Won Wins ASME Women in Engineering Award
Oct. 14, 2020 - Yoonjin Won, UC Irvine assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, has won the 2020 Women in Engineering Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Electronic and Photonic Packaging Division. The award recognizes one woman engineer each year for significant technical achievements in the area of electronic and photonic packaging.
Won, who also has an appointment in the Samueli School Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, researches thermo-fluid approaches and innovative materials that address thermal management challenges in electronics, energy conversion, water/energy systems and other emerging technologies.
The winner of an NSF CAREER award in 2018, Won has also received a UCI Samueli Career Development Fellowship, a New Faculty Excellence in Teaching award, and numerous best paper and poster awards. She has published in many high impact journals, including Small, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Advanced Functional Materials and American Chemical Society.
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor and Chair Roger Rangel praised Won’s accomplishments in a letter of support, calling her a key member of the department’s efforts to advance transport physics, surface science and nanomaterials. “Professor Won shows excellence in her research by using cutting-edge nanoscale heat transfer to solve macroscale energy and thermal problems,” he said. “[She] is developing an excellent reputation in her field with a strong academic record and significant technical achievements.”
Rangel added: “More importantly, she has demonstrated great passion for being a role model for female engineers. Professor Won is bringing a positive impact to our department and has been enthusiastic about mentoring students, particularly minority and female students... by participating in numerous outreach and counseling activities.”
“This award is very special to me, as I can join a group of outstanding contributors in my field who have received this award in prior years,” Won said, thanking Rangel and three other thermal engineering colleagues – Evelyn Wang, Gail E. Kendall Professor from MIT, who nominated her for the prestigious award; and Toronto University’s Cristina Amon and University of Illinois’ Nenad Miljkovic, who wrote letters of support.
Won will receive the award during the International Technical Conference and Exhibition on Packaging and Integration of Electronic and Photonic Microsystems, which will be held virtually October 27-29. “I really appreciate this prestigious award. I will continue to work hard and contribute to the community,” she said.
– Anna Lynn Spitzer
