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Comet Commendations

comet commendation

Comet Commendations are an opportunity to recognize fellow College of Engineering employees who take actions that strengthen our community. Staff, faculty and other academic employees are encouraged to participate and recognize their colleagues.

Submit a Comet Commendation

Each month, three recipients and one submitter from the previous month will be randomly selected to receive a $25 gift card.

Randomly selected recipients will be highlighted in Engineering Weekly on the first Tuesday of the month. All other recipients of commendations will be recognized on the college's intranet on an ongoing basis.

Note: This program is for staff, faculty and other academic employees. See below for resources and ideas to recognize student staff, graduate and professional students and postdocs.

Commendations Given

September 2023

Recipient
Recipient's Department
Reason for Commendation
Submitter
Submitter's Department
Penny Schafer
 Dean's Office

Penny has gone beyond the call of duty in assisting ECE in our recruitment and retention efforts by providing timely assistance, advice and interaction with the candidates.   

 André Knoesen ECE
Kari Gage and Sara Sweeney
 CS & MSE Kari and Sara were instrumental in the OASIS Degree Certification training conducted for all the major advisors in the college. I was extremely grateful for their willingness and eagerness to assist in the instructional guide and demonstration especially knowing their time is scarce. It was truly a collaborative effort that resulted in a successful training. Thank you, Kari and Sara, for your endless support with College of Engineering projects and our students! Shadaya Litt EUO
Norma Andrade
 Dean's Office

I wanted to take a moment to express my sincere appreciation for the outstanding support and excellent customer service Norma Andrade consistently provides to our new faculty members. Norma's dedication and commitment to going the extra mile has not gone unnoticed.

Norma's willingness to assist and guide new faculty through the procurement process has made a significant difference in their onboarding experience. Her patience, knowledge, and attention to detail have helped them navigate the sometimes-complex world of procurement with ease.

Norma's proactive approach and timely responses to their inquiries have not only saved them valuable time but have also given them a sense of reassurance and confidence in our organization's support system. Her willingness to accommodate their unique needs and find creative solutions to challenges has been truly remarkable.

In addition to Norma's exemplary customer service skills, her ability to maintain a positive and approachable attitude, even during busy times, has contributed to a welcoming and supportive environment for our new faculty members.

Norma's dedication to our college success and her commitment to ensuring that every faculty member feels valued and supported is truly commendable. Norma exemplifies the highest standards of professionalism and service excellence.

I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude for her exceptional contributions. Norma's efforts reflect the values and culture we strive to uphold, and they play a pivotal role in our continued success.

Once again, thank you to Norma, for her unwavering commitment to our faculty and our college. Norma's dedication does not go unnoticed!

 Melanie Clague Dean's Office
Daret Kehlet and Dave Griffiths
 CEE & Dean's Office Daret and Dave led the transformation of the CEE boathouse into a more useable space to help deal with a pressing space issue. They went above and beyond to find and implement effective and timely solutions.  Chris Cappa CEE
R. Paul Villaluz
 Dean's Office I would like to recognize R. Paul for his assistance in showing me how to use Qualtrics. His willingness to share his expertise is greatly appreciated. I am now better equipped to utilize Qualtrics effectively for our projects. Thank you! Ammy Martinez Dean's Office

 

Oct. 2022 - July 2023 Commendations

July 2023

Recipient
Recipient's Department
Reason for Commendation
Submitter
Submitter's Department
Andrew Cobb
 CEE

Recently a project in our center had a show-stopping failure that required expertise beyond our staff's abilities. With only three days before a scheduled demonstration with our sponsor from Japan, Andrew was able to repair the broken part and allow us to demonstrate our project to the sponsor without a hitch. Andrew utilized his expertise and high-quality standards to ensure we had a safe and functional demonstration. He had to put other work on hold and supported our urgent need to perfection. We honestly could not have done it without him.

