Two from CoE honored at Mānoa Awards Ceremony
Dr. Tyler Ray, Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the College of Engineering, has been awarded the 2022 OVPRS Faculty Award for Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research & Creative Work. Ray is one of just two UHM faculty mentors this academic year recognized for their dedicated and sustained excellence in faculty mentoring of undergraduate students in their research and creative work endeavors.
As a recipient of this award, Ray will receive a $500 check from the OVPRS/Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) and will be recognized at an in-person campus awards ceremony on May 2, 2022.
Jill Nakatsu is the recipient of the 2022 Pakela Advisor Award. She serves as the director of academic affairs in the College of Engineering, overseeing advising for roughly 1,200 engineering and pre-engineering majors at UH Mānoa. For two years, she operated as the only academic advisor in the college due to retirements and the loss of several positions during the pandemic. She has created (and regularly updates) freshman and transfer-student guides and has developed training materials and workshops for department faculty advisors and engineering student ambassadors as well. Nakatsu is responsible for evaluating applications from prospective students, approximately 1,200 per year, and for conducting graduation checks for all graduating seniors. In addition to her advising work, Nakatsu regularly assists with developing new programs, most recently helping to create the Engineering Science program and a new concentration in ocean engineering (still in progress). She has collaborated with Chaminade University of Honolulu to implement the Office of Naval Research Engineering Success in STEM Project, a partnership with multiple Hawaiʻi Department of Education high schools to train teachers and increase high school students’ access to engineering/STEM courses. Nakatsu was honored with the College of Engineering Faculty Service Award in 2020.