CISE PhD Student Scholar Award

In an effort to give back to the CISE community, we have established the annual CISE PhD Student Scholar Award. Each CISE-affiliated faculty will have the opportunity to nominate one PhD applicant for this award and a committee will evaluate all nominees based on the student’s merit/strength, potential to conduct cross-disciplinary research, and likeliness to continue PhD work with a CISE-affiliated prospective faculty advisor.

This student scholar award will bestow 4 matriculating and/or 1st year PhD students with a one-time endowment of $2,000/each, on top of their fellowship and stipends from their College/Department/Division, to be used towards research-related expenses (e.g., travel to a conference, computer purchases, etc.). Awardees will also act as student hosts for CISE seminars during their first two years, providing them the chance to network with visiting professors and industry professionals. 

Nominations for the 2025-2026 PhD Student Scholar Award have ended.

2024 – 2025 Awardees

Chae Woo Lim, CV
Advisor: Sheila Russo
Chae Woo Lim is a first-year Mechanical Engineering PhD student in the Material Robotics Lab, advised by Dr. Sheila Russo. His current research focuses on developing novel manufacturing processes, hardware, and controls to create soft medical robots that can enhance the safety and accessibility of medical interventions. Prior to his doctoral studies, Chae Woo earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan.

 

Onur Okuducu, CV
Advisor: Venkatesh Saligrama

Onur Okuducu is a first-year PhD student in Systems Engineering, advised by Dr. Venkatesh Saligrama. His research focuses on knowledge distillation, computer vision, and AI training optimization. Before his doctoral studies, Onur earned his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering at Middle East Technical University (METU).

 

 

Qian Wu, CV
Advisor: Sean Andersson

Qian Wu is a first-year Mechanical Engineering PhD student in the Robotics Lab, advised by Dr. Sean Andersson. His current research focuses on tracking algorithms and mathematical control theories for different source types. Before his doctoral studies, Qian Wu earned his Bachelor’s in Physics at UC Los Angeles, and his Master of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley.

 

Umran Yungucu, CV
Advisor: Ajay Joshi

Umran Yungucu received her B.S. degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering with a double major in Physics from the Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey, in 2024 . She is currently a Ph.D. student at the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA. Her research interests include High Performance Computing (HPC) for scientific applications and Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE).

 

 

We will begin accepting nominations for 2026-2025 in February 2026.