The College of Engineering and Architecture held its annual college awards ceremony on April 24. Two faculty, Scott Pryor and Wei Lin, and graduate student Gong Li were honored.
Pryor, assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, received the Researcher of the Year Award for his contributions to the field of biofuel and biofield co-product development.
“Dr. Pryor has been extremely influential in changing my perception of how to collaborate successfully between different colleges/departments and what it takes to be an effective research collaborator,” wrote Chad Ulven, associate professor of mechanical engineering, in a nomination letter. “Dr. Pryor is highly approachable and always willing to set aside ego and individual ambition for the greater good of collaboration.”
Pryor joined NDSU in fall 2006. Since then, he has produced 14 research articles, given 25 presentations and presented 11 posters. He has served as an investigator of projects that have received more than $4 million in state, federal and industry grants. He is a member of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers and the American Society for Engineering Education.
Lin, associate professor of civil engineering, was recognized with the Teacher of the Year Award for his teaching accomplishments and impact on students. He helped develop the environmental and conservation sciences graduate program and an upper-level field experience course, which provides students international experiences. He also strives to connect classroom material with real engineering experiences.
Tanush Wadhawan, a civil engineering doctoral student, wrote in a nomination letter that Lin takes special interest in helping students gain practical experience through design competitions, community service projects and international travel. “Dr. Lin has been a tremendous help in shaping the careers of many undergraduate and graduate students as engineers,” Wadhawan wrote.
Lin joined NDSU in 1997. His research areas include water/wastewater treatment processes, water quality management in rivers and lakes and hydroclimatic impact of stream flows. He advises the NDSU American Water Works Association student chapter and is affiliated with the American Society for Engineering Educators, American Society of Civil Engineers, Water Environment Federation, American Indian Science and Engineering Society.
The Graduate Research Assistant of the Year Award went to Gong Li, a doctoral student in the industrial and manufacturing engineering department. He was recognized for his contributions to multiple research projects and proposals since joining the doctoral program in 2007. He has contributed to seven research projects and given six presentations. He also has written 11 peer-reviewed journal papers, nine peer-reviewed conference papers and one book chapter.
Li’s research is focused on wind energy forecasting and the bidding strategy optimization for wind energy generation due to the improved forecasting accuracy.
“Mr. Li’s research achievements are phenomenal,” Jing Shi, associate professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering and Li’s adviser, wrote in a nomination letter. “He has made a number of breakthrough contributions.”
The developments include the comprehensive evaluation of multiple neural network architectures for short-term wind forecasting; the application of Bayesian model averaging approach to wind resource estimation and short-term wind forecasting; the introduction of a probabilistic method to forecast wind generation; and the development of agent-based simulation models for evaluating wind generators’ bidding strategy to maximize the profit in a deregulated electricity market.
John Cook, interim chair of the industrial and manufacturing engineering department, wrote, “Without question, Mr. Gong Li has been the most productive graduate student in the IME department during my tenure at NDSU.”
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.