A ceremony April 22 will honor Viterbi School faculty members Nenad Medvidović (Computer Science), Robert Scholtz (EE), Andrea Armani (ChE) and David D'Argenio (BME).

Robert Scholtz

The quarter are among the 25 recipients of 2009-2010 Mellon Mentoring Awards, given in three categories - graduate student mentoring, undergraduate mentoring and mentoring culture creation -- to USC teachers and researchers.

Nenad Medvidović

Medvidović  and Scholtz won for graduate mentoring, Armani and D'Argenio for work with undergraduates.

The Mellon Mentoring Forum, the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, and the Vice President for Student Affairs have congratulated this year's awardees. The Mentoring Forum judges the nominees based on information submitted online.

According to the description at the Faculty Portal,"Great mentoring for academic success occurs at USC through both informal and formal means, and may vary considerably from discipline to discipline. Thus, the main criterion for all four awards is the demonstration of a continued commitment to mentoring, and effectiveness in mentoring.

"Individual Faculty Awards will be given to faculty members who consistently do one or more of the following:

1. Offer sound counsel and valuable information to their mentees in order to advance

   David D'Argenio

   and develop the mentee’s own path to academic and professional success.
2. Generously share their valuable time and expertise in critiquing the mentee’s work.
3. Help to create a vital and engaged academic community in their school and at USC.
4. Involve peers and students in publications, grants and conferences, as well as readily sharing knowledge of such opportunities.
5. Make others aware of the contributions and value of their mentees.
6. Serve as role models for their colleagues by maintaining high standards for excellence within their own discipline and at the level of the larger University."

Andrea Armani

Last year, three Engineering faculty were winners: Maja Matarić in the graduate student category, David Kempe and Sven Koenig in the undergraduate, according to the Viterbi School honors site.