Associate Professor Andrej Lenert was honored along with three other Henry Russel Award recipients during the Henry Russel Lecture this week.
The Henry Russel Award is considered the University’s highest honor for faculty in the early to mid- stages of their career, and is given annually to faculty members who have an extraordinary record of accomplishment in scholarly research and have demonstrated excellence as a teacher.
“I’m thrilled to receive this prestigious award and grateful to all the people that have helped me advance my teaching and research programs, including my mentors, collaborators and students,” Lenert said.
“I’m thrilled to receive this prestigious award and grateful to all the people that have helped me advance my teaching and research programs, including my mentors, collaborators and students.”
Andrej lenert
Associate Professor of chemical Engineering
Lenert’s research has been widely recognized for advances in controlling the wavelength of thermal transport in photothermal and photovoltaic systems that enable reliable, solar-based clean energy solutions. He has made major contributions to the field, aiming to achieve net-zero energy and solve some of the critical problems associated with producing on-demand electrical power and high-grade heat from solar energy.
In the classroom and the laboratory, Lenert is regarded as an outstanding mentor. Joining the Department of Chemical Engineering as an assistant professor in 2016, Lenert quickly built a reputation for outstanding teaching and mentorship, promoting diversity, equity and inclusion and advancing innovative research.
In 2022, Lenert received the 1938E award, granted annually by the College of Engineering to an assistant professor who demonstrates outstanding teaching, counseling and contribution to their department.
Within the Department of Chemical Engineering, Lenert has redesigned multiple courses to increase student achievement, including a bridge course for incoming graduate students that accelerates their development into researchers and engaged community members.
Four Henry Russel awards are given annually based on nominations from deans, directors, department heads and individual faculty members. A committee of distinguished senior faculty from different disciplines, chaired by the Dean of the Graduate School, review nominations and make recommendations to the President of the University before the awards are publicly announced each year.
