Graduating ORIE seniors receive prizes, fellowships and special recognition

The Class of 2010 ORIE graduation ceremony demonstrated the extraordinary scope of accomplishments by the graduating seniors, many of whom were singled out for special recognition at the event. 

Saunders Prize

Each year the ORIE graduates who are at the top of the graduating class academically receive an award named for the late Byron Saunders, a faculty member and director of the School and Dean of the Cornell Faculty.  This year's winners are Marcus Meng, Jenny Zhou and Joseph Xu<.  Remarkably, all three have interned at Archelon, a company founded by ORIE alum Charles Tall (featured in the Fall 2010 ENG magazine), and they all joined the company upon graduation.   They each graduated summa cum laude.

Meng, from Vancouver, British Columbia, was a member of Cornell's Automotive X-Prize team for two years and has served as a TA in operations research, computer science and mathematics.  He was a facilitator with the Academic Excellence Workshops (AEW), a student manager for Cornell Dining, and a participant in the Engineering Co-op program.   

Zhou, from Richmond Hill, Ontario, did independent research in energy and the environment, financial regulation, and portfolio optimization, the last two for ORIE.  She was a student manager for Cornell Dining for 2 years, served as a TA, and has been involved in AEW as facilitator and trainer.  She is an Engineering Global Fellow.

In his freshman year Xu, from Tokyo, co-authored a paper that was published in a top chemistry research journal.  He did independent research on factory simulations, shortfall risk, and immunology, served as a TA, an AEW facilitator in computer science, math and chemistry, and as operations deputy on the Automotive X Prize team.  He also volunteered at the Ithaca Free medical Clinic.  

M. Eng. Awards

New graduates Daniel Zhang, Matt Robison, and Gérman Gutiérrez Gallardo received fellowship awards to continue into the ORIE Master of Engineering program. 

Robison and Gutiérrez each received a Knight Scholarship, named after an alumnus of a predecessor of ORIE, the Administration Option.  These awards are designed to assist and encourage top students to earn both M.Eng. and MBA degrees at Cornell. 

Robison, from Rensselaer, N.Y., headed the 65-member Automotive X Prize team made up of students from throughout the College of Engineering.  Gutiérrez, from Guadalajara, Mexico, graduated summa cum laude.  He co-founded an organization striving to increase Mexican student representation at top American universities and, with classmate Thomas Byuen, did a research project analyzing optimal strategies for Monopoly.  

Robison, who graduated cum laude,  also received the Sam and Geraldine Dell Fellowship, established in 2008 with a generous gift from the Dells.  Sam Dell received his BS degree in ORIE in 1965 and his M.Eng. in 1966, going on to 35 years of leadership roles at ExxonMobil.  

Gutiérrez, who graduated summa cum laude, also received the Allan H. Mogensen Prize, established to recognize a pioneer in the concept of work simplification, which became a cornerstone of what is now called the Toyota Production system.  He was an active member of Cornell’s Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and was co-lead facilitator in the AEW.  

Zhang, who also graduated summa cum laude, received the ORIE Master of Engineering Fellowship, which was awarded for the first time in 2010.  From Seattle, Wash., Zhang served as a technology transfer intern at the Cornell Center for Technology, Enterprise and Commercialization, a treasury analyst intern for Student Agencies, a TA, and a member of the executive board of the Cornell chapter of the Engineering Honor Society.  (Since commencement,  Zhang withdrew from the M.Eng. program and the ORIE Master of Engineering Fellowship has been awarded to Mark Fontana, a Cornell government and economics graduate.)  

Leadership Awards

Professor Robert Bland, who served as Associate Director for Undergraduate Studies throughout the period when the graduates were ORIE students, hosted the awards presentation at the graduation ceremony.  In his remarks to the graduating students and their parents, he acknowledged the broad involvement of ORIE undergraduates as leaders in campus activities, including service organizations, athletics and performing arts, as well as study abroad and Engineering Coop participation.  In particular he provided Excellence in Leadership recognition to graduates Edwin Salazar, Vicky Tian, Kristie Resetco, Yoon Kang, Peirce Stern, Liz Peters, Christine Kelly, Nicole Monteleone, Anson Li, and Megan Akamine, and provided ample evidence of their leadership roles.

Salazar, from Central Islip, N.Y., is a Gates Millenium Scholar, and was treasurer, then vice president, then president of the Cornell chapter of the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers. He was a CUEmpower mentor, and volunteered in the Ithaca Community in the Relay For Life and in Cornell’s Into the Streets program. He was a web applications manager for CU Data Management and a support tech in the Engineering Academic Computing Center.

