Alice M. Agogino – Honors and Awards

Education & Employment | Publications | Honors & Awards
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  • 2024 Best AI Paper Competition, Agogino, A.M., et al. “Methane Detection and Characterization with AI Sensor Fusion and Decision-Analytic Placement of Rapidly Deployable Sensors”. Proceedings of ASME IMEC2024.
  • 2024   Cover of Soft Robotics. Squishy Robotics tensegrity sensor robots were the cover art for the June issue of Soft Robotics (SoRo). Soft Robotics is a leading robotics journal that publishes peer-reviewed research on the emerging technologies and developments of soft and deformable robots. The cover image illustrates how the compliant tensegrity structure can be carried by one drone that can deliver and deploy multiple robots in one delivery.
  • 2023 “50 Over 50”, Forbes Magazine. “Demonstrating that age is not an obstacle to innovation, Squishy Robotics CEO Dr. Alice Agogino—who was 64 years old when she co-founded the company—was selected for the 2023 Forbes 50 Over 50 List. Now in its third year, the Forbes List recognizes female leaders, entrepreneurs, creators, and change makers that are smashing the economic and social limitations often encountered by women over 50”. 
  • 2022 Agogino’s spin-off Squishy Robotics wins 2022 East Bay Innovation Award in the Engineering & Design category. Received a Certificate of Recognition from both the California State Assembly and from the California State Senate in honor of the EDA’s award.
  • 2021 Berkeley Faculty Service Award for distinguished record of service to the Academic Senate.
  • 2020 Athena Award for Academic Leadership. The award was presented on March 6, 2020 at the Reimagining Cybersecurity for All Symposium in Berkeley.
  • 2020 ASME DTM Best Paper Award for  “Method Selection in Human-Centered Design Teams: An Examination of Decision-Making Strategies,” (with Vivek Rao, Euiyoung Kim, Jieun Kwon, Kosa Goucher-Lambert), Proceedings of the ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conference (IDETC 2020) (16-19 August 2020, St. Louis, MO).
  • 2019 Won First Place in the TechPlanter Silicon Valley pitch competition on Squishy Robotics.
  • 2018 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.
  • 2017 ASME Design Theory and Methodology Award: to recognize sustained and meritorious contributions to research; education; service; training of researchers or practitioners; overall leadership in advancing the field; or any combination of these in the field of Design Theory and Methodology.
  • 2017 Georgia Tech’s Women in Science and Technology Distinguished Lecture Award, Feb. 28, 2017. Lecture title:Design for Social Impact:  Multiple Dimensions of Diversity in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Medical (STEM) Education and Careers.
  • 2016 Best Paper Award (with Euiyoung Kim, Jaewoo Chung, and Sara Beckman), Design Theory and Methods (DTM), International Design Engineering Technical Conference (IDETC), 2016. Paper title: “Design Roadmapping: A Framework and Case Study of Planning Development of High-Tech Products in Silicon Valley”.
  • 2015 ASME Ruth and Joel Spira Outstanding Design Educator Award for tireless efforts in furthering engineering design education including curriculum changes that blend cutting-edge design topics with state-of-the-art educational practices; promoting wide-ranging interaction between industry and students; performing game-changing design research; and mentoring the next generation of designers, educators, researchers and engineers. The award was presented at the 2015 International Design and Engineering Technical Conference (IDETC).
  • 2015 Reviewers’ Favourite  award at ICED15 for paper titled “Design Roadmapping: Challenges and Opportunities” (with Euiyoung Kim and Shun Yao), 2015.
  • 2015 Reviewers’ Favourite  award at ICED15 for paper titled  “Design Talking: An Ontology of Design Methods to Support a Common Language of Design (with Celeste Roschuni, Julia Kramer, Qian Zhang and Lauren Zakshorn), 2015.
  • 2015 Faculty sponsor for Big Ideas Competition: First Place in Global Health for the proposal: Visualize: Saving Lives with Training for Cervical Cancer Screening, (Julia Kramer as student lead), 2015.
  • 2014 Finalist (of four) for Best Student Paper Award (doctoral student Kyunam Kim was the lead author), 2014 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics for paper: “Rapid Prototyping Design and Control of Tensegrity Soft Robot for Locomotion”.
  • 2014 IEEE Senior Member.
  • 2014 Awardee and Keynote Speaker at Assemblymember Nancy Skinner STEM Women of the Year.
  • 2013 “Reviewers’ Favourite Award” at the 2013 International Conference on Engineering Design for paper “Human-Centric Study of Digital-Paper Transitions: Framing Design Opportunity Spaces” (with E.Y. Kim, V.S. Kocsik, C.E. Basnage).
  • 2012 Lifetime Mentor Award, AAAS. Citation: for efforts to significantly increase the number of women and African- and Hispanic-American doctorates in mechanical engineering.
