Awards Banquet 2025 –
May 8 at Ceresville Mansion
The annual Awards Banquet of the Washington Academy of Sciences was held in the beautiful Ceresville Mansion near Frederick, Maryland on May 8. Ten awardees received a variety of awards from the Academy for their scientific, engineering and educational achievements.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Sudip Parikh:
A Great America Needs Great Science
Dr. Sudip Parikh is Chief Executive Officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Executive Publisher of the Science family of journals. In his talk, Dr. Sudip reviewed a few examples of the ways that recent scientific discoveries have led to life-saving benefits for America and the world. His presentation was followed by the granting of certificates to the awardees, a prestigious assembly of scientists and engineers. Most of them live in the Washington, DC area, and many work for the federal government.
New Board of Managers of the Washington Academy of Sciences
Here are the board members of the Washington Academy of Sciences for 2025-26. From left: Mahesh Mani, Sid Bakaya, Jorome Gibbon, Ron Boisvert, Ken Lesley, Ram Sriram, Paul Cotae, Vijay Kowtha, Claudia Cotca, Judy Staveley, Matt Humbert, Mala Ramaiah, and Paul Arveson.
This year most of the awards went to researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The audience heard exciting stories of breakthrough achievements by the awardees that exemplified the kinds of solutions that Dr. Parikh described in his talk. Photos of the awardees and their nominators are shown below. The MC for the event was Dr. Judy Staveley, who also took the photos. Academy President Dr. Ram Sriram (NIST) presented the awards.
Dr. Dustin Cook of NIST (L) received the Early Career Award in Engineering. Shown with Ram Sriram and nominator Siamak Sattar.
Dr. Brendan A. McCullian (NIST, center) received the Early Career Award in Physical Sciences. Shown with Ram Sriram and nominator Christina Hacker.
Mr. Ken Lesley (McKinley High School, center) received the Lamberton Award for Teaching of Science in High School. Shown with Ram Sriram and nominator Vijay Kowtha.
Dr. Eric D. Link (L) received the Excellence in Research Award in Engineering. Shown with Ram Sriram and nominator Matt Hoehler.
Dr. Yi-Kai Liu (NIST, center) received the Excellence in Research Award in Computer Science. Shown with nominator Ronald Boisvert and Ram Sriram.
Dr. Kamel S. Saidi (NIST) received the Leadership Award in Manufacturing. Shown with Ram Sriram and Joanie Chin (NIST).
Dr. Sudip Parikh, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and our keynote speaker, received the Leadership Award in Science. Shown with Guru Madhavan (NAE, L) and Ram Sriram.
Dr. Sitharama S. Iyengar (Florida International University, R) received the Distinguished Career Award in Computer Science. Shown with Guna Seetharaman (NRL) and Ram Sriram.
Dr. Asad M. Madni (UCLA, center) received the Distinguished Career Award in Engineering Sciences. Shown with Guru Madhavan (NAE, L) and Ram Sriram.
Dr. Mandava Venkata Basaveswara Rao came from India to pick up his lifetime membership certificate for the Washington Academy of Sciences.
Congratulations to all of these extraordinary awardees for their achievements!