health Publication Award - Neema Langa, Assistant Professor, Sociology Rising Innovator Award - Marzia Cescon, Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Undergraduate Research Mentor Award - Melody Li, Associate Professor, Modern & Classical Languages Undergraduate Research Mentor Award - Richard Meisel, Associate Professor, Biology & Biochemistry Undergraduate Research Mentor Award - Chandra Mohan, Professor, Biomedical Engineering
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