Submit your Award or Recognition
Fill out the form to have your award or recognition featured.
2026 AMPP Conference and Expo Student Poster Award
Three Klesse College students from the Corrosion Research Laboratory, led by Associate Professor Brendy Rincon Troconis, took first place at 2026 AMPP Conference and Expo for their incredible posters, securing first for UT San Antonio in three out of four categories. Nayab A. Ali, Jorge Escribano and David Silva were all honored with this tremendous achievements, reflecting the dedication, hard work, and commitment.
Awards were presented across specialized categories—including corrosion science, corrosion engineering, applied materials protection, and an undergraduate student category—where posters were evaluated relative to peers within each field.
2026 AMPP Herbert Uhlig Educator Award
Associate Professor, Brendy Rincon Troconis, has been recognized with the 2026 AMPP Herbert Uhlig Educator Award. This award, given to an academic educator within their first 10 years as a professor, highlights an educator's commitment to educational excellence at the undergraduate or graduate level.
"AMPP is a community that has shaped every stage of my professional journey. It is important to highlight that this award represents far more than an individual achievement. It reflects the collective investment of my family, mentors, collaborators, and my students, all of whom believed in me and supported and continue to support my growth along the way." - Brendy Rincon Troconis
Guo and Bhalla Endowed Materials Research Graduate (EMRG) Fellowship
Mechanical, Aerospace, and Industrial Engineering graduate research assistant Luis Perdomo-Hurtado has received the Ruyan Guo and Amar Bhalla Endowed Materials Research Graduate (EMRG) Fellowship, a fellowship that recognizes excellence in interdisciplinary materials science and engineering and fosters the advancement of emerging scholars.
TRANS-IPIC University Transportation Center Recognition
Dr. Samer Dessouky and his research team have been recognized by the TRANS-IPIC University Transportation Center (USDOT-funded UTC) for their Year 3 funded project titled “Instrumented Precast Concrete Curbs for Urban Infrastructure Readiness in Autonomous Vehicle Deployment,” a project which advances smart infrastructure solutions by developing instrumented precast concrete curb systems embedded with reflective surfaces and passive identification markers.
This recognition highlights UTSA’s continued leadership in innovative transportation research and aligns with TRANS-IPIC’s mission to advance data-driven infrastructure solutions that improve safety, mobility, and overall system performance.
2026 ASHRAE Conference Student Poster Award
Shreya Mehta received second place in the student poster competition of the 2026 ASHRAE conference, a competition for student members of ASHRAE currently working on their Bachelor or Master’s degree. Mehta achieved this tremendous recognition with her poster Study of Energy Storage and Supply Strategies for Advancing Resilience and Long-Term Comfort in Low-Income Communities During Texas Cold Snaps. The 2026 ASHRAE HVAC&R Student Paper Competition concluded on January 22nd with presentations from four finalists. Each paper submitted was based on an accepted BS or MS thesis.
ConTex Doctoral Fellowship
UT San Antonio graduate research assistant Mario Vallejo recently received the 2025 Doctoral Fellowship from ConTex, a joint program between the University of Texas System and Mexico's Secretariat of Sciences, Humanities, Technology, and Innovation. The Fellowship is awarded through a competitive process assessing academic merit and research potential. To secure it, Vallejo crafted an application that clearly defined his research objectives, aligned them with the fellowship's goals, and demonstrated how his work would benefit both partner countries (Mexico and the USA).
"For me, this fellowship is both an honor and a catalyst. It validates my academic path and provides critical support to engage in collaborative research, expand my technical skills, and build international networks, directly furthering my professional development and research ambitions."
-Mario Vallejo
ASSP 2025 William E. Tarrants Outstanding Safety Educator Award
Ibukun Awolusi was awarded with the 2025 William E. Tarrants Outstanding Safety Educator Award. This is a prestigious honor, and a national award presented by the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) annually to educators who demonstrate the highest level of achievement in environmental, health and safety (EHS) teaching, scholarship and professional service. The award is named after Dr. William E. Tarrants, a pioneer in safety education, a Society Fellow and a past Society president.
UT San Antonio Team Launches and Recovers 1st-Ever Texan Bi-Propellant Liquid Rocket
A Senior Design team named the League of Liquids, composed of mechanical engineering majors Grace Zimmer, Haven Russell, Emilio Mayorga, and Tanner Ford, has paved the way for UT San Antonio to become the first-ever Texan university to build, launch, and recover a bi-propellant liquid rocket. This marks a major milestone in UT San Antonio’s aerospace program and showcases the ingenuity of its students, the dedication of its mentors, and the vast resources available through its Makerspace. The recoverability of the liquid bi-propeller technology, which resembles in-use launch vehicle systems, is a major area of development in aerospace technology, so the League of Liquids' completing this task is beyond a tremendous accomplishment.
NSC 2025 Rising Stars of Safety Award
Ibukun Awolsi, associate professor of civil and enviromental engineering, has been named a 2025 Rising Star of Safety. With this award program, the National Safety Council (NSC) recognizes up-and-coming safety professionals younger than 40 who have a proven track record of safety leadership in their organization and are dedicated to continuous improvement. This is an international award where organizations around the world can nominate their safety professionals, whether or not the company is an NSC member.
