Nguyen wins Campus Award for Excellence in Guiding Undergraduate Research

3/1/2021

Award recognizes faculty members for their excellence in supporting undergraduate students’ research and scholarship.

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Professor Helen Nguyen has received the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Campus Award for Excellence in Guiding Undergraduate Research, which rewards faculty members for their excellence in involving and guiding undergraduate students in scholarly research, having a positive impact on student scholarship or intellectual development, and for their innovative approaches to guiding undergraduate research.

During her tenure on the CEE faculty, Nguyen has actively involved undergraduates in research projects. She has mentored over 50 undergraduate researchers during this time, and many of them continued working in her laboratory until they graduated. Many of these students were able to participate in international research projects, which also provided them with an opportunity to learn about community engagement and project management.

“I am very honored and grateful for this award,” Nguyen said. “There is nothing that gives me more joy than guiding undergraduate students through their journeys at Illinois and of course seeing them flourishing after their graduation. Many undergraduate students started working with me as a freshman. They are now in academia, industry, graduate and medical schools.  I am incredibly proud of my students.”

Nguyen joined the CEE at Illinois faculty in November 2006 where she teaches graduate and undergraduate classes in environmental engineering, and serves as chair of the Environmental Engineering and Science program. Her research interests include pathogen transmission and control, biofilms in drinking water distribution system, effects of natural disasters on pathogen transmission, and water and food safety.


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This story was published March 1, 2021.