David Torick

MAE
Patrick Gibson
 MAE Our research team welcomed seven new graduate students at once. Patrick has gone above and beyond, hosting and organizing training sessions and group meetings to help the students acclimate to our group and to campus, all while managing his own workload. He also has met with them individually to help the students embark on their research projects. The students have nothing but kind remarks. We are grateful for Pat's efforts! Mitchell McCartney MAE
Cheryl Herr and Eileen Panguito
 BME After an unforeseen resignation, Cheryl and Eileen stepped up and took on planning for Professor Marcu's NCIBT summer school and symposium week at the last minute. This has been weeks of planning and a full week of execution. They did this on top of their own full-time job! We couldn't have done this without them! Lisa Hayes BME

June 2023

Recipient
Recipient's Department
Reason for Commendation
Submitter
Submitter's Department
Pia Flory
 Dean's Office

Pia is awesome. She is responsive and detail-oriented. Whenever I send an email to the purchasing team box, Pia answers the questions soon. At the completion of each task, Pia follows up with an email that the request is done. I have had a couple of messy transactions that involved time-sensitive processing, messy transactions and multiple email messages that changed instructions as things were updated. Pia is able to keep track of all the updated accounts, prices and past communications. And she is patient and kind throughout the process. I feel privileged to have someone like Pia to help me, as she is consistently helpful, responsive and thorough. Thank you, Pia!

Maureen Ramirez

CHE & MSE
Victor Duraj
 BAE Victor went above and beyond to help the college in accepting an equipment gift. An alumnus was interested in donating three ovens. Two were going to his department and one was going to another department. Victor was responsive to my emails of how to coordinate acceptance, and then he came to campus on a Saturday to physically accept the equipment donation, not only for his department but also for the other. He was totally willing to coordinate how to get the ovens to the other department while a faculty member is out of the country for the summer. Thank you for being a team player, Victor! Your willingness to go the extra mile will benefit our students and our research! Alison Metzger-Jones Dean's Office
Melanie Clague, Norma Andrade, Jill Kessler
 Dean's Office They kindly assisted with a last-minute request right before fiscal close to ensure the person received their reimbursement in a timely manner.  Ammy Martinez Dean's Office
Paula Lee
 CNM2  Paula Lee provided a remarkable level of support in preparing an invoice for a recent out-of-the-ordinary situation. Paula was willing to help resolve a complex situation and did so in an accurate and efficient manner. Her assistance made a huge difference in ensuring a successful resolution!  Thank you, Paula, for your exceptional support and professionalism. Melanie Clague Dean's Office
Nathan Benedicto
 COE IT Our office (the EUO) was in desperate need of a solution for routing documents to review and signature. Nathan was able to find us the perfect solution! He gathered our needs, put together a workflow, and found us a solution in a matter of days. I'm thrilled with the results and wanted to shout out the work because I'm grateful for his quick thinking and problem solving. So appreciated! Letia Graening EUO

May 2023

Recipient
Recipient's Department
Reason for Commendation
Submitter
Submitter's Department
Vicki Gracia
 BME

Grants management is a challenging job requiring facilitating the submission of a deluge of proposals from multiple PIs at the same time, while also tending to the rigorous reporting and monitoring requirements of ongoing funded projects. Our grants analyst, Vicki Gracia, juggles all of this with grace and incredible attention to detail to every project. Moreover, she makes you feel like you are the only request she needs to deal with - she is so responsive and quick! She is a rock star on a daily basis and highly deserving of a Comet Commendation award!

