UCLA Samueli Announces 2024 Excellence in Graduate Mentoring Award
Every year, the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering selects and recognizes outstanding achievements by a number of its alumni, faculty members and students who have excelled in various fields. Below is the profile of the 2024 Excellence in Graduate Mentoring Award recipient.
Excellence in Graduate Mentoring Award
Sanjay Mohanty
Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Sanjay Mohanty is an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at UCLA whose student-focused teaching and mentorship philosophy has inspired many of his graduate students. He has been commended for his commitment to helping students achieve their academic, personal and professional goals. Known for his ability to connect with students, Mohanty encourages and guides his students to discover their own research interests, tailoring his teaching to meet the individual learning styles and needs of his students. For his dedication to teaching and mentoring, Mohanty has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the UCLA Samueli Excellence in Graduate Mentoring Award.
A UCLA faculty member since 2016, Mohanty leads the Subsurface Engineering & Analysis Lab with a team of nearly 20 graduate and undergraduate student researchers from diverse backgrounds and experiences. The group’s research focuses on examining pollutants in soil and water systems and designing natural, climate-resilient solutions to treat water for reuse in water-stressed regions. In addition to his research, Mohanty teaches several courses on topics ranging from green infrastructure and the science of environmental engineering to hazardous waste site investigation and remediation. Prior to joining UCLA, he held postdoctoral fellowships at Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania.