Lamas and students honored with Society of Women Engineers – Brazil awards
Recently, Gisella Lamas, Ph.D., lecturer in the Department of Chemical and Material Engineering, and a group of undergraduate students from the Pigman College of Engineering - Paducah Campus, led by Abby Teddleton, were recognized with awards from the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) – Brazil.
At the inaugural SWE Warm Up event, held July 17 as a preview to the upcoming WE Local Campinas conference, Lamas received the Inspiring Educator Award, while students Teddleton, Kaitlin Hopkins, Savannah Murt, Crawford Jones, Brian Sibley and Jordan Garcia earned the Best Undergraduate Research Project Award for their project titled “Microbial Growth and Effects on Material Properties.”
Lamas, who chaired SWE’s Women in Academia Committee in 2025 and serves as faculty advisor for the SWE UK Paducah chapter, was recognized for her dedication to mentorship, education and fostering inclusion in engineering.
The student project, which originated in a biofilms course, examined how microbial growth can influence the properties of materials. Teddleton, who also serves as president of the SWE UK Paducah chapter, received praise for her leadership on the project, which is ongoing. A 500-word summary of the research was submitted as part of the application process, and an abstract from the same project has also been accepted for presentation at the ISMOS Conference in Nashville, Tennessee this August.
These awards mark the achievement the recipients and highlight the global impact of UK Paducah.
In addition to these individual honors, the SWE UK Paducah chapter has also been nominated for the SWE Mission Awards at the national level, with results expected by August 31.