Angie Louie

BME
Jill Kessler
 Dean's Office Jill recently helped me with an AggieExpense report for travel reimbursement that I messed up on (more than once). She helped identify the errors and the cause of the errors and graciously fixed it for me. She was not only fast and efficient, but her kind and helpful attitude is where she went above and beyond. I really appreciate her help and patience as I'm sure I added to her workload. Thank you, Jill, for being so wonderful to work with! Lauren Worrell CEE
Gregory F Zebouni
 CEE Gregory was thrust into a position this spring where he had to quickly sort out the contract and financial details of a very large ($5M) DWR research project that entails numerous subcontracts, vendors and communities. Not only did he handle the chaos, confusion, rapid turnaround, reimbursements, check disbursals and change orders effectively and competently, but he was so diplomatic and calm that everyone involved told me how much they appreciated his work. I certainly did as well! Jeannie Darby CEE
Lisa Laughter
 EUO Lisa has had to wear many hats over the last year or so in the EUO. She's done so much to help EUO in her First Year Coordinator role while also serving as interim director and interim assistant director at various times. Lisa works incredibly hard and is always willing to jump in to help. She is supportive of other staff with training, and deeply committed to student success in the college. Lisa is such a valuable member of the EUO team! Letia Graening EUO
Melanie Clague
 Dean's Office Recently Melanie assisted the college’s DEI committee with a last-minute accounting request to help submit a grant proposal. She assisted so quickly to help meet the deadline, it was very appreciated! Sabrina Oliver Dean's Office
Dave Torick
 MAE Dave's positive attitude and friendliness recently was recognized by an individual outside the organization. They commended him for being "kind and professional." We appreciate the great customer service Dave provides to those inside and outside our college. Jessica Rodriguez MAE
Elsa Rojas Perez
 Dean's Office Elsa helped ensure the success of the Center for Neuroengineering & Medicine's 2nd Annual Symposium on May 9, by contributing to a multitude of logistical tasks. She was a keen observer and took action whenever necessary, from registrations to catering, to pictures, and more, until the very end of the event. She is so reliable. Like on previous occasions, it's been a joy having Elsa's help at this event, and I really appreciate having her as a colleague. Gabriela Lee Center for Neuroengineering & Medicine

April 2023

Recipient
Recipient's Department
Reason for Commendation
Submitter
Submitter's Department
Lisa Feldmann and Rachael Rubinato
  
 CEE

For being very responsive and putting together a proposal budget super quickly together and at the very last minute.

Katerina Ziotopoulou & Amit Kanvinde

CEE
Beth Floyd
 ECE Beth has been helping out both the EUO and ECE Dept. for months now. She came out of retirement to offer support to both offices in dire need of advising assistance. She has been invaluable in terms of work production, problem solving, team spirit, and overall work quality. We're so grateful to have her helping us for now and she will be missed so, so much when she goes back into retirement but she deserves all the flowers and all of the rest for her years of service and dedication to UC Davis and the College of Engineering.  Letia Graening EUO
Corwin Green
 BAE I am not exaggerating by saying that Corwin does 2 people's jobs as the EBS undergraduate advisor and the GBSE graduate coordinator. He is constantly needed by students, staff and faculty for issues that range from UG and grad related policies, student welfare, student finances, event planning, UG and grad recruitment, faculty support, and more. People constantly need him, and there is not enough Corwin to go around. Corwin also often bears the brunt where things fall through the cracks. Fingers often and easily point at him where blame is sought. Despite it all, Corwin is always professional and gracious. He has not once complained even though I'm sure that he often has cause to. He provides so much support for the EBS major and GBSE program. Just in the past (less than 2) years, he has developed systems and processes in our UG and grad programs to improve efficiency and communication. And he continues to propose ideas to improve our programs. Corwin is overworked and I wish there was a way to split his job into two (UG and grad). Given that this does not seem to be a feasible option (so we have been told over the years), I think the least we can do is to show Corwin our appreciation in as many ways as possible.  Tina Jeoh BAE
Miriam McDonald
 Institute of Transportation Studies My computer was running so slowly that it regularly caused me great anxiety. Miriam sat down and worked on it for over an hour. It runs beautifully now. THANK YOU MIRIAM! Kelly Kissock Energy and Efficiency Institute
R. Paul Villaluz
 Dean's Office R. Paul did an amazing job setting up the Picnic Day Alumni Lounge. He delivered on all our needs and the end result was fantastic. We're so grateful for his hard work and partnership on this event. Thank you, R. Paul! Erin Friscia Dean's Office
Sabrina Oliver
 Dean's Office Sabrina has been extremely helpful during the new contract transitions with postdocs and assisting me in academic personnel position planning.  Her dedication to provide accurate and relevant information is appreciated and it is a pleasure to see someone go above and beyond to assist others. Jessica Rodriguez MAE
Vicki Gracia 
 BME Vicki went above and beyond to personally cater our Women in BME luncheon on 4/19. The food was excellent and the personal contribution was inspiring. Thank you, Vicki! You have set the bar high for creating a welcoming environment for our group of students, faculty, staff, and researchers. Christal Wintersmith BME
Rebecca Bailey and Jide Akinmoladun
 ECE Excellent teamwork in organizing and coordinating ECE Expo and ECE Faculty Searchers, raising well beyond expectations.       Andre Knoesen ECE
Sylvia Liu
 CEE Sylvia did an outstanding job coordinating a campus visit and stewardship for Granite Construction for their recent gift to Construction Management. There were a lot of moving pieces. She was organized and thoughtful and her communications were fantastic. Way to go! Alison Metzger-Jones Dean's Office
Geoff Murry
 MAE

