EECS Celebrates Awards

The recipients of the 2026 Ruth and Joel Spira Awards for Excellence in Teaching are Cullen Buie, Gabriele Farina, Ericmoore Jossou, and Farnaz Niroui.

This ongoing listing of awards and recognitions won by our faculty is added to all year, beginning in September.

Awarded jointly by the Bavarian State Government and the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, it is the most highly endowed award for technology and engineering in Germany.

Ranking at the top for the 15th year in a row, the Institute also places first in 12 subject areas.

The award is given annually to an outstanding contributor to education from among the faculty members who are being proposed for promotion to associate professor without tenure.

Three MIT teams took five top awards in the 2026 NASA RASC-AL Competition for designing critical elements for the Moon Base and future missions to Mars.

Avani Ahuja ‘26, a recent graduate of the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering, received the 2026 Henry Ford II Scholar Award. The award honors a senior undergraduate student who is in high academic standing and shows exceptional potential for leadership in the profession of engineering and in society.

The Udall Foundation identifies and rewards future leaders in tribal public policy, Indigenous health policy, and the environment.

The associate professors of EECS and chemistry, respectively, are honored for exceptional contributions to teaching, research, and service at MIT.

The award is given out yearly to leading thinkers, innovators, and creators across art, science, and scholarship to tackle current issues.