Each year the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois internally recognizes a select group of faculty with the College Faculty Awards, honoring their achievements as innovators and their pioneering approaches to teaching and world-renowned research.
This year, Dean Bashir honored two Civil and Environmental Engineering faculty with College Awards for their achievements.
CEE AWARD RECIPIENTS
2026 Tau Beta Pi Daniel C. Drucker Eminent Faculty Award
Marcelo Garcia, professor and the M.T. Geoffrey Yeh Endowed Chair in Civil Engineering, was selected to receive the Tau Beta Pi Daniel C. Drucker Eminent Faculty Award, which recognizes faculty in the College of Engineering who have received national or international acclaim for dedication to academic excellence through teaching and research and have made exemplary contributions to the understanding of their fields.
The award demonstrates the ideals of Daniel C. Drucker, dean of the College of Engineering from 1968 to 1984. An internationally recognized scholar in the field of applied mechanics and materials, Dean Drucker's pursuit of scholarly excellence had great influence on the faculty and students of the college. He worked with and supported many programs of Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honor society that recognizes students, alumni, and engineers for outstanding academic achievements and exemplary character.
Garcia was honored for his outstanding teaching and research contributions over the past 36 years at Illinois, along with his high-profile reputation and lasting impact in academia. Garcia has trained the next generation of interdisciplinary sediment engineers and Earth-surface scientists, including 62 MS students, 42 PhD students, and nearly 30 postdoctoral researchers and visiting scientists. He has led the development of laboratory capability for geophysical fluid dynamics and sediment-dynamics research for more than two decades. Under his leadership, the Ven Te Chow Hydrosystems Laboratory at the University of Illinois has become a global resource for high- resolution and large-scale geophysical experiments and a world-leading center of excellence in education and service.
A distinguished scholar with pioneering contributions to sediment transport and morphodynamics in fluvial and deep-sea environments, Garcia has made fundamental and seminal contributions across hydraulics and fluid mechanics, notably in river mechanics, sediment transport, sedimentation engineering, and environmental hydraulics. He is widely recognized as a leading international authority on sediment entrainment from riverbeds, flow and transport in vegetated channels, the mechanics of oceanic turbidity currents, and the dynamics of mudflows in mountain environments.
The University of Illinois also honored Garcia this year with the 2026 Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring. The award recognizes excellence and innovation in graduate student mentoring, creating a positive impact on graduate student scholarship and professional development. The Grainger College of Engineering recognized Garcia in 2022 as well, with the College Award for Excellence in Faculty Mentoring.
Garcia was recently selected as 2026 Warren A. Hall Medal recipient by the Universities Council on Water Resources (UCOWR). He was inducted to the National Academy of Engineering Class of 2025 and a Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Engineering of Argentina.
2026 College Award for Sustained Excellence in Community, Opportunity, and Engagement
CEE Associate Professor and the Elaine F. and William J. Hall Excellence Faculty Scholar Ashlynn Stillwell was awarded the College Award for Sustained Excellence in Community, Opportunity and Engagement. The award is presented annually to a member of the College of Engineering's faculty or staff in recognition of their contributions to advance the work with individual students, staff, faculty, community members, or organizations.
Stillwell received the award for her translational research leadership with Hope Village in addition to her other work to collaborate with the campus and surrounding community. Hope Village, Inc. is a collaboration between Carle Health, Champaign County Health Care Consumers, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to create a smart, sustainable community of 30 small one-bedroom homes as permanent supportive housing for individuals coping with chronic homelessness and medical fragility in Champaign-Urbana. Construction is ongoing, with expected initial occupancy in 2026.
The site and homes include sustainable materials with trauma-informed design for resident comfort and healing. Each home aligns with the U.S. Department of Energy Efficient New Homes performance requirements and will include rooftop solar. Within the one-bedroom homes, measurement systems will collect fine-resolution energy, water, and indoor environment data to inform customized, non-intrusive resident support. Additional smart home and assistive healthcare technologies will support resident well-being and activities, translating university research discoveries into applications for human thriving. Hope Village is a unique platform opportunity to demonstrate research advancements in service to the local community
To strengthen the connection between campus and the community, Stillwell collaborates with Abbott Power Plant and University of Illinois Facilities and Services to host the annual “Girl Power” event with Girl Scouts of Central Illinois to foster STEM exploration in the energy sector. Since 2015, she has hosted the Girl Scouts and their families for power plant tours, hands-on science activities, welding and skilled trades demonstrations, and heavy equipment displays. Attendance ranges from 40-80 Girl Scouts with additional adults. Stillwell was honored with the 2015 Girl Scouts of Central Illinois Woman of Distinction Award in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
Stillwell's research focuses on creating sustainable water and energy systems in a policy-relevant context. She received the National Science Foundation CAREER award and the UCOWR Early Career Award for Applied Research for her research work on the energy-water nexus. Additionally, she has been included on the List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students at Illinois and was selected to receive the 2018 Award for Outstanding Teaching in Environmental Engineering and Science from the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) as well as the 2018 Rose Award for Teaching Excellence.
Award recipients will be recognized at The College Faculty Awards Ceremony will be held Monday, April 27, 2026, at 6pm at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center in Urbana, Ill.