MAE is proud to recognize Geoff Murry who recently received the Globe Award for his outstanding efforts to promote global learning opportunities to our engineering students. The nomination reads:

"Since orientation, Geoff plants the seed for our students to look at global learning opportunities. He ensures students are aware of the positive impact and growth these great experiences provide. Students start the year off excited and encouraged to pursue these opportunities. As they continue to navigate their academic journey, Geoff continues to promote and support our students throughout the process of global learning opportunities."

 Felicia Smith MAE

March 2023

Recipient
Recipient's Department
Reason for Commendation
Submitter
Submitter's Department
Sandra Hall
  
 Air Quality Research Center

For going above and beyond her duty, literally working days and nights, to ensure the success of the Inaugural Wildfire Resilient Structures (WiReS) Conference and Tradeshow, thus promoting the visibility of the UC Davis College of Engineering's excellence in wildfire risk mitigation to the UC system, state/federal agencies, the wider community of researchers, and the general public.

Michele Barbato

CEE
Shadaya Litt
 EUO I would like to acknowledge and thank Shadaya for her consistent and hard work behind the scenes to organize ABET for the college. She approaches her work with a positive attitude and is thoughtful and thorough in organizing the ABET process for the college. Thank you Shadaya for your amazing work! Lisa Laughter EUO
Sara Sweeney
 CHE We want to thank Sara for going above and beyond recently to support the Engineering Undergraduate Office as we are currently understaffed. She supported Lisa and Shadaya with the Success in Engineering Course as well as serving as co-secretary with Lisa on the UGEP Committee. Sara is always on top of what is next and wonderful about follow-up, we couldn't have gotten through the last two quarters without you!! Lisa Laughter EUO
Norma Andrade
 Shared Services Norma went above and beyond by helping students affiliated with the Center for Neuroengineering & Medicine acquire materials for outreach exhibits. We had 6 teams of students needing a variety of items purchased and shipped in a timely fashion. Norma was fast, professional, and great at troubleshooting when difficulties arose with one of the orders. I really appreciated her help! Gabriela Lee Center for Neuroengineering & Medicine
Dave Griffiths
 Dean's Office, Facilities In a single day, Dave was able to get definitive information from campus contacts that was exactly what we needed to attract a faculty candidate to campus! Dave's knowledge, skills, and network always serves the college. In this instance, it made all the difference! Steve Pigg COE IT
Shannon Long
 Dean's Office Shannon recently collaborated with the COE DEI committee to host a few members of the committee to speak to the AvenueE students about graduate school. She worked with us to schedule (and re-schedule), and was a great partner in hosting the presentations. Without being a formal member of the committee, I really appreciate her willingness to partner on this COE DEI committee effort, and make it a success! Lauren Worrell CEE
Shannon Long & Shadaya Litt
 EUO Shadaya and Shannon codeveloped a Canvas course to help students in academic difficulty after the Fall quarter succeed in engineering. Through modules and short activities, the Thriving in Engineering course helps students identify factors contributing to their academic struggles, learn about campus resources, and connect with people and opportunities to support their academic endeavors. The course received positive reviews from students who took it and will continue to help future struggling first-year students. Yesenia Cervantes-Tucker EUO

February 2023

Recipient
Recipient's Department
Reason for Commendation
Submitter
Submitter's Department
Corwin Green
  
 BAE

Corwin has been working diligently to create reference materials that document policies and procedures that immediately benefit students, faculty, and staff in the department. Additionally, he is thoughtful and intentional to train others on the various systems in which he has experience. His problem-solving skills and valuable insights are very much appreciated!

Jordan Dade

BFTV Cluster
Erik Peters

COE IT

Thank you for going above and beyond in your customer service today. I really appreciate your attention to detail and providing what's needed for us to perform at the highest level.

 Alison Metzger-Jones Dean's Office/Development
Norma Andrade
 Shared Services

Norma always provides amazing customer service and support to College of Engineering stakeholders. Norma has an incredible service spirit and is incredibly dedicated. The Neuroengineering and Medicine Center is hosting a symposium that will feature student presentations and demonstrations. The student teams had a variety of supplies that were needed for their projects, and Norma was instrumental in finalizing the orders so that they would be processed quickly. This kind of extra effort is typical for Norma, but certainly not typical in the world! I am so appreciative of her as a colleague and leader of the procurement team in the college!

Melanie Clague

Dean's Office

 
Tara Jones & Janiya Berry
 AUSS-C

Tara and Janiya are great team members of the ECE department. Whenever situations arise within payroll, they are always willing to listen and help to come up with solutions so that it turns into a win-win resolution. Thank you both for your constant teamwork!

Carole Bustamante

 

 ECE
Yesenia Cervantes-Tucker

LEADR/AvenueE

Yesenia knocked out three thank you's to donors very promptly for us this week. Also, she's gone above and beyond to share the impact of the Takahashi's gift so that Gina McAdam can steward the family. Thank you for prioritizing stewardship. Your effort makes a difference with our donors!

Alison Metzger-Jones

 

 Dean's Office/Development

January 2023

Recipient
Recipient's Department
Reason for Commendation
Submitter
Submitter's Department
Molly Bechtel
  
 Dean's Office

Molly Bechtel has been doing an amazing job as the Interim Director of Communications and Culture. In addition to taking on additional responsibilities for her interim role, and filling in gaps during staff turnover, Molly has stayed invested and active in various college committees. Two of these committees I have the pleasure of working with Molly on (the college's Committee for Staff Development and Retention and the DEI Committee) and been able to see her significant contributions firsthand. Molly is amazing at leveraging these spaces to constantly work towards creating a positive and inclusive environment for COE staff. I'm continually impressed with Molly's can-do attitude, incredible follow-through, and invaluable knowledge. Thank you, Molly!

Lauren Worrell

CEE
Cheryl Herr

BME

Cheryl has modeled the way for excellent use of college templates with campus branding to promote BME's seminar series. She asks great questions and I'm grateful for her partnership!

 Molly Bechtel Dean's Office
David Lee
 CS

I want to acknowledge the hard work and countless hours of OT David Lee has put in since his arrival in CS in mid-October. David was hired as one of our research admin staff and has been our only research admin staff for the past two months. David has jumped in to the role headfirst, is learning tons, cleaning up messes, and has been the only one assisting CS faculty with their proposals, reports and account management since the end of October. He's exceeding expectations for sure. Thank you, David, for all your hard work.

Meshell Louderman

CS

 
Erik Peters

IT

Erik noticed my makeshift computer setup and took the initiative and time to make it better with an overdue equipment upgrade. Thank you, Erik!

 Molly Bechtel Dean's Office
Elsa Rojas Perez
 Dean's Office

We received a last-minute request to organize a visit and Elsa perfectly executed the logistics. Elsa made this easy for everyone involved and quickly created a schedule. Thanks, Elsa!

Ammy Martinez

Dean's Office

 
Brigitta Schumacher-Bradley

Dean's Office

Brigitta helped us make new reservations for seminar rooms when Kemper 1003 became unavailable due to construction work. She is always helpful and contributes ideas for solving challenges and/or finding resources. I wanted to send a shoutout as it's great to have someone like Brigitta as a colleague.

