Alumni Awards

Michigan Engineering Alumni Awards

Michigan Engineering has established a recognition program to honor those alumni who personify the College’s tradition of excellence.

Nominations for the 2025 Alumni Awards are now closed.
View nomination criteria and information

2024 Honorees

The 2024 alumni award recipients are detailed below.

Alumni Medal Award

Presented to an alumnus/alumna who has attained extraordinary achievement in their field and brought distinction to Michigan Engineering. It is the highest accolade awarded by the Michigan Engineering Alumni Board and the College.

2024 Award Recipient: Dixon Doll

MSE (EE) 1965, PhD (EE) 1969

For more than 35 years, Dr. Dixon Doll (MSE EE ‘65, PhD EE ‘69) has played a major role in guiding entrepreneurs, investors and executives in the telecom and related industries. At Accel Partners, he co-founded the first venture capital fund to focus on the telecommunications industry. He then continued this work as the co-founder and partner of DCM Ventures, a leading global venture capital firm. Many of the companies he has backed have gone on to become industry leaders, a testament to his foresight and dedication.

Dr. Doll has been a significant leader in supporting innovation across the country. In 2012, he worked to help the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or JOBS Act become law. Its goal was to encourage funding of small businesses in the United States, and it’s widely regarded as a major catalyst to stimulate investment in domestic technology innovation.

In recognition of his leadership, in 2021, Dr. Doll received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Venture Capital from the U.S. National Venture Capital Association. He previously received the 2013 Special Achievement Award in VC from the International Business Forum

Beyond his professional endeavors, Dr. Doll and his family are deeply committed to philanthropy and giving back to the community. Among their contributions, Dr. Doll and his wife, Carol, created an endowment to support the executive director position of the College’s Center for Entrepreneurship.

Dr. Doll’s other contributions include serving as Vice Chairman of Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. He is also on the boards of the Catholic Investment Services, the San Francisco Opera Association, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, and the University of San Francisco. He previously served on the Board of Overseers for the Hoover Institute at Stanford. He currently chairs USF’s Investment Committee, and is on the investment committees for the San Francisco Opera and the Asian Art Museum.

View the list of former Alumni Medal Award recipients.

Distinguished Alumni Service Award

Presented to an alumnus/alumna who has generously volunteered service to further College projects and activities.

2024 Award Recipient: J. Dann Engels

BSE (IOE) 1978, MSE (IOE) 1980, MSE (ME) 1980

J. Dann Engels (BSE IOE ‘78, MS IOE ‘80, MS ME ‘80) is chairman of a private family equity business whose companies provide products and services in areas including the automotive aftermarket, horticulture, various material handling industrial products, and wholesale and retail battery sales and battery recycling.

Engels is a long-standing member of the IOE department’s advisory board and has served as Chair of IOE’s Subcommittee on Community and Outreach, where he took on the challenge of increasing recruitment of traditionally underrepresented groups. He also leveraged his network to connect scholars in Vietnam with colleagues at the College to collaborate on creating applied mathematics programs and developing talent to support opportunities in the region.

Along with his wife, Que-Lan, Engels founded the Engels Family Foundation in 1995 with a focus on supporting education in underrepresented communities. In addition, the Engels endowed the Stephen M. Pollock Fellowship, which is awarded annually to a deserving PhD student.

Engels received the IOE Outstanding Alumni award in 1996.

View the list of former Distinguished Alumni Service Award recipients.

Outstanding Recent Alumni Award

Presented to an alumnus/alumna who has contributed substantially to their field in their early career years. Recipients have either graduated from Michigan Engineering within the last ten years or are no more than 35 years old.

2024 Award Recipient: Mathieu Davis

MSE (ME) 2010, PhD (ME) 2013

Dr. Mathieu Davis (MS ME ‘10, PhD ME ‘13) is a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group and a recent graduate of Harvard Business School. While there, he served as vice president of alumni for the African American Student Union and as a reviewer for AASU’s annual Black New Venture Competition.

After earning his doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan, he went to South Africa as a Fulbright Scholar, where he continued to pursue research in biomechanics at the University of Stellenbosch. During that time, he mentored and taught local children in a variety of STEM and sustainability subjects.

Dr. Davis later joined Exponent as an engineering consultant. There, he was honored with two Exponent Excellence Awards for his work with the company’s Minority Engagement Growth and Advancement (MEGA) diversity initiative program.

Among his other honors, Dr. Davis received the College of Engineering’s Richard F. and Eleanor A. Towner Prize for outstanding academic performance, leadership and service.

View previous Outstanding Recent Alumni Award recipients.

Michigander Alumni Award

Presented to an alumnus/alumna who has made significant contributions to the State of Michigan and our local communities, upholding both the mission of the University and the ethos of the College. It is a special-purpose award only awarded when the achievements and the impact of those accomplishments rises to the level of truly extraordinary.

2024 Award Recipient: Chris Cook

BSE (CE) 1987

Christopher J. Cook (BS CE ’87) has more than 35 years of experience in civil engineering, serving as President and CEO of Benton Harbor-based Abonmarche for much of that time, working on numerous transportation, water, sewer improvement projects. His knowledge and experience in partnership with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy have made him a valuable resource to Michigan communities.

A trusted community leader, Cook has served on numerous boards and commissions, including as Chairman of the Benton Harbor Planning Commission, Treasurer of the St. Joseph Public Schools Board of Education and a member of the City of St. Joseph’s Zoning Board Authority.

In recognition of his long history of community service, he has received the American Council of Engineering Companies National Community Service Award and the Merlin Hanson Exemplary Business Leader Award from the Community Economic Development Corporation.

Cook was recently named managing director of Harbor Shores Development in Benton Harbor.

2024 Department Merit Award Recipients

The Department Merit Awards were established to honor alumni who personify the College’s tradition of excellence and who have achieved significant accomplishments in their professional lives. The awards are given each year to graduates from each
academic department.