Michael was awarded one of the three fellowships this year in recognition of his collaborations with the medical school, structural, mechanical, and computer science departments to improve patient safety in minimally invasive surgery as well as his work with the NSF supported Early Research Scholarship Program leading 8 teams of undergraduate students. The purpose of the awards program is to reward and recognize successful leaders and to promote positive role models for Jacobs School of Engineering students. Recipients of the award are first nominated by mentors and are then chosen through a competitive selection process. The selection focuses on demonstrated excellence in leadership, engineering ability, communication skills and teamwork.