Chemical and biomolecular engineering graduate student Aderiyike Aguda has received a 2026 Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching for Graduate Teaching Assistants Award from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and a 2026 Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award from the U. of I. Office of the Provost.
Aguda has contributed significantly to courses such as ChBE 422 (Mass Transfer Operations) and ChBE 494/594 (Advanced Separations for Energy & Sustainability). “Aderiyike was always highly professional and respectful towards students during her interactions…the majority of the class would show up to our discussion sections, as she would teach and talk through how to think about the problems we were given,” wrote one student.
“I am both honored and humbled,” Aguda said about being recognized with these awards. “Knowing that LAS and U. of I. have many exceptional TAs makes this recognition even more meaningful. So I am deeply grateful to have been selected for these awards.”
Aguda is a Ph.D. candidate in the Su Group, where her research focuses on developing continuous electrochemical processes that enable selective, energy-efficient, and scalable recovery of precious metals from electronic waste. She said that her favorite thing about teaching is the learning process itself, for her students and herself.
“Teaching motivates me to pursue a deeper understanding of concepts than I might as a student myself,” she said. “In turn, seeing a student truly understand a concept through my explanation is very rewarding.”
Read about other award winners here.