Graduate Students Program Overview

Graduate Student Awards

Note: All awards listed on this page are given exclusively to students registered at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

*Must be nominated for marked awards.

Electrical and Computer Engineering Awards

C.R. Allen International Student Award - This award was set up to perpetuate the memory of Mr. Allen's generosity to international students. The donor has agreed that we should change this from a grant to an award which will be based on merit first and financial need second.

John Bardeen Memorial Graduate Research Award - The John Bardeen Memorial Graduate Research Award was established to honor the memory of Dr. John Bardeen and his outstanding contribution to Electrical Engineering and the development of electronic devices. The award of $2000 is to be made annually to a doctoral student who has demonstrated excellence in research in electronic devices.

Robert T. Chien Memorial Award - The Robert T. Chien Memorial Award in Electrical Engineering is awarded annually to a doctoral candidate for excellence in research in the areas of Bioengineering and Acoustics, Circuits and Signal Processing, Communication and Control, Computer Engineering, or Power and Energy Systems. Graduate students in these areas who have been admitted to Ph.D. candidacy and whose Ph.D. advisors hold appointments in the Department are eligible for this award.

P. D. Coleman Outstanding Research Award - The P. D. Coleman Outstanding Research Award has been established by his students and colleagues in honor of his outstanding mentoring of graduate students while at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The award of $4000 is made annually to one or two doctoral students who have demonstrated excellence in research in Dr. Coleman's field of interest.

Grainger Power Engineering Awards - The Grainger Power Engineering Awards were established by the Grainger Foundation to recognize the importance of the field of electric power and energy systems and the performance of the students who graduate with a concentration in that area.  Up to 25 awards (combined total of undergrad and grad) of $6,000 each are given each year.

Nick and Katherine Holonyak, Jr. Graduate Student Award - The Nick and Katherine Holonyak, Jr. Graduate Student Award was established in 2002 to recognize a doctoral student who has participated in technological research in semiconductor optoelectronics and the high speed microelectronics area. The award carries a stipend of $5000 plus the recipient’s name is placed on a plaque in Everitt Lab.

Yuen T. Lo Outstanding Research Award - The Yuen T. Lo Outstanding Research Award has been established to honor Yuen T. Lo, a retired member of the Electrical and Computer Engineering faculty. The award of $2000 is made annually to a doctoral student who has demonstrated excellence in research in Dr. Lo's field of interest.

Raj Mittra Outstanding Research Award - The Raj Mittra Outstanding Research Award has been established by students and colleagues of Raj Mittra in honor of his outstanding contributions to electromagnetic communication research while at the University of Illinois. The award of $2000 is made annually to a doctoral student who has demonstrated excellence in research in Electromagnetics.

*Harold L. Olesen Award - The award is made each semester to a graduate student or students teaching in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering to recognize an outstanding effort in undergraduate teaching. The award was set up as part of the Harold L. Olesen Fund for Undergraduate Instruction Improvement.

Gregory Stillman Semiconductor Research Award - The Gregory Stillman Semiconductor Research Award was established by his colleagues and former students in 1996 to honor his sixtieth birthday. Professor Stillman was a member of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty from 1975 until his death in 1999. The award of $5000 is to be made annually to one or two doctoral students who have demonstrated excellence in semiconductor research.

Timothy N. Trick Leadership Award - In 1996 the Timothy N. Trick Leadership Award was established to recognize Dr. Trick's leadership of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering for ten years from 1985-1995 as Department Head. The award is given annually to a student in the Department in recognition of good scholarship and demonstrated ability as a future leader of people. While all forms of student leadership shall be considered, greater weight will be given to demonstrated leadership in an engineering context, such as leading a project design team or an Engineering Open House Project.

M. E. Van Valkenburg Graduate Research Award - In 1986 a fund was established on the occasion of the 65th birthday of Mac Van Valkenburg, with income from the fund to be used to provide a fellowship in his honor. Mac Van Valkenburg symbolizes the highest quality of engineering education in Illinois and, indeed, in the country. The award, which is given annually to one or two outstanding PhD candidates, carries a $7500 stipend.

College of Engineering Awards

Henry Ford II Scholar - The Henry Ford II Scholar Award is given to a first-year graduate student (entering the second year of graduate study). The recipient is selected for academic excellence and on evidence of other accomplishments such as initiating research. When more than one nominee meets the criteria, preference is given to the one whose field is most directly related to the automotive industry.

Ross J. Martin Memorial Award - This award was established by the college to recognize outstanding research achievement by a graduate student in the College of Engineering as a memorial to Ross J. Martin, associate dean of the college, who served as director of the Engineering Experiment Station for 26 years, until his death in 1984. During his tenure as director, the engineering research budget grew eightfold. Dean Martin realized how essential research is to a sound graduate engineering education and was instrumental in making this college one of the foremost research institutions in the world. This award is a tribute to his guidance and to the outstanding research conducted in this college.