Faculty Awards

Alcoa Foundation Distinguished Engineering Research Award

This annual awards program was established with support from the Alcoa Foundation in 1978 to encourage basic or applied research or research in original design. The Alcoa Foundation Distinguished Engineering Research Award is made to a senior faculty member for research achievements over a period of at least five years at NC State.

Alcoa Foundation Engineering Research Achievement Award

This annual awards program was established with support from the Alcoa Foundation in 1978 to encourage basic or applied research or research in original design. The Alcoa Foundation Engineering Research Achievement Award is intended to recognize young faculty who have accomplished outstanding research achievements during the preceding three years.

College of Engineering Outstanding Teaching Award

The award recognizes excellence in teaching at all levels and is a prerequisite for being considered for the Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Alumni Distinguished Professor Award. Recipients become members of the Academy of Outstanding Teachers for as long as they are NC State faculty members. Recognition is given at commencement, the Celebration of Academic Excellence and the Teaching and Learning Symposium.

George H. Blessis Outstanding Undergraduate Advisor Award

The award, announced during the College’s spring faculty meeting, recognizes faculty members who consistently and willingly give their time and effort to advising, counseling and mentoring students and assisting student groups. It is also a continuing memorial to George H. Blessis, a faculty member whose interest in undergraduate education and advising serves as an example today.

Candidates are nominated by their department and are selected by the College of Engineering Teaching and Advising Awards Committee. The awardee receives $1,000 and a certificate, and the recipient’s name is engraved on a permanent plaque displayed in Page Hall, the administrative building for the College of Engineering.

The R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Award for Excellence in Teaching, Research, and Extension

The award was established in 1981 within the College of Engineering to honor a member of the engineering faculty who has demonstrated superiority in several areas of activity that relate to the University’s three-fold mission of teaching, research and extension. The annual award is supported by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company through the NC State Engineering Foundation to bring recognition to scientific and educational achievements in fields of engineering. The recipient is given a $25,000 prize distributed over five years.

Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence

The award was named in honor of Alexander Quarles Holladay, NC State’s first professor of history and its first president. This year’s award winners have made outstanding and sustained contributions to the university through achievements in research, teaching, or extension and engagement. Honorees receive an engraved medal and framed certificate, and are recognized at spring commencement.

Barbara Soloman Advising Award

The Barbara Soloman Advising Award is given in recognition of dedicated service to students by a primary role advisor. This award requires that the academic advising makes up 50% or more of the nominee’s job duties and has been advising for at-least five years at NC State. Recipients contribute to student success by providing involved, holistic and developmentally sensitive guidance,  demonstrate a commitment to improving advising practices at NC State, and advise students in a respectful, inclusive way.

John S. Risley Entrepreneur of the Year Award

The NC State Entrepreneur of the Year award was established to recognize members of the NC State community who work to promote the commercialization of university intellectual property, train future leaders, and serve as champions of the university’s culture of entrepreneurship.

NC State Innovator of the Year

The NC State Innovator of the Year award was established to recognize members of the NC State community who work to promote the commercialization of university intellectual property, train future leaders, and serve as champions of the university’s culture of innovation.

NC State Outstanding Teacher Award

The Outstanding Teacher Award recognizes excellence in teaching at all levels. Recipients of the Outstanding Teacher Award become members of the Academy of Outstanding Teachers for as long as they remain a member of the NC State faculty. Recipients are recognized at the Teaching Awards Luncheon in the Spring and in NC State media, and the Spring Commencement Program.

NC State’s Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor Award

This award, coordinated by the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost and the Office of Faculty Development, is one of the most prestigious graduate awards at NC State.

Recipients will be named “Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professors,” and retain that title for as long as they remain a member of the NC State faculty. Award recipients will be recognized at an Alumni Association event in the Spring and will receive a cash award of $4,000.  Recipients will also be recognized at the Teaching Awards Ceremony in the Spring and publicized in NC State media, and the Spring Commencement Program.

NC State’s Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor Award

This award, coordinated by the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost and the Office of Faculty Development, is one of the most prestigious undergraduate awards at NC State.

Recipients will be named “Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professors,” and retain that title for as long as they remain a member of the NC State faculty. Award recipients will be recognized at an Alumni Association event in the Spring and will receive a cash award of $4,000.  Recipients will also be recognized at the Teaching Awards Ceremony in the Spring and publicized in NC State media, and the Spring Commencement Program.

North Carolina Award for Science

Established by the General Assembly in 1961, the North Carolina Award is the highest civilian honor given by the state. Presented annually since 1964, the award recognizes significant contributions to the state and nation in the fields of fine art, literature, public service and science.

Since its inception, more than 250 notable men and women have been honored by the state of North Carolina. Past recipients include William Friday, Romare Bearden, James Taylor, Gertrude Elion, John Hope Franklin, David Brinkley, Maya Angelou, Billy Graham and Branford Marsalis.

O. Max Gardner Award

The award, established by the will of former North Carolina Governor O. Max Gardner in 1947, recognizes faculty who have “made the greatest contribution to the welfare of the human race.” The winner is selected by the UNC Board of Governors and receives a $30,000 stipend. The O. Max Gardner Award is the highest honor the System confers on faculty and all faculty members across all of its 17 campuses are eligible.

University Faculty Scholars

The Provost’s Office oversees the University Faculty Scholars Program, which was established by Chancellor Randy Woodson in 2012. The program recognizes and rewards emerging academic leaders who demonstrate significant achievement.

