Bioengineering 2026 Graduate Awards Awards / May 19, 2026 Share: Author: Coley Coleman University of Pennsylvania Graduate Leadership Award Ludwig Zhao, Ph.D. President & Provost’s Honor for Developing New Initiatives in Graduate & Professional Student Life Awarded To: Ludwig Zhao, Ph.D. This award recognizes graduating students who have created lasting developments that enhance graduate and professional student life. Zhao was recognized for his extensive service and leadership through multiple roles within the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly (GAPSA) and on University committees, as well as his sustained advocacy for research students at Penn. School of Engineering and Applied Science Graduate Awards Outstanding Academic Awarded To: Lydia Lam, Master’s of Biotechnology, a joint program of the School of Arts and Sciences and Penn Engineering Outstanding Research Awarded To: Xiaomei Li, Master’s of Biotechnology, a joint program of the School of Arts and Sciences and Penn Engineering Honorable Mention, Outstanding Research Awarded To: Zimeng Wang, Master’s in Bioengineering Department of Bioengineering Solomon R. Pollack Awards for Excellence in Graduate Bioengineering Research The Solomon R. Pollack Award for Excellence in Graduate Bioengineering Research is given annually to the most deserving Bioengineering graduate students who have successfully completed research that is original and recognized as being at the forefront of their field. Awarded To: Brian Vu, Ph.D. in Bioengineering Advisor: Dr. Chamith Rajapakse Dissertation Title: Rapid, High-resolution, and Signal-efficient Methods for the Clinical Translation of Bone Magnetic Resonance Imaging Awarded To: Hannah Geisler, Ph.D. in Bioengineering Advisor: Dr. Mike Mitchell Dissertation Title: Engineering targeted lipid nanoparticles for RNA delivery to the placenta Awarded To: Paul Jacobs, Ph.D. in Bioengineering Advisor: Dr. Ravinder Reddy Dissertation Title: Novel Metasurfaces for Mitigation of B1 Inhomogeneities in NOE and CEST MRI at 7T: Clinical Applications in White Matter Demyelinating Pathology Stanford University Knight-Hennessy Scholar Brianna Leung Awarded To: Brianna Leung, Master’s in Bioengineering The Stanford University program provides up to three years of financial support for graduate study, along with global leadership training through a multidisciplinary cohort of scholars. Leung will pursue a Ph.D. in bioengineering at Stanford’s School of Engineering and School of Medicine. At Penn, she built Empathera, a startup focused on pressure ulcer prevention, revived Penn ADAPT and launched Enginuity, a platform that connects student engineers with people with disabilities to support community-driven assistive technology design. Her research on adaptive deep brain stimulation algorithms has also been recognized by Penn Bioengineering and at several conferences. National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program This fellowship program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees. The fellowship provides three years of financial support, including an annual stipend and cost-of-education allowance, while helping prepare recipients to become leaders in research, teaching and innovation. Current Bioengineering Ph.D Students: Giana Vitale Sylvia Cho Roy Chen Cayman Matson Alexandra Dolynuk Tal Dassau Sasha Shefter Emily Fitzgerald Incoming Bioengineering Ph.D Students: Lindsay Gallagher Gene Weng Chloe Connolly Julia Patterson Natalie Calahan Evangeline Meyler Cameron White Aisha Mansoor Lucy Park Songman Li Sara Hunihan Rene DeBrabander April Guo-Yue Read More Scaling Student Innovation: Enginuity Powers Community-Driven Engineering Protecting Pediatric Patients: Team Reel-IV Designs for Safer Care
