Students
Celebrating the Class of 2021
In New York and around the world, Columbia Engineering’s Class of 2021 gathered virtually April 29 to celebrate a well-earned Class Day after a most unusual year.
Reflections from peers, faculty, and keynote speaker Rocco B. Commisso ’71 ‘75BUS marked the milestone, along with announcements of the School’s most prestigious awards.
“Never before has the world been more in need of your abilities and talents, your fresh insights and human perspective,” Dean Mary C. Boyce told the class. “As engineers you are fundamentally creative; you have a mindset focused on overcoming obstacles to find solutions that work in the real world. Where others see constraints, you see possibilities.”
Calling his Columbia experience “the luck of his life,” Commisso shared key lessons learned on his journey from struggling young immigrant to Columbia Engineering student on a soccer scholarship to becoming a senior cable executive and founding his own company, Mediacom. Viewers also heard from class president Kalisa Ndamage, valedictorian Noah Huber-Feely, and graduate student speaker Rohit Sharma, as well as from university President Lee C. Bollinger. Additionally, Senior Vice Dean Souleymane Kachani and Vice Dean Barclay Morrison named the recipients of Columbia Engineering’s top honors.
“Graduates of 2021, I join with your family and friends, our faculty and staff, to say congratulations,” Boyce said. “You are ready to SEAS the world!”
Student Spotlights
As we celebrate all of our 2021 graduates, take a look at students across Columbia Engineering’s departments.
Graduate Spotlight 2021 by columbia engineering
Watch the Class Day ceremony on Youtube
Columbia Engineering honored the Class of 2021 at Virtual Commencement Ceremonies on Thursday, April 29.
Watch the Class Day ceremony on Youtube
School of Engineering and Science - Graduate Class Day 2021
Class of 2021 Award Winners
Valedictorian and Illig Prize – Noah Huber-Feely
Salutatorian – Alexander Paskov
George Vincent Wendell Prize – Adheli Gonzalez
Morton B. Friedman Memorial Prize for Excellence – Tingjun Chen
Graduate Student Life Leadership Awards – Christophe Jean-Michael and Aimee Rose Moses
Doctoral Graduate Student Life Leadership Award – Shreya Narasimhan
The full program is available online.
Faculty Award Winners
Edward and Carole Kim Award for Faculty Involvement
Ali Hirsa, Professor of Professional Practice
Yevgeniy Yesilevskiy, Lecturer in the Discipline of Innovation and Design
Janette and Armen Avanessians Diversity Award
Chris Boyce, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering
Augustin Chaintreau, Associate Professor of Computer Science