  • 2013 Faculty Sponsor of student team in the Max Tech and Beyond Appliance Design Competition: Ultra-Low Energy Use Appliance Design Competition. Project title: “User-Centric And Self-Commissioning Predictive-Model-Based Lighting Retrofit System”, LBNL, Department of Energy, 2012-13.
  • 2012 Academy of Distinguished Alumni, University of New Mexico.
  • 2011 Leon Gaster Best Paper Award for Lighting Technology for 2011 for the paper “Control of Wireless-networked Lighting in Open-plan Offices” (with Yao-Jung Wen) published in Volume 43 Issue 2 of Lighting Research & Technology. The award was announced at the Society of Light and Lighting’s Annual General Meeting and Awards evening on 29 May 2012 at ZSL, Regent’s Park, London.
  • 2011 Professor of the Year, UC Berkeley Pi Tau Sigma. Citation: demonstrated time and again her commitment to high academic standards and improving the undergraduate experience for Mechanical Engineering students.
  • 2011 Faculty sponsor for Co-Winner, First Place in Social Entrepreneurship Competition, “Class Projects to Social Ventures”, Big Ideas Contest.
  • 2011 Faculty sponsor for Co-Winner, Second Place in Social Justice, Community Engagement Competition, “Students-Community Collaborative Design Challenge”, Big Ideas Contest.
  • 2011 Best Note Honorable Mention, ““GreenHat: Exploring the Natural Environment through Experts’ Perspectives,” (with Kimiko Ryokai, Lora and Michael Manoochehri) ACM CHI (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems).
  • 2010 Chancellor’s Awards for Public Service. CARES (Community Assessment for Renewable Energy and Sustainability) Team wins the 2010 Chancellor’s Award for Campus-Community Programs.
  • 2009 Honorable Mention, Curricular Innovations, Bears Breaking Boundaries Competition, the Pinoleville Pomo Nation project; Finalist in the Information Technology for CARES (Community Assessment of Renewable Energy and Sustainability).
  • 2007 Finalist, Smart Lighting Project, Venture Lab Competition, Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology.
  • 2007 Faculty Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring, Mechanical Engineering Graduate Student Council.
  • 2006 Chancellor’s Award for Advancing Institutional Excellence.
  • 2005 Elected Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
  • 2005 IEEE Robotics & Automation Society Best Paper Award for “Microfabrication and Characterization of Evolutionary MEMS Resonators,” at the Symposium of Micro- and Nano-Mechatronics for Information-based Society (with R. Kamalian and Y. Zhang).
  • 2004 ASME Xerox Best Paper Award, “Insights on Designers’ Sketching Activities in New Product Design Teams”, ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference in Salt Lake City (with Shuang Song).
  • 2004 NSF Director’s Award for Distinguished Teaching Scholars.
  • 2001 Fellow, Association for Women in Science (AWIS).
  • 2001 First Runner-up for the Novel Smart Engineering System Design Award (with Ningning Zhou, Bo Zhu and Kris Pister), ASME/IEEE.
  • 1998 IEEE Helen Plants Award for “Best Non-Traditional Session at Frontiers in Education”.
  • 1998 Best Overall Paper Award, ASEE, “Engineering for Middle School: A Web-based Module for Learning and Designing with Simple Machines” (with Ann McKenna).
  • 1998 Roscoe and Elizabeth Hughes Chair of Mechanical Engineering (1998-to date)
  • 1997 Best Paper Award,“Integrating Design, Analysis and Problem Solving in an Introduction to Engineering Curriculum for High School Students,” (with Ann McKenna), ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Engineering Education Conference.
  • 1997 John Wiley & Sons Premier Courseware Award (with D. Yu) for “Virtual Disk Drive Design Studio” CD ROM.
  • 1997 Elected to the National Academy of Engineering with citation “for applications of artificial intelligence to manufacturing, and for reform efforts in engineering education“.
  • 1996 Best Paper Award, “Text Analysis for Constructing Design Representations,” (with A. Dong), Artificial Intelligence in Design ’96 Conference (Stanford, CA).
  • 1994 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
  • 1992 Best Paper at the Conference on AI Applications, “A Structural and Behavioral Reasoning System for Diagnosing Large-Scale Systems,” (with Bob Paasch).
  • 1992 Most Outstanding Alumnus, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of New Mexico.
  • 1991 Best Paper Award, “An Intelligent Real Time Design Methodology for Component Selection,” (with S. Bradley), ASME Design, Theory and Methods Conference.
  • 1988 Young Manufacturing Engineer of the Year, Society of Manufacturing Engineers.
  • 1987 Ralph R. Teetor Educator Award, Society of Automotive Engineers.
  • 1986 Pi Tau Sigma Award for Excellence in Teaching.
  • 1985 IBM Faculty Development Award, 1985-1986.
  • 1985 National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator.
  • 1977 Chancellor’s Honorary Fellow in Mechanical Engineering at the UC Berkeley.
  • 1973 Pi Tau Sigma Academic Honor Award.
  • Honorary Membership: Tau Beta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi, Pi Tau Sigma