Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award Recipients Named

Texas A&M University and The Association of Former Students have selected 24 outstanding faculty and staff to be honored with the 2022 university level Distinguished Achievement Awards. Since 1955 the Distinguished Achievement Awards have been awarded to those who exhibit the highest standards of excellence at Texas A&M.

The Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award honors Texas A&M faculty and staff members in the categories of teaching, research, individual student relations, graduate mentoring, administration, staff, and extension/outreach/continuing education/professional development.

The selection process for this award is rigorous, with the recipients chosen by a campus-wide committee composed of faculty, staff, students, and former students. The award is a testimony to the esteem in which colleagues hold the recipients.

In recognition of their achievements, each recipient will receive a cash gift, an engraved watch, and a commemorative plaque.

The 2022 awardees are:

Administration

• Karen Cornell, Dean's Office, Professional Programs, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences

Extension, Outreach, Continuing Education, and Professional Development

• David Kerns ’85, Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Graduate Mentoring

• Sarbajit Banerjee, Department of Chemistry, College of Science
• Junuthula Reddy, Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering

Individual Student Engagement

• Chris Skaggs, Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• Apostolos Vasilakis, Department of English, College of Liberal Arts

Research

• Tingwen Huang ’02, Science Program, Texas A&M University at Qatar
• Patil ’94, Department of Horticultural Sciences, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• Stratos Pistikopoulos, Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering
• Libo Shan, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• Luis Tedeschi, Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• Kausalai Wijekumar, Department of Teaching, Learning, and Culture; College of Education and Human Development

Staff

• Judy Nunez, Dean’s Office, College of Geosciences
• Kelly Pampell, Finance, Mays Business School

Teaching

• Daniel Alge, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering
• Troy Bickham, Department of History, College of Liberal Arts
• Lei-Shih Chen ’07, Department of Health & Kinesiology, College of Education and Human Development
• Daniel Collins, Department of Chemistry, College of Science
• Kerri Gehring ’86, Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• Tracy Hammond, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, College of Engineering
• Ariun Ishdorj, Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• Mohammad Nutan, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy
• Matt Pharr, Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering
• Jennifer Whitfield ‘00, Department of Mathematics, College of Science

For more information about this year’s recipients, click here.