About the Award
Established in 1994, the Founders Awards of Excellence recognizes RPI students who exemplify creativity, discovery, leadership, and the values of pride and responsibility. Recipients are honored during the Honors Convocation ceremony, where they are recognized by faculty, staff, and peers, presented with a certificate, and awarded a cash prize.
Each year, approximately 70 exceptional undergraduate and graduate students—representing about 1% of the student body—are selected to receive this prestigious honor.
Nominations
Nominees should demonstrate all of the following:
- Outstanding academic achievement (top 10% of their class)
- Leadership that reflects pride and responsibility throughout their RPI experience
- Sound judgment and respect for diverse perspectives
- Creativity, originality, and imagination, particularly through their potential to solve complex problems or advance new ideas in their field
Nominees must be enrolled during the Fall 2026 semester as one of the following:
- Sophomore
- Junior
- Senior
- Fifth-year Architecture student
- Graduate student
The Founders Award Committee invites faculty, staff, and members of the RPI community to nominate deserving students.
To submit a nomination:
- Complete the nomination form by Saturday, August 29.
- Submit all required supporting documentation with the nomination. Strong nominations include specific examples that illustrate how the student meets each of the award criteria.
- If desired, invite additional faculty or staff members to endorse the nomination. Multiple nominators may support a single candidate.
Members
Louis Trzepacz,
Committee Chair, Director, Student Success and Access
Sibel Adali,
Professor of Computer Science
Brian Clark,
Associate Professor of Finance and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Agung Julius,
Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies
Kathleen Ruiz,
Associate Professor of Arts
Questions
For additional information about the Founders Award of Excellence or the nomination process, please contact:
Louis Trzepacz
Committee Chair, Founders Award Committee
Email: trzepj@rpi.edu
Recipients will be recognized at Honors Convocation during Family Weekend.
Saturday, October 24
10:00 a.m.
Nominators are encouraged to attend the ceremony. Registration information will be distributed late August.
2025 Award Winners
Huzaifa Arif
Yashdi Autul
Riddhi Banik
Gideon Bauer
Joseph Bowers
Reese Bush
Weiqin Chen
Chelsea Condon
Cole Delage
Tarek Dinar
Ismail Erbas
Jack Gips
Paul Khoury
Chen-Lung Lu
Thomas Neuman
Frank Peters
Sarah Rickborn
Alex Rishty
Chloe Sharp
Madison Stiefbold
Fairooj Nower Ta-seen
Isabelle Walz
Pia Wilson
Sophia Acquisto
Peter De Smidt
Jacob Farese
Naomi Gaylor
Edward Ruppar
Sushmitha Chittani
Ishita Pandey
Grace Peckham
Arielle Revis
Shoshana Sugerman
Tiburon Benavides
Maddy Brooks
Alexander Chenevert
Quinn Colognato
Jake Conti
Mary Cotrupi
Aiden Crossfield
Luke Daignault
Julia Danischewski
Ethan Fisk
Isabelle Gelzhiser
Ezekiel Gentchos
Maria Herrero Perez
Michael Hudgins
Inwon Kang
Aaron Li
Timothy Liakh
Tyler Majewski
Chanaka Mapa Mudiyanselage
Melina Michailidis
Donovan Myrick
Kerrigan Nish
Molly Noel
Samantha Pryor
Megan Schlogl
Devin Seth
Amogh Shetty
Leland Smith
Gabriel Weredyk
Jason Zhang