Faculty members from the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering took home some impressive hardware Monday during the University of Florida International Center’s 2025 Global Awards ceremony.
The event was held as part of International Education Week and honors UF international education leaders, supporters, and mentors for their invaluable contributions in 2025.
Educator of the Year
Biomedical Engineering Assistant Professor Ana Maria Porras, Ph.D., won the International Educator of the Year Award for Junior Faculty. The center noted Porras integrates international perspectives into teaching, research and community outreach to prepare engineering students to tackle global health challenges.
In 2022, Porras launched Global Health in Biomedical Engineering, a groundbreaking graduate elective that bridges engineering, ethics and public health. Through debates, international guest panels and project-based learning, students explore how engineering addresses complex health inequities around the world. She expanded this work through a Virtual Exchange Program with Universidad Pontificia Javeriana in Colombia, connecting more than 100 UF and Colombian bioengineering students for cross-border collaboration on real-world health issues.
Global Learning Excellence
Matthew Traum, Ph.D., senior lecturer and instructional professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, received the Global Learning Excellence Award for Impact. This award recognizes Traum’s efforts in leading virtual-exchange projects across three continents and engaging UF undergraduates, as well as K-12 and community college students in the community.
International Educators
Porras and Kirk J. Ziegler, Ph.D., with the Department of Chemical Engineering, were recognized as International Educators
Ziegler is the Charles A. Stokes endowed professor. His work centers on understanding interfaces in nanoscale systems, which can have far-reaching implications to various fields of nanotechnology.
Michael S. Todd, an academic advisor in the College of Engineering, won an International Educator award in the staff category.
Global Fellows
Two engineering faculty were recognized as Global Fellows, a program that provides early career faculty members with a $5,000 seed grant, mentorship and targeted workshops to enhance their international research efforts. The program guides fellows through essential skills for global research while encouraging meaningful collaborations with partners via an international research trip.
Engineering’s Global Fellow honorees were Patrick Musgrave, Ph.D., assistant professor with the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and Edwin Marte Zorrilla, Ph.D., an instructional assistant professor with the Department of Engineering Education.
Research Abroad for Doctoral Students
Biomedical engineering doctoral student Anne Gachunga was one of the students selected for the Research Abroad for Doctoral Students, which prepares doctoral students to compete and become leaders in an increasingly global research environment and build relationships with UF and foreign institutions. Gachunga is advised by Ivana Parker, Ph.D.