David Umphress, associate professor of computer science and software engineering, is the recipient of one of this year’s Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching. Casey Cegielski, associate professor in the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business, was also honored. The award recognizes two full-time, tenured faculty members who demonstrate effective and innovative teaching methods and a continuing commitment to student success through advising and mentoring inside and outside the classroom. Umphress also serves as the director of the Auburn Cyber Research Center. Read more about Umphress and his service in teaching here.

Pradeep Lall, Thomas Walter Professor of mechanical engineering, has received one of the university’s Creative Research and Scholarship Awards. Conner Bailey, professor in the College of Agriculture, also received this award, which recognizes the achievements and contributions of faculty who have distinguished themselves through research, scholarly works and creative contributions in their field. Lall serves as the director of Auburn’s NSF-CAVE3 Center for Advanced Vehicle and Extreme Environment Electronics, a research entity dedicated to developing and implementing new technologies for the manufacturing and packaging of electronics, while focusing on the cost, environmental and reliability requirements of the vehicular industry. Learn more about Lall’s research here.

Saad Biaz, associate professor of computer science and software engineering, is the recipient of the Provost Award for Excellence in Fostering Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship. Biaz was recognized for a decade of grant support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Defense to host an NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU). Biaz’s REU has been hosted at Auburn for the past 10 consecutive summers and offers students from across the country the opportunity to conduct research and design algorithms for unmanned aerial vehicles.