Three Department of Computer Science faculty and staff members have received well-deserved awards from Iowa State University and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Liese Vanderbroek will receive the LAS Merit Excellence Award. This award recognizes and honors Merit employees who have achieved excellence in their respective fields. As Undergraduate Secretary, Liese demonstrated unmatched leadership, problem-solving, and genuine care for students in her position. She revived and manages the Computer Science Help Room, a widely used tutoring resource for our high-enrollment courses.
Dr. Samik Basu, Professor, will receive the LAS Award for Outstanding Achievement in Teaching. This award recognizes faculty members for outstanding teaching performance over an extended period. Samik is an exceptional teacher whose dedication and teaching methods have greatly impacted our students over two decades. Samik inspires student engagement and supports success through creative assignments, flexible office hours, and timely feedback. Beyond teaching, he has led significant curriculum advancements at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.
Dr. Tichakorn (Nok) Wongpiromsarn, Assistant Professor, will receive the ISU Award for Early Achievement in Research. This award recognizes faculty members who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in research and/or creative activity unusually early in their professional career. Nok’s research lies at the intersection of computer science, control, and optimization, with a focus on formal methods, motion planning, situational reasoning, and distributed control systems. She applies these techniques to practical domains such as robotics, autonomous vehicles, and intelligent transportation systems. Nok has an impressive publication record and has received multiple external grants, including an NSF CAREER Award.
Congratulations, Liese, Samik, and Nok!