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