ECE Faculty and Staff Receive SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence

Mónica F. Bugallo (left) and Tony Olivo (right)

The College of Engineering and Applied Sciences is proud to announce that two faculty and staff members have been awarded 2017 SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence. Mónica F. Bugallo, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, received recognition for Excellence in Teaching, and Anthony Olivo, Senior Technician, for Excellence in Professional Service. The awards are intended to bring system-wide acknowledgement and recognition to consistently superior professional and academic achievement.

“The SUNY Chancellor’s awards recognize faculty and staff who go above and beyond for their students and the University,” said Fotis Sotiropoulos, Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. “These two faculty and staff members wholeheartedly live this mission, and we are very proud to add them to our College’s long list of distinguished recipients of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award.  I congratulate Mónica and Tony and thank them for challenging themselves, and our students, in their pursuit of excellence.”

Recipients of the Excellence in Teaching award must demonstrate superb classroom performance, professional growth in the form of grants or publications, and passion for the intellectual growth of students. Mónica has been a leader in the Stony Brook community over the last 10 years, earning a number of educational awards, community leadership positions, and research grants that have helped propel electrical engineering and STEM outreach at Stony Brook to new heights.

Since 2009, Mónica has been the director and coordinator of the Engineering Summer Camp for high school students, in which students can gain hands on experience in engineering at an early age. She is also the present faculty advisor for the Society of Women Engineers, and was recently appointed the inaugural Faculty Director of the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

“Mónica’s engagement is not solely focused on her undergraduate and graduate classes, that is only the tip of the iceberg,” said Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Chair Petar Djurić. “Her vision is that students should become engaged with engineering as early as possible, which is why she is so passionate about engaging middle and high school in the STEM fields.”

Excellence in Professional Service award recipients must serve above and beyond their official position description, demonstrating strengths in leadership, decision-making, and problem solving through professional recognition, initiation of new ideas, proposal development, and committee activities.

Tony manages the Analog Design lab, the Digital Design lab, and the Modern PCB lab. He also assists more than 200 students with their senior design projects each year. Additionally, he volunteers as a departmental coordinator for environmental waste and for lab safety.

“Tony’s contributions and leadership in the design laboratories distinguish him as the ideal candidate for Excellence in Professional Service,”Djurić said.“We are very proud of our outstanding faculty and we warmly congratulate them for receiving these prestigious awards.”