Three Auburn Engineering faculty members earn prestigious honors from university

Published: Nov 18, 2024 2:40 PM

By Joe McAdory

Three Auburn Engineering faculty members were recognized for exemplary leadership, innovative research, scholarship, creative work and dedicated service to the university and community at the 18^th annual Auburn University Faculty Awards ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 19.

Hari Narayaran, chair of the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Nima Shamsaei, the Philpott-WestPoint Stevens Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Panagiotis Mistriotis, assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, were among 19 distinguished faculty members from nine colleges that were honored.

“We are extremely proud of Drs. Narayaran, Shamsaei and Mistriotis for their outstanding contributions to impactful research and skillful leadership that help shape the future of Auburn University,” said Mario Eden, dean of engineering. “Their commitment to innovation and academic excellence continues to elevate our college, inspire our students and drive meaningful advancements in their respective disciplines.”

Narayaran and Kerry Inger, a professor in the Harbert College of Business’ School of Accountancy, are joint recipients of the President’s Award for Distinguished Faculty Leadership. Narayanan co-chaired efforts to craft Auburn University’s ambitious 10-year strategic plan, a collaborative undertaking that demonstrated steadfast dedication to the university's future.

Narayaran, who also serves as the AI@AU administrative lead, invested thousands of hours beyond his faculty responsibilities, facilitating meetings and leading work sessions crucial to shaping the plan’s goals. With Inger, Narayanan actively participated in dozens of feedback sessions, meetings and interviews.

As department chair, Narayaran spearheaded efforts to bring artificial intelligence (AI) education into the Auburn curriculum. The college began offering AI engineering degree and certificate programs to graduate and undergraduate students this fall.

Shamsaei, director of Auburn University’s National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence (NCAME), is among the university’s Creative Research and Scholarship Award recipients and awarded the Distinguished Graduate Faculty Lectureship. An internationally recognized expert in additive manufacturing (AM), metal fatigue and fracture, material behavior and structural integrity, Shamsaei has secured more than $60 million in funding from organizations like NASA, the National Science Foundation, the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Department of Defense.

With an h-index of 65 and work that has earned more than 17,000 academic citations, Shamsaei is one of the world's foremost thought leaders in AM development.

Mistriotis is recognized for research that bridges the fields of engineering, physics and biology. His research group, the Mistriotis Lab, explores how healthy and diseased cells translate physical and topographical cues into biochemical signals. Mistriotis has published 37 peer-reviewed journal articles, and his work has been cited over 2,400 times. He has delivered 10 invited presentations nationally and internationally.

Mistriotis was named 2024 Young Innovator by scientific journal Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering for his three-year study, “Leveraging Cell Migration Dynamics to Discriminate between Senescent and Pre-scenescent Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells.” He earned an Early Career Award from the National Blood Foundation in 2021 for a project that aims to enhance the efficacy of stem cells in treating aging-related diseases.

Media Contact: Joe McAdory, jem0040@auburn.edu, 334.844.3447