SJSU University and College of Science Awards

2025 College of Science Awards

Dean's Scholar:

Given annually to a faculty member who has established a regional, national or international reputation for excellence in research, scholarship or creative activity.

Ehsan Khatami, Professor of Physics & Astronomy

Since joining SJSU in 2014, Prof. Khatami has established an exceptional scholarly record in condensed matter physics, atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) physics, and quantum machine learning, publishing over 30 peer-reviewed articles, including prominent works in Science and Nature, with eight co-authored by students. He has mentored over 30 students, many from under-represented minority groups, and received the University’s Exceptional Levels of Service to Students award twice. Prof. Khatami has also secured nearly $10M in federal grants as a PI or co-PI (~$3M to SJSU)  including NSF and Department of Energy awards, and was instrumental in acquiring the College's high-performance computing facility, Spartan, which serves hundreds of users. He received the SJSURF  Research Foundation’s Early Career Investigator Award in 2018  and has twice been named a Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics fellow. For building a  national and international reputation for excellence in scholarship while also  engaging students in advanced theoretical quantum physics research, he is the winner of this year’s Dean’s Scholar Award.

Research with and Mentoring of Students:

Given annually to a faculty member who has made a significant and sustained contribution to mentoring or otherwise involving students in research.

Laura Miller Conrad, Professor of Chemistry

Dr. Miller Conrad at SJSU has established a highly successful undergraduate-focused research laboratory, securing significant external funding for her work on inhibiting Cationic Antimicrobial Peptides (CAP) signaling, developing new antibiotic strategies by blocking quorum sensing, and understanding bacterial inter-kingdom signaling, with research published in high-impact journals. A key highlight of her tenure is her exceptional mentorship, having advised 64 undergraduate and 12 master's student researchers since 2014, with a significant number being women and underrepresented minority students. Her mentees have achieved numerous accomplishments, including 36 external research presentations with two receiving awards, securing various research awards, and successfully progressing to top graduate and professional schools or employment in the biotech industry. With her mentorship, her research students have gone on to top graduate schools, such as Stanford, UCLA, UCSF, Michigan, UC Irvine, and Vanderbilt, and top medical and pharmacy schools, and gained employment in the workforce at such companies as Boehringer Ingelheim, Zymergen, Cepheid, Synthego, and Vaxart.

Staff Excellence:

Given annually to a staff member whose demonstrates a sustained commitment to the success of the College of Science.

Minh Uyen Bui, Administrative Coordinator of Mathematics & Statistics

The winner of this year’s Staff Excellence Award is Minh Bui, who is the Department Coordinator for the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. The department is a large and complex department that serves a large number of general education students, provides many service courses, and has a variety of different majors and tracks for math majors. There are a substantial number of faculty and a veritable army of lecturers. We have an aging building with disappearing doorstops and whiteboard erasers and a limited number of student assistants due to the tight budget.  Minh plays a large role in keeping the department running, and goes above and beyond with organizing events for students and faculty. She greets everyone with a smile and her patience with the students and faculty is seemingly unending.  The Department greatly values her and strongly recommended her for this recognition.

Innovation for Student Success:

Given annually to an employee whose work contributes significantly to the student success goals of the College.

Annie Chase, Lecturer of Physics & Astronomy

Annie Chase is this year’s winner of the College of Science Innovation for Student Success Award due to her innovative teaching strategies and dedication to student support in Physics 2a and SCED 174. She is recognized for creating an interactive learning environment, utilizing active learning assignments, experimenting with alternative assessments to reduce equity gaps, developing new online labs during the pandemic, and most importantly building a culture of mutual support and inclusiveness . Ms. Chase also mentors other instructors and plays a leading role in the Learning Assistant program.  She has shared her pedagogical successes at national conferences. She is actively involved in initiatives to promote inclusivity at SJSU, including a grant-funded project focused on supporting transfer students of color in STEM fields.

Teaching Excellence:

Given annually to a faculty member in the SJSU College of Science who demonstrates sustained excellence in teaching.

Edgar Bering, Assistant Professor of Mathematics & Statistics

Since joining SJSU in Fall 2022, Dr. Edgar Bering, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, has successfully implemented evidence-based, high-impact teaching practices, including active learning techniques like flipped classrooms and inquiry-based learning, across various essential courses such as Calculus II, Discrete Mathematics, and Abstract Mathematics. His innovative approach has led to increased pass rates and the elimination of equity gaps in almost all his sections, as evidenced by excellent student evaluations and strong peer reviews that highlight his interactive classroom environment and effective use of Learning Assistants. Dr. Bering also actively shares his pedagogical strategies with other faculty and has mentored numerous undergraduate and graduate students, with several already co-authoring publications, demonstrating his comprehensive excellence in all aspects of his academic assignment.

Outstanding Recent Graduate: 

Given annually to a graduate of the SJSU College of Science who shows outstanding early career success.

Scott Strenfel, Alumni, MS '10 Meteorology

Scott Strenfel holds both a B.S. and an M.S. in Meteorology and is an alumnus of the San Jose State Fire Weather Research Laboratory. He is a recognized expert in utility-weather and fire-weather with over a decade of leadership experience, serves as the Senior Director of Wildfire Risk, Meteorology Operations, and Fire Science at PG&E, where he also acts as the Chief Meteorologist for emergency activations. In this role, he leads a team of meteorologists and specialists in developing and maintaining operational models for utility needs, such as wind-outage and fire potential indices. Scott also oversees and contributes to internal and external utility-weather research, serves on an Industry Advisory Board, and interacts with regulators on wildfire mitigation and financial filings. Before PG&E, he researched satellite-based fire detection systems and modeled wildfire emissions at Sonoma Technology Inc. 

Award of Distinction:

Given annually to an affiliate of the College of Science who has made significant contributions to the success of the College.

Michelle Chen, Alumni, Master of Biotechnology (MBT) 

Michelle Chen, is a  graduate of the MBT program and a long-standing member of its advisory board, where she is instrumental in ensuring the program's modern relevance. Her extensive career includes leadership roles as Sr. Director of Recipe Development at Genentech, Sr. Director of Manufacturing at PACT at Sutro,  SVP of Process Manufacturing  at Bionova, and was recently named  SVP of Technical Operations at Cellares, a company focusing on worldwide integrated development and manufacturing for cell therapies. She is also a donor to the college, seen here dedicating Room 420 of the ISB in honor of her parents, who instilled in her the importance of a quality education. 

2025 University Awards

Outstanding Professor

Dr. Neil Switz, Professor of Physics and Astronomy

Staff of the Year:

Honorable Mention: JD Douglas, Small Boats Ops. Coordinator at Moss Landing Marine Labs

Past College of Science Awards

Dean's Scholar:

Research with and Mentoring of Students:

Teaching Excellence:

Staff Excellence:

Innovation for Student Success:

Outstanding Recent Graduate:

Award of Distinction: 

Past University Awards

President's Scholar:

Outstanding Professor:

Distinguished Service:

Outstanding Lecturer:

Staff of the Year: