This month, we celebrated nine outstanding alumni whose careers reflect the breadth and impact of a University of Iowa engineering education. The 2026 Honored Engineering Alumni Award recipients span fields from academia and military service to innovation, data science, and beyond. Each have made meaningful contributions in their professions and communities.
On April 16, the honorees returned to campus for a day of connection and reflection, including tours of the Seamans Center, a visit to the Driving Safety Research Institute, lunch with students, and a preview of senior design projects. The celebration culminated with an awards banquet at historic Kinnick Stadium.
At Iowa, we often say, “Always a Hawkeye,” and that spirit was on full display as these alumni reconnected with the college and inspired the next generation of engineers. | | | | | | The team of Tayla Lovan (ECE), Lydia Pauley (BME), and Eva Singh (CSE) won first place at the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Nexus Region 4 conference earlier this month in Chicago. | | | | | Humberto Vergara, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and a researcher with IIHR and Iowa Flood Center, received a $1.2 million grant to continue development of a flash flood forecasting system. | | | | | | Undergraduates Alec Melendez, Lane Neshiem, and Kethia Mulonda are gaining exposure to semiconductor research and manufacturing through the EDGE Scholars program. | | | | | Less than a year after Molly Anne Corlett earned a biomedical engineering degree, a ruptured brain hemorrhage would take her life. Yet, her legacy lives on through Molly's Miracles and scholarships. | | 
The College of Engineering Staff Advisory Council (ESAC) established a pollinator garden in 2023 on the rear exterior of the Seamans Center. To mark Earth Day this month, phase three of the pollinator garden came to fruition. Landscapers tilled additional ground and volunteers sowed 1,300 additional plants.
The garden features plants, flowers, shrubs, and grasses native to Johnson County, Iowa, with species including echinacea, purple prairie clover, white wild indigo, rough blazing star, and button snakeroot.
ESAC staff have collaborated with UI Landscape Services, the Bee Campus USA committee, the UI Office of Sustainability, and UI LiveWell to secure grants and coordinate resources to bring the garden to life. The garden removes the need for landscape maintenance and adds vibrancy outside of the Seamans Center. | | | |
