Ericka Mochan Honored at Western New England College School of Engineering

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(L-R) School of Engineering Dean S. Hossein Cheraghi, Ericka Mochan, and Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Robert Gettens

SPRINGFIELD, MA (06/20/2011)(readMedia)-- Ericka D. Mochan of Walworth, NY, received multiple honors – including the School of Engineering's Dean's Award for Academic Excellence – during Baccalaureate ceremonies at Western New England College. The Dean's Award goes to the graduating senior with the highest cumulative grade-point-average in the School.

Mochan was also presented with the Department of Biomedical Engineering's Award for Outstanding Senior and the Marston Engineering Award. The outstanding senior award is presented to the top student in the department of biomedical engineering, while the Marston Award is presented by the entire engineering faculty to the student judged to have the most mature understanding of the principles of professional engineering practice.

During the awards ceremony, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Dr. Robert Gettens called Mochan the finest student the department had seen in a number of years. "The combination of excellence and leadership that Ericka demonstrates is rarely displayed in the undergraduate student," said Gettens.

For her senior design project, Mochan designed a device for Shriner's Hospital for Children in Springfield. The device will be used to train plastic surgery residents to perform a particular type of cleft palate repair. Mochan presented the project at the 37th Annual Northeast Bioengineering Conference design competition.

Mochan graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering. She served as president of Tau Beta Pi and was inducted into the Alpha Lambda Delta and Sigma Beta Tau honor societies. Mochan was also recognized in Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities. She will be pursuing a Ph.D. in computational biology starting this fall.

Western New England College is a private, independent, coeducational institution founded in 1919. Located on an attractive 215-acre suburban campus in Springfield, Massachusetts, Western New England serves 3,700 students, including 2,500 full-time undergraduate students. Undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs are offered through Schools of Arts and Sciences, Business, Engineering, Law, and Pharmacy.