The Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence is given annually to a WSU Vancouver faculty member whose research quality and quantity are exemplary, and whose work has had a positive influence on the broader community. It is the university’s highest research honor.
Praveen Sekhar
Associate Professor, School of Engineering and Computer Science
Praveen Sekhar’s research is grounded in the interdisciplinary field of electrochemical gas sensors, which intersects disciplines such as electrical engineering, chemical sciences, applied physics and materials science. He has achieved the heights of international recognition in his field while remaining down to earth: His research is aimed at making people safer and the world a better place to live.
Sekhar directs WSU Vancouver’s Nanomaterials-Sensor Laboratory, where he and his students are working on solutions related to environmental pollution, national security, energy security and Internet of Things applications. For example, he is the principal investigator on a project funded by the National Science Foundation that addresses the need for a flexible wireless gas sensing device at high temperatures for many applications—notably for use by first responders during emergencies such as forest fires and terrorist attacks. He has established research partnerships with several local industries. He involves undergraduate and graduate students in his research, not only giving them experience but also connecting them with people who could be important in their careers.
Sekhar’s international reputation has brought recognition not only to him but to WSU Vancouver. Recently, he was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, a selective international award given for significant contributions to the field. He is also a Humboldt Fellow, a prestigious honor that took him to the University of Cologne, Germany, to conduct research for a year. The work involved graduate students from both the University of Cologne and WSU Vancouver. He was invited to speak in Japan and has collaborated with scientists there. He has led and organized both national and international conferences and symposiums. In addition, Praveen was an invited panelist to an energy summit hosted by Baker Hughes Company. The NSF frequently calls on him to review interdisciplinary proposals on chemical sensors. He is associate editor of the Journal of the Electrochemical Society and vice chair of its sensor division.
Sekhar is committed to diversity in engineering research through collaborating and mentoring women, immigrants and persons of color. He empowers students to believe in their potential, with timely, hands-on research experience that fosters scientific curiosity and helps advance their careers. He treats his graduate students as collaborators. He is well known for being unfailingly kind, inclusive of his peers, and generous with his time.
Sekhar earned his bachelor’s degree at Coimbatore Institute of Technology in India, and his master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of South Florida. He joined WSU Vancouver in 2011.
Past award recipients
2022 – 2023
Deepti Singh
2021 – 2022
Ed Hagen
2020 – 2021
Dave Kim, Mechanical Engineering
2019 – 2020
Marcelo Diversi, Human Development
2018 – 2019
Bala Krishnamoorthy, Mathematics
2017 – 2018
Cheryl Schultz, Biological Sciences
2016 – 2017
Candice Goucher, History
2015 – 2016
John Harrison, School of the Environment
2014 – 2015
Tahira Probst, Psychology
2013 – 2014
Thomas Tripp, Business
2012 – 2013
Jane Lanigan, Human Development
2011 – 2012
Christine Portfors, Neuroscience
2010 – 2011
Stephen Kucer, Education
2009 – 2010
WenZhan Song, Engineering
2008 – 2009
Joe Cote, Business
2007 – 2008
Tamara Holmund Nelson, Education
2006 – 2007
Amy Wharton, Sociology
2005 – 2006
Barry Hewlett, Anthropology
2004 – 2005
Clayton Mosher, Sociology
2003 – 2004
Michael Morgan, Psychology
2002 – 2003
John Bishop, Biology
2001 – 2002
Susan Finley, Education
2000 – 2001
Hakan Gurocak, Engineering
1999 – 2000
Sally Hacker, Biology
1998 – 1999
Ed Brook, Geology
1997 – 1998
Meridith Newman, Public Affairs
1996 – 1997
Sue Peabody, History
1995 – 1996
Charles ‘Cap’ Peck, Education
1994 – 1995
Carol Siegel, English
1993 – 1994
Jerry Goodstein, Business