Each year, approximately twenty tenured or tenure-track faculty scholars are identified to receive this honor.  Faculty members selected as University Faculty Scholars carry the title for the duration of their faculty appointment at NC State and receive an increase to their base salary.

Army Research Office Young Investigator Award

The objective of the Army Research Office Young Investigator Program is to attract outstanding young university faculty members to pursue fundamental research in areas relevant to the Army, to support their research in these areas, and to encourage their teaching and research careers.   YIP awards are up to $120,000 per year for three years.

DARPA Young Faculty Award

The objective of the DARPA Young Faculty Award (YFA) program is to identify and engage rising stars in junior research positions, emphasizing those without prior DARPA funding, and expose them to DoD needs and DARPA’s program development process.

The YFA program provides funding, mentoring and industry and DoD contacts to awardees early in their careers so they may develop their research ideas in the context of national security needs. The long term goal of the YFA program is to develop the next generation of academic scientists, engineers, and mathematicians who will focus a significant portion of their career on DoD and National Security issues.

The annual research announcement seeking YFA applications is typically posted to the Grants.gov, and beta.sam.gov websites between August and September.

Member of National Academy of Engineering

Election to National Academy of Engineering membership is one of the highest professional honors accorded an engineer. Members have distinguished themselves in business and academic management, in technical positions, as university faculty, and as leaders in government and private engineering organizations. Members are elected to NAE membership by their peers (current NAE members).

National Inventors Hall of Fame

The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) is an American not-for-profit organization which recognizes individual engineers and inventors who hold a U.S. patent of highly significant technology. Founded in 1973, its primary mission is to “honor the people responsible for the great technological advances that make human, social and economic progress possible.” Besides the Hall of Fame, it also operates a museum in Alexandria, Virginia, and a former middle school in Akron, Ohio, and sponsors educational programs, a collegiate competition, and special projects all over the United States to encourage creativity among students.

As of 2020, 603 inventors have been inducted, mostly constituting historic persons from the past three centuries, but including about 100 living inductees. An NIHF committee chooses an annual inductee class in February from nominations accepted from all sources. Nominees must hold a U.S. patent of significant contribution to the U.S. welfare, and which advances science and useful arts. The 2020 class included 22 inventors.

National Medal of Technology and Innovation

The National Medal of Technology and Innovation (NMTI) is the nation’s highest honor for technological achievement, bestowed by the president of the United States on America’s leading innovators.

NSF CAREER Award

CAREER: The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. Activities pursued by early-career faculty should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research.

NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from early-career faculty at all CAREER-eligible organizations and especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities to apply.

Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Program seeks to identify and support academic scientists and engineers who are in their first or second full-time tenure-track or tenure-track-equivalent academic appointment and who show exceptional promise for doing creative research. The objectives of this program are to attract outstanding faculty members of Institutions of Higher Education to the Department of the Navy’s Science and Technology (S&T) research program, to support their research, and to encourage their teaching and research careers. Individuals who are holding non-profit equivalent positions are encouraged to apply.

Presidential Awards Honor Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring

The awards recognize outstanding individual efforts and organizational programs designed to increase the participation of underrepresented groups in mathematics, engineering, and science in kindergarten-12th grade and through the graduate level.

In 1994, the Clinton Administration’s science policy blueprint, Science in the National Interest, stated goals to produce the best-trained scientists and engineers for the 21st century and to enhance scientific and technological literacy of all Americans. The presidential mentoring awards are an outgrowth of these goals.

The mentoring awards recognize a long-term commitment to providing opportunities for greater participation in science and engineering by all Americans. This year’s awardees were selected from among 44 nominees for the individual awards and from among 13 institutional nominations.

Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers

In 1996, the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) was commissioned to create an award to recognize and honor outstanding scientists and engineers at the outset of their independent research careers. The NSTC was established to coordinate the multiagency science and technology policy-making process, and to implement and integrate the President’s science and technology policy agenda across the federal government.

The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) embodies the high priority placed by the government on maintaining the leadership position of the United States in science by producing outstanding scientists and engineers and nurturing their continued development. The Awards identify a cadre of outstanding scientists and engineers who will broadly advance science and the missions important to the participating agencies.

The PECASE Awards are intended to recognize some of the finest scientists and engineers who, while early in their research careers, show exceptional potential for leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge during the twenty-first century. The Awards foster innovative and far-reaching developments in science and technology, increase awareness of careers in science and engineering, give recognition to the scientific missions of participating agencies, enhance connections between fundamental research and national goals, and highlight the importance of science and technology for the nation’s future.

The PECASE Award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers. The awards are conferred annually at the White House following recommendations from participating agencies. To be eligible for a PECASE Award, an individual must be a U.S. citizen, national or permanent resident. Each Presidential award winner receives a citation, a plaque and funding from their agency for up to five years to advance his or her research. Individuals can receive only one PECASE award in their careers.

IEEE Medal of Honor

The IEEE Medal of Honor, established in 1917, is the highest IEEE award. It is presented when a candidate is identified as having made a particular contribution that forms a clearly exceptional addition to the science and technology of concern to IEEE.

The Global Energy Prize

The Global Energy Prize is an international award for outstanding scientific research and technological development in energy field, which help all mankind to solve the most acute and challenging energy problems. The Prize was established in 2002, and for 17 years in a row it has been awarded to the world’s leading scientists, whose discoveries and technological innovations meet global energy challenges. In 2020 the Prize fund amounts to 39 million rubles.

According to IREG Observatory on Academic Ranking and Excellence, the Global Energy Prize is one of TOP-99 international academic awards with the highest prestige and significance. It is the only award from Russia included in the IREG list.