The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Illinois International Programs are pleased to announce the winners of the 2015 International Achievement Awards.
The winners—who range from alumni, to faculty and students—will be celebrated for their work at the annual International Achievement Awards banquet on April 7th, 2016 at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center in Urbana. The recipients will also participate in a panel discussion titled “International Collaboration across Disciplines” on April 7th at 8:30am. The panel is free and open to the public with a reservation.
The 2015 International Achievement Award recipients are:
Dr. M.T. Geoffrey Yeh
Madhuri and Jagdish N. Sheth International Alumni Award for Exceptional Achievement (honored in asbsentia)
Dr. Elvira Gonzalez de Mejia
Sheth Distinguished Faculty Award for International Achievement
Patricia Lazicki
Charles C. Stewart International Young Humanitarian Award
Kenneth Long
Illinois International Graduate Achievement Award
Alexis March
Illinois International Undergraduate Achievement Award
Established in 2000, the Madhuri and Jagdish N. Sheth International Alumni Award for Exceptional Achievement is awarded annually to a distinguished international alumnus or alumna who has helped to better their own nation or the world through their contributions to government, humanity, science, art or human welfare. In subsequent years, the Faculty, Young Humanitarian, Graduate, and Undergraduate awards were created, recognizing the critical role these groups play in promoting Illinois’ identity and exemplifying Illinois’ values as a pre-eminent global university.
Recipient Biographies
Madhuri and Jagdish N. Sheth International Alumni Award for Exceptional Achievement
Dr. M.T. Geoffrey Yeh
M.T. Geoffrey Yeh has made significant and lasting contributions to the construction and financial sectors in Hong Kong, serving as chair of the Hsin Chong Group of Companies, including Hsin Chong Construction Group, Ltd., a publicly listed company, until his retirement in 2002. He is the current chair of Hsin Chong International Holdings, Ltd.
After studying civil engineering at the University of Illinois and earning a master’s degree from Harvard University, Yeh joined Hsin Chong and Company in Hong Kong, the construction company founded in 1955 by his late father, Mr. K.N. Godfrey Yeh.
Yeh’s commitment to community service is relected in his membership on Hong Kong’s Town Planning Board from 1976 to 1984. He also chaired the Construction Industry Training Authority from 1975 to 1987 and served as a member of the consultative committee on the new airport and related projects from 1995 to 1998. He was a longtime council member and Past President of the Society of Builders, and was a member and officer in the Building Contractors’ Association.
In 1991, Yeh was an Independent Director of Hong Kong Futures Exchange Ltd. In 1993, he became Vice Chairman, ultimately chairing the exchange from 1998 to 2000. He was also a director of HKFE Clearing Corp Ltd. from 1998 to 2000. As a founding court member of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Yeh took a leading role in university governance, serving actively until 2004. He was also a court member of Hong Kong Baptist University from 1995 to 2001.
In 1976, Yeh was appointed a Justice of the Peace (JP), and, in 1981, to the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE). In 1982, he received an honorary doctorate degree in commercial science from St. John’s University in New York. In 2000, he was conferred the Silver Bauhinia Star (S.B.S) by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. He served as the Honorable Consul of Jamaica in Hong Kong from 1984 to 2002, and, in 2003, was awarded the Badge of Honor for Meritorious Services— BH(M)—by His Excellency the Governor General of Jamaica.
Yeh founded the Yeh Family Philanthropy, a family foundation, in 2011. A member of the President’s Council of the University of Illinois Foundation, Yeh was the lead donor for the M.T. Geoffrey Yeh Student Center, a 20,500-square-foot addition to Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory that provides state-of-the-art classrooms, meeting rooms and informal gathering space for students in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Illinois.
Sheth Distinguished Faculty Award for International Achievement
Dr. Elvira Gonzalez de Mejia
The Sheth Distinguished Faculty Award for International Achievement is presented to faculty with profound international accomplishments in teaching, research and public service. Dr. Elvira Gonzalez de Mejia is a Professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN), Assistant Dean for Research in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES), and a University Scholar of the University of Illinois. She also is a member of the Division of Nutritional Sciences and an affiliate of the Center for Latino American and Caribbean Studies.
Dr. de Mejia is being honored for her research on how bioactive compounds in a variety of foods from around the world impact human health and disease. She has investigated whole and individual plant components for their effects on obesity, diabetes, and cancer, in particular. These diseases collectively have an enormous global impact, with lost years of life and productivity cited as the largest drain on the global economy compared to other causes of death, including infectious diseases. Clearly, Dr. de Mejia is a world-renowned scholar and leader in bioactive plant components with emphasis on the health benefits of functional properties of botanicals and foods. Dr. de Mejia is also a devoted and talented teacher, who takes a particularly global view of education and has made extensive impacts to strengthen the University of Illinois’ International dimension through her research, teaching and outreach.
