February 08 2007 - Jennifer Gaddis and Marie Mayer (both undergrads in our research group) have been selected Knights of St. Patrick. The Knight of St. Patrick is an annual award given by the College of Engineering to approximately 10-15 students who represent leadership, excellence in character, and exceptional contribution to the College of Engineering and its students. The award is one of the highest honors received by a student from the College Of Engineering. Knights should be juniors or seniors with a GPA of at least 3.5, and have been a member of an engineering society for at least one semester. Criteria for selection include: activities and contributions to those activities at the U of I campus, other accomplishments and honors at the University, character and scholarship.

Marie is the founding chair of the American Vacuum Society (AVS) chapter at the University of Illinois and a former president of Alpha Omega Epsilon. She has also served as vice-president of Keramos (Materials Science and Engineering Honor Society), member of the Engineering Council SITE committee, and Eletronic Materials representative for the Undergraduate Materials Organization (UMO). Jennifer has served as vice-president and events chair for Engineers Without Borders (EWB). She was the electronic materials representative for UMO and is currently working with the Engineering College to improve the curriculum. Congratulations Jennifer and Marie!!