Gabriela Lee

Center for Neuroengineering & Medicine

December 2022

Recipient
Recipient's Department
Reason for Commendation
Submitter
Submitter's Department
Sabrina Oliver
  
 Dean's Office Sabrina's knowledge, competency, patience, diplomacy and experience were invaluable for helping the new Associate Dean for Academic Personnel & Planning onboard quickly this Fall and not make too many errors!  In fact, all errors made occurred because the new Associate Dean neglected to get Sabrina's excellent advice. Jeannie Darby

Dean's Office
Reuben Castelino
 CEE/IT While working remotely, my laptop decided to not allow me to log in, with an unusual error. First, I want to give a shout out to Dean Bunn and Nathan Benedicto for also helping me, but in the end Reuben was able to walk me through the problem solving process and get me logged in and back to work. Reuben is always so patient and helps guide me through a technical solution in a way that I can follow along (being a very non-technical person). Thank you Reuben for your excellent customer service and timely support - you are such a pleasure to work with! Lauren Worrell CEE
Siwei Li
 Center for Nano Micro Manufacturing Siwei has really stepped up to continue making progress on the repair of our Nanoquest IBE/RIBE/CAIBE system while Vishal is out on family leave.  He has shown great dedication to serving the CNM2 users and he has done an amazing job at keeping CNM2 instrumentation in optimal condition.  Thank you Siwei! Ryan Anderson Center for Nano Micro Manufacturing

November 2022

Recipient
Recipient's Department
Reason for Commendation
Submitter
Submitter's Department
Craig Patterson
  
 BME Craig Patterson is recognized for his outstanding work in dealing with highly complex grants and contracts, including a DARPA contract and an NST training grant. Craig is extremely knowledgeable, very helpful in working with others to solve issues, and all-around wonderful to work with.  Gabriela Lee

Dean's Office, Center for Neuroengineering & Medicine
Christal Wintersmith
 BME Christal has consistently provided excellent connections to the BME Graduate Group students and the BME department more generally to convey announcements about seminars and other events of interest to this community. Christal has also recently stepped up and joined the committee interviewing candidates for the Program Coordinator position on the NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) NeuralStorm training grant. Gabriela Lee Dean's Office, Center for Neuroengineering & Medicine
Jessica Rodriguez
 MAE Jessica has been doing a great job as co-chair of the COE financial staff networking group. She is easy to work with and guides the group conversation well. Stephanie Farver CEE
Ryan Gorsiski
 CHE & MSE Ryan has recently been going above and beyond as not only the chair of the COE advising staff networking group, but taking on the professional development committee of the campus-wide GSAC group and being an amazing advocate for graduate program coordinators in our college and across campus. He is incredibly supportive of all the GPCs in our college, offering advice on processes and sharing best practices. Ryan has a willingness to help out and a positive attitude. Lauren Worrell CEE
Nathan Benedicto
 IT This Comet Commendation is for one of our newest team members in IT, Nathan Benedicto. The Development and External Relations Team had been having challenges with the 2nd floor ASB printer. My first introduction to Nathan was when he offered to print a couple of documents for me, so I could go to a donor meeting. Additionally, he quickly got to work researching options to fix our printer connection and/or get a new printer. Just days later, we had a new printer and step-by-step instructions on how to connect to it. Nathan provided timely updates, quick action and a great solution. He set the bar for customer service super high. Thank you, Nathan! Super glad you're on Team COE. Leigh Ann Hartman Dean's Office, Development & External Relations

October 2022

Recipient
Recipient's Department
Reason for Commendation
Submitter
Submitter's Department
Alin Wakefield 
 Dean's Office  Alin went above and beyond in coordinating an event to foster collaboration between UC Davis and Sandia National Lab. He single-handedly covered everything to ensure it was a productive and useful meeting for the entire team and he handled last minute requests with grace and competence. Raissa D'Souza Dean's Office, MAE and CS 
Ammy Martinez
 Dean's Office Ammy consistently goes above and beyond in her duties. As a member of multiple recent Recruitment Advisory Committees, I personally observed Ammy going the extra mile when managing the logistics of many busy calendars, food delivery, and all the small things to support the committee and present the best impression possible to our candidates. Our successful recruitments were due in large part to Ammy's attention to detail and positive attitude when faced with difficult challenges. Steve Pigg Dean's Office
Brian Donnelly
 IT Brian started the Fall Quarter short two members of his DevOps team. He quickly reassigned some of their job duties to himself to ensure a successful start of the term. From spending countless hours contacting software vendors about licenses to assisting with server patching sessions, Brian displayed outstanding leadership and a thorough understanding of the mission at hand.  Dean Bunn IT
CeCe Coyle
 MAE CeCe is extremely resourceful, hard-working, and so adaptable to change. She is currently serving on the Aggie Enterprise Oracle Testing Committee and will be a tremendous resource for the even bigger changes ahead.   Lili Scheiber MAE
Eileen Panguito
 BME Eileen has enthusiastically stepped in to assist Professor Marcu with her P41 center award administrative duties. Eileen has inherited a tremendous amount of work and does it all with a smile. Thank you, Eileen, for all you do and for working late to get it all done! Lisa Hayes BME
Elsa Rojas Perez
 Dean's Office In multiple professional interactions, Elsa went above and beyond in contributing to events of the Center for Neuroengineering & Medicine, such as the research symposium at the beginning of this summer. She had great suggestions and contributed to problem-solving when issues arose. It is a pleasure working with Elsa, and I want to send a shout-out in recognition of her contributions. Gabriela Lee Center for Neuroengineering & Medicine, Dean's Office
Fatima Garcia
 CEE Fatima recently put a lot of effort into helping with orientation for our new graduate students. She prepared slides and presented information for the financial team at orientation and is hosting an additional training for our graduate students on purchasing and reimbursements. I really appreciate the development of these additional resources to proactively guide and train our graduate students on the complex policies, processes and systems.  Lauren Worrell CEE
Inna Revzin
 BME Inna has been very supportive of our department while we struggled to hire an academic personal analyst. She was very thorough in answering our many questions, provided guidance with the various programs, and was very pleasant to work with. Carole Bustamante ECE
Jessica Rodriguez
 MAE Jessica presented to the Finance Staff Networking Group and showed us how to automate the projections spreadsheets we provide to our PIs. I really appreciate the help. It will reduce the time it takes to generate the reports. Thank you, Jessica! Craig Patterson BME
Jessica Stoller
 CS When ECE lost their graduate program coordinator, Jessica agreed to work with both the CAO and financial analyst who had taken of the tasks of the graduate program coordinator. Jessica gave us advice on forms and procedures and agreed to meet with our students while still performing her own duties within her department. We cannot thank Jessica enough for everything she has done for our department. Carole Bustamante ECE
Joseph Menke
 IT Joseph has gladly stepped up and taken on additional IT admin services provided to the college.  Dean Bunn IT
Lauren Worrell
 CEE Our team was contacted by the wife of an alumnus. The alum had recently passed away and was working on his obituary. She asked us about his degrees and some awards he had received. She mentioned his name on display in an engineering building. Lauren tracked down the awards, took photos, and sent them to the widow. What an awesome example of going above and beyond. The widow was incredibly grateful. Lauren, thank you! Alison Metzger-Jones Dean's Office
Lili Scheiber
 MAE Lili provided excellent support in setting up accounting systems for the UC Davis EcoCAR EV Challenge team. This new team has a complex mix of funding elements, and Lili has done a great job in getting these set up. Her efforts have benefitted our 6 fellowship students as well as the faculty and staff involved in the team. Thank you, Lili! Mike Hill MAE
Maureen Ramirez
 CHE/MSE Maureen started as our new financial manager for Chem Eng and Mat Sci at a time when all three financial manager positions were open. Almost every lab, including mine, had months of backlogged issues to deal with. Morale was low. Maureen came in and started working 60+ hours per week. She is very knowledgeable, took careful notes, asked the right questions and she systematically corrected 6 months of financial mistakes over a period of less than a month for more than 40 professors. She did the work of three people and never complained or made excuses. I was a truly awesome display of hard work and competence. She deserves a commendation, a raise and a parade. Adam Moule CHE
Ruben Arevalo
 BME Ruben has once again gone above and beyond with our IT support! We had two conferences in one day and they both needed IT support, so he went back and forth across campus to assist both events, and it was last-minute notice. Ruben also came in clutch with getting the faculty started for fall quarter IT needs. Thank you for all you do, Ruben! Lisa Hayes BME
Shadaya Litt
 EUO I would like to recognize and thank Shadaya for all of her hard work and continued dedication to the students and the work done by the EUO. We have been severely understaffed for the past few months. She continues to show up with a positive attitude despite the volume of work. I appreciate her contributions to the team and want to make sure she is acknowledged and recognized for it! Lisa Laughter EUO