Charles C. Stewart International Young Humanitarian Award Winner
Patricia Lazicki
The Charles C. Stewart International Young Humanitarian Award recognizes the meritorious contributions, research and commitment of the university’s young international humanitarians. Patricia Lazicki received her masters in natural resources and environmental sciences at the University of Illinois, focusing on soil science and sustainable nutrient management in agroecosystems. In 2011 she worked for ACDI Lusekele, an extension and research center in rural Democratic Republic of Congo, where she assessed options for affordable and meaningful soil testing methods. In 2013 she joined the faculty of Njala University in Sierra Leone. Her work included developing curriculum for and teaching soil science classes, and mentoring student research. She cooperated with her Njala colleagues on a variety of research projects, including screening legume species for suitability in reclaiming marginal lands, adapting a method for measuring labile organic carbon, and assessing the potential of different biochars for increasing fertilizer use efficiency in field and nursery settings. Simultaneously she coordinated the University of Illinois' study abroad program with Njala and served as a liaison between the two universities. Following the disruption of the Sierra Leone program due to the 2014 Ebola epidemic she continued to work for Illinois, conducting soil testing and fertilizer management workshops in the Republic of Georgia through the Modernizing Extension and Advisory Services (MEAS) program. Ms. Lazicki currently works for an extension project at the University of California Davis, summarizing fertilizer research into user-friendly, interactive online guidelines for efficient crop nutrient management.
Illinois International Graduate Achievement Award
Kenneth Long
The Illinois International Graduate Achievement Award recognizes a graduate student whose innovative and sustained international research or public service abroad has had the greatest impact (or has the greatest potential impact) on the university, larger community or internationally. Kenneth Long received dual B.S. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering and Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2012 and a M.S. in Bioengineering in 2014. He is currently an M.D./Ph.D. student in Bioengineering working on smartphone-based point-of-care diagnostics for infectious diseases. He has worked on international development projects in both Cameroon and Cambodia and, as part of the Global Health Initiative at UIUC, is now developing an interdisciplinary space on campus to tackle global health challenges. He is also collaborating with Illinois faculty to develop a cross-campus partnership between Illinois and Njala University in Sierra Leone to facilitate interinstitutional global health research, outreach, and educational initiatives. Kenneth currently serves on the board of the University YMCA and is increasing their global engagement by fostering a parallel relationship with the YMCA of Sierra Leone. Through these Illinois-Sierra Leone projects, he hopes to develop a new standard for international partnerships focused on interdisciplinary dialogue and holistic understanding of global health challenges.
Illinois International Undergraduate Achievement Award
Alexis March
The Illinois International Undergraduate Achievement Award recognizes an undergraduate student for a significant service or contribution resulting from participation in an international study course, program or project. Before entering the University of Illinois, Alexis’s love of travel and of France was sparked during her year as a Rotary Exchange Student in Brittany, France. Upon her return in 2012, Alexis entered the University of Illinois as a James Scholar – double majoring in French and Anthropology. Alexis studied at l’Institut Catholique in Paris, France in the spring of 2014 under the auspices of the Illinois Program in Paris. During this time, she also served as a volunteer English teaching assistant at the French middle school, College Pierre Alviset. After completing her semester in Paris, Alexis flew to Karnataka, India to work as an archaeological research assistant for Dr. Andrew Bauer. Upon her return to the campus in the fall of 2014, Alexis applied for and was accepted as an intern with the State Department at the U.S. Embassy in Paris for the summer of 2015. While an intern, Alexis was assigned to the Environment, Science, Technology, and Health Section. Her duties included the translation of speeches and communiqués as well as the drafting of official communications. As an intern, she attended conferences as a representative of the U.S. Embassy, organized the U.S. Embassy Green Market, and assisted in the preparations for the 2015 COP 21 Climate Conference, which was held in November. Additionally, Alexis helped organize the official Independence Day celebration at the Ambassador’s residence.
During her tenure at the University of Illinois, Alexis has been the recipient of the Paul A. Liebman Internship Award, the Charlotte Kambarian McMillan French Award, and the Jean Christ Weagant and William G. Christ Memorial Scholarship. She was also awarded a Benjamin Franklin Travel Grant by the French Embassy and was a finalist for the Pamela Harriman Foreign Service Fellowship. Alexis is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society and President of the French Honors Society Pi Delta Phi. Her activities have included being a member of Women’s Glee Club, a participant in PAUSE Café (the French conversation group), an Anthropology Leader and a member of the Provost’s Undergraduate Student Advisory Board.
