Drexel School of Engineering

The Class of 2026 commencement is almost here! As the big day approaches, we're sharing some senior shout-outs from students in the School of Engineering who are wrapping up their time at Drexel. We asked them about their favorite classes, the people who shaped their experience, and what comes next.

Meet Giovani Ceriani! Mechanical Engineering | Williamsburg, VA

Campus Involvement: Maker's Club

Class I'll Never Forget: Fluid Dynamics

A Drexel Shoutout To: Dr. Noh, who inspired a passion for fluid mechanics and later advised his senior project

A Memory I'll Always Carry: "Getting halal from the orange cart and seeing the 'Musical Potpourri' concert in Main Building with friends."

What's Next: Starting an engineering career in Tampa, FL

Congratulations to Dr. Yury Gogotsi, Distinguished University Professor in the School of Engineering, on receiving an honorary doctorate from Hasselt University in Belgium!

Dr. Gogotsi was recognized alongside four other leading scientists as part of UHasselt's Dies Natalis celebration, themed "Inspiring Voices Building a Caring Society." The university cited his groundbreaking work as the discoverer of MXenes, a family of 2D materials now used globally in energy storage, sensors, electronics, and biomedical applications, as well as his tireless advocacy for Ukrainian scientists following the Russian invasion.

A remarkable honor for a remarkable researcher. Congrats, Dr. Gogotsi!

The Class of 2026 commencement is almost here! As the big day approaches, we're sharing some senior shout-outs from students in the School of Engineering who are wrapping up their time at Drexel. We asked them about their favorite classes, the people who shaped their experience, and what comes next.

Meet Rhythm Osan! Architectural and Civil Engineering | Levittown, NY

Campus Involvement: Society of Women Engineers (President), ASHRAE (President)

Class I'll Never Forget: Senior Design

A Drexel Shoutout To: Matt Reichenbach

A Memory I'll Always Carry: "In freshman year, I loved going to Urban Eatery and having friends join to chat, talk about our classes and plans for the week and catch up. It was a great gathering space, especially after a tough exam or before an event."

What's Next: Structural Engineer at Jacobs Engineering in New York City

Drexel Engineering Class of 2026, here's your opportunity to show off!

Share stories about your favorite people, future plans and more with us in our "Drexel Memories" series! Fill out our form, share a photo, and you could be featured on our social pages!

Tag your friends who you want to participate!

Access the form at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIPPDHCi5TdUKqrDDT74ry1ysCc1O9v-6Amql5khq3gglJpQ/viewform

SAVE THE DATE for our annual senior design, undergraduate research and first year design showcase, the Celebration of Engineering!

The event will be held Friday, June 5, from 2 to 5 p.m. in the Bossone Lobby and Mitchell Auditorium. Multiple awards will be at stake, including competitions among senior design departmental champions, open senior design submissions, undergraduate research and first year design projects. Join us to see all the amazing work our students have done over the last year!

The Drexel Rocket Team has successfully completed a static fire test of Ambition-1, their debut liquid propellant rocket engine, marking a major milestone in the team's eight-year plan to become leaders in collegiate rocketry.

The test took place at the Maryland Delaware Rocketry Association launch site, where the team navigated last-minute electrical fixes and came out on the other side with a clean burn. What makes Drexel's approach stand out is their focus on liquid engines, a more complex and ambitious technology than the solid rocket engines used by most collegiate programs. Their long-term goals include competing at the highest levels of intercollegiate rocketry and eventually launching a vehicle to 100 kilometers altitude, the recognized boundary of space.

Read more: https://drexel.edu/engineering/news-events/news/archive/2026/May/rocket-team-successful-static-fire/

Congratulations to three School of Engineering graduate students recognized at Drexel's 2026 Graduate Student Excellence Awards! Vahid Rad (PhD, Chemical Engineering) received the Research Excellence Award for Most Original & Creative Work, while Amir Bagheri (PhD, Civil Engineering) and Mehrangiz Taheri (PhD, Mechanical Engineering) both earned Teaching Assistant Excellence Awards for their outstanding commitment to student learning. We're so proud of you all!

Read more: https://drexel.edu/graduatecollege/research-funding/excellence-awards/

Nine School of Engineering alumni have been recognized in Drexel Magazine's 40 Under 40 Class of 2026, joining a cohort of Drexel graduates making an impact across industries and disciplines.

The CoEC alumni honored this year are:

- Lemond Brown, BS architectural engineering '12
- Youssif Galal, BS mechanical engineering '18
- Elliot Goldberg, BS computer engineering '17
- Sylvia Herbert, BS/MS mechanical engineering '14
- Courtney Houtsma, BS biomedical engineering '15, MS engineering management '21
- Anush Lingamoorthy, BS computer engineering '18, BS electrical engineering '18, MS machine learning and AI '23, PhD electrical engineering '25
- Kyle Matthews, BS materials science and engineering '20, PhD materials science and engineering '24
- Zikria Saif, BS materials science and engineering '25
- Steven Spurgeon, PhD materials science and engineering '14

Read the full 40 Under 40 Class of 2026: https://drexelmagazine.org/story/40-under-40-2026/