On Wednesday, April 16th, 2025, the Ohio State Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (FABE) held its annual Student Scholarship and Awards Banquet. The banquet, held at the Nationwide 4-H Center on campus, honors faculty, staff, students and alumni for contributing to the department's advancement in 2024-2025.
The keynote speaker was Mary Beatty, the CEO of Brexton LLC. She shared tips for getting ahead in one's career and how to leverage their degrees in unique ways. After that, department chair Dr. Scott Shearer gave his unit updates for the academic year, and then the awards ceremony commenced. This year, there were several incredible award and scholarship recipients:
IPAG DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD
Terry Mescher
IPAG OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD
Dr. Tom Bean
IPAG INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTOR AWARD
Fork Farms
IPAG OUTSTANDING STAFF TEACHER AWARD
Chris Tkach
GRADUATE TEACHING AWARD
Maggie Gottfried
FABE GRADUATE LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE AWARD
Ariana Spina
graduate research award
Ph.D.: Joey Smith
HENRY J. BARRE AWARD FOR GRADUATE STUDY IN AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING
MD Washim Akram
THE REVEREND PAVLOS T. TAIGANIDES-DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR/ROBERT E. STEWARD MEMORIAL AWARD
Nate P. King-Smith
IAC Construction Systems Management Student Leadership Award
Izzy Reed
FABE OUTSTANDING SENIORS
Brock Barbey, John Karam, Emily Leninsky, Zane Robison, Lincoln Grubb
CFAES DISTINGUISHED SENIORs
Izzy Reed, Von Herron, Alex Babinski
Several student scholarships were also given out. In 2025-2026 the department will award $172,000+ to 90+ students in scholarships.
Finally, the FABE, ASM, and Gloal Capstone Design awards were given out.
ASM OUTSTANDING COMMUNICATOR AWARD
AgrAbility: Farm for All
ASM OUTSTANDING INNOVATOR AWARD
Monarch Docking Station
FABE OUTSTANDING COMMUNICATOR AWARD
Monarch Tractor
FABE OUTSTANDING INNOVATOR AWARD
Starlab - Biofilm
Global Capstone OUTSTANDING COMMUNICATOR AWARD
Automated Coagulant Dosing
global capstone Impact AWARD
Garden Capacity Building in Ghana
Thank you to all who came to the 2025 FABE Student Scholarship and Awards Banquet, and congratulations to all of the winners!