Tian, from Fresh Meadows, N.Y. is a Cornell Engineering Global Fellow; she studied for a semester at École Centrale in Paris. She was a peer advisor, and a Cornell Fund phone drive supervisor. She was a member of Engineers for a Sustainable World, and served as an officer of both the Cornell and the national organization. She was a member of the Cornell Solar Oven team that designed a solar cooker for use in remote areas and installed two large solar ovens in the hills of Nicaragua. She also did an independent study with Prof. Peter Jackson.

Resetco is from Downington, Pa. In 2009, she received an Emerging Global Leader award from Womansphere, a global organization of women leading, creating, innovating, and changing the world. She received a 2010 Undergraduate Excellence in Leadership award from Cornell Engineering’s Diversity Programs office. She was director of career development, and then president of the Cornell chapter of the Society of Women Engineers, one of the most active and effective student groups in our campus, or any other. She also volunteered at the SPCA.

Kang, from Fayetteville, N.Y., was a member of the Cornell Chamber Singers as well as the a capella group Nothing But Treble. She performed at Carnegie Hall, and also performed campus service and community service as a peer advisor and a volunteer with both the United Way and the Cancer Society. She studied abroad at the Yonsei International Summer School in Seoul, Korea and received their Dean's Academic Honors Award. Kang also received a scholarship from the Cornell Alumni Association of Central New York.

Stern, from Cumberland, Md., graduated magna cum laude. As an undergraduate he was a member of the renowned Cornell Glee Club and the Cornell Chorale. He was very active in Slope TV and Slope Radio, was a member of the Automotive X Prize team, and served as a laboratory technician in biochemistry.

Peters is from Evanston, Ill. She is an Engineering Global Fellow; she studied at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.  She did a summer research project on nonlinear optimization with Prof. Jorge Nocedal of Northwestern University. She was co-captain of the Cornell Figure Skating team, which finished fifth in the nation in 2008, and a member of the synchronized skating team. She was a clarinetist in the Cornell Wind Ensemble, and participated in two service trips to Costa Rica, where she performed, conducted master classes, and delivered donated instruments. She was a course assistant in Math, an engineering tour guide, a peer advisor, an orientation leader, and a wilderness trip guide.

Kelly is from Poway, Calif. For three years she was a student manager of the Takton Center, Cornell’s center for first-year students, and obtained funds for the center through the President’s Council of Cornell Women. She served as a peer advisor and was active in the Society of Women Engineers. She volunteered with the SPCA, Therapy Thru Music, and EYES: Encouraging Young Engineers and Scientists, a student organization that promotes scientific literacy and advances engineering and science as potential career choices via engaging science demonstrations in local schools.

Monteleone, from Woodland Hills, Calif., was a member of Cornell Engineering’s MineSweeper team for three years. Cornell MineSweeper is a student-initiated effort to design and fabricate a low-cost, autonomous robotic vehicle to accurately detect landmines and facilitate their clearance. She was a peer advisor, and, for three years, captain of Cornell’s Women’s Club Volleyball team, which finished fifth nationally this year. She did all this while logging heavy hours in two part-time jobs: as a business analytics intern in the office of research integrity assurance and a grader in the math department.

Lin, from Seattle, Wash., is an Engineering Global Fellow; he studied in Tokyo at Sophia University.  He was a TA, a member of Cornell’s Japan-US Association, treasurer of the Cornell Taiwanese American Society, and President of the Cornell Asian Pacific Islander Student Union. He was one of the chief organizers of Cornell’s Asia Night 2010, which was chosen “The Outstanding Event that Celebrates Campus Diversity” by the Cornell Student Activities Office. He was recognized by that office with their Distinguished Leadership Award. He served as President of Cornell’s Absolute Zero Breakdance Club, and he won 1st place at two intercollegiate dance competitions. He was also part of the Carnelian Fund investment team.

Akamine, from Honolulu, Hawaii, is a Cornell Tradition Fellow and graduated cum laude. She did the Engineering Co-op program, tutored at the Learning Strategies Center, was a stats lab tutor, a TA, did research on pricing models, and volunteered at the SPCA. She played on Cornell’s Women’s Club basketball team.  Her sorority raised $2,000 for cardiac care this year through a male beauty pageant for which she was the “Beauty Coach” for the male contestants.  Of particular note is that Akamine was selected by Teach for America, as discussed in a separate news item.