2026 Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander Award
Dr. Eliza A. Banu, a senior lecturer in the School of Environmental, Civil, Agricultural and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Georgia, is a passionate supporter in engineering education and outreach.
Banu earned her doctorate in mechanical engineering from Auburn University and has since championed active learning and collaborative problem-solving in courses such as Fluid Mechanics and Computational Fluid Dynamics. She is the editor of the Journal of Engineering Education and Research: Innovation and Research.
Her mentorship spans CURO Scholars, Double Dawgs and graduate students through her CFDawgs research group in a variety of areas of interest, allowing students’ passion for a topic lead the research through computational fluid dynamics focus. Banu’s service includes advising American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) student chapters, guiding teams to top finishes in NASA’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge and Fountain Wars and chairing the ECAM Community Excellence Committee to foster belonging among faculty and students.
Banu also led K–12 outreach through hosting the FIRST LEGO League State Championship on the UGA Campus. She has been recognized with the ASME Faculty All Star Supporter Award and multiple UGA Career Center